LR Drill Set 5, Question 4
Cars with automatic transmissions are typically more expensive(35 more words not shown)
The argument above is most(12 more words not shown)
- AInorganic chemicals are(42 more words not shown)
- BAs a rule,(34 more words not shown)
- COn average, savings(43 more words not shown)
- DBowlers typically have(38 more words not shown)
- EMovies with well-known(46 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Sasha could have bought an old automatic clunker without air-conditioning.
The two price trends don't rule that out. Automatic cars typically cost more than manual cars, and air-conditioned cars tend to cost more than cars without that feature. Neither trend says every automatic is expensive.
And sharing a tendency to cost more doesn't establish that the two features usually come together.
There is another jump hiding in “expensive.” More expensive than something else is a comparison, not an absolute price. A $600 car costs more than a $500 car; that alone doesn't make the $600 car expensive.
For the parallel, keep the parts separate. Two different features each tend to go with the same comparative result. We learn that a particular object has one feature. The argument then says it probably has the other feature and definitely has the result in an absolute sense. We need that whole pattern, not just another argument that overstates a tendency.
What we’re looking for
The order of the two features can change. Automatic and air-conditioning play interchangeable roles in the premises. What must stay in its role is the common result—price—and the jump from a comparison to an absolute description.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Low molecular weight and being inorganic are the two features, matching automatic transmission and air-conditioning. Both are associated with being less complex, just as the car features are associated with being more expensive.
We learn that this chemical has low molecular weight, then jump to its probably being inorganic and definitely not complex. That matches both unsupported moves: one feature is used to predict the other, and a tendency toward a comparative result becomes an absolute claim. Less complex than another chemical doesn't necessarily mean not complex, just as more expensive than another car doesn't necessarily mean expensive. Starting with the second feature rather than the first doesn't change those roles.
- B
Hamsters are associated with two different results: larger bodies and larger litters. In the original, two different features are each associated with one result, price. Larger litter size would need a separate car result, such as smoother driving, that the original never supplies. B can overstate tendencies and still have the wrong arrangement of premises.
- C
This starts the individual case with the common result: Ceci's account has a high interest rate. It then tries to identify both features, a savings account and a credit union. The original starts with one feature—automatic transmission—and tries to establish the other feature and the price. Put interest rate in price's role and the mismatch becomes clear.
- D
Deborah's bowling plays the automatic-transmission role, and weight lifting plays the air-conditioning role. But the conclusion compares her strength with marathon runners. It doesn't make an absolute claim that she is strong, which would match “must have been expensive.” The comparisons also concern different groups: golfers and marathon runners needn't have the same strength. D leaves us with a different comparison problem.
- E
This comes close: famous actors and happy endings are the two features, and popularity is their common result. But its last claim is still comparative—more popular than a movie with an unhappy ending. To match the original's final jump, it would need to conclude that the movie must be popular, full stop. The original doesn't merely conclude that Sasha's car cost more than a car without air-conditioning. That distinction separates this tempting choice from A.
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