PrepTest 130, Section 1, Question 25
If a wig has any handmade components, it(46 more words not shown)
The conclusion of the argument(10 more words not shown)
- AAny wig whose(12 more words not shown)
- BIf a wig's(15 more words not shown)
- CA wig that(7 more words not shown)
- DIf a wig's(13 more words not shown)
- EAny wig that(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Made to measure isn't the same as handmade. A wig could be made by hand in a standard size rather than fitted to a particular customer. We shouldn't combine those categories just because the descriptions sound related.
The price claims are different too. A wig with handmade components is more expensive than one without them. That is a relative comparison, not a statement that it belongs to the medium-priced-to-expensive category. Made-to-measure wigs do belong to that category.
Now read the foundation rule carefully: a handmade foundation is never found on a wig without human hair. So if there is a handmade foundation, there must be human hair. Human-hair wigs should be dry-cleaned. Those facts connect, but we haven't yet linked made-to-measure wigs to the dry-cleaning requirement.
What we’re looking for
The question asks us to make that connection conclusive. My first prediction would be that all made-to-measure wigs have human hair. A rule covering the entire price range we know they occupy could work too. Either would bring the wigs in the conclusion under the known dry-cleaning rule.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This supplies an intermediate step through the foundation. Every made-to-measure wig is in the medium-priced-to-expensive range. A says every wig in that range has a handmade foundation. The passage then gives us the remaining steps: a handmade foundation requires human hair, and human hair requires dry-cleaning.
Follow a single made-to-measure wig through the chain: its price puts it in A's group; A gives it the foundation; the foundation gives it human hair; the hair makes dry-cleaning appropriate. We don't need the reverse claim that every wig in that price range is made to measure. Starting with made to measure is enough to reach the required conclusion.
- B
This starts with a handmade foundation and tells us about comparative price. It doesn't establish that a made-to-measure wig has that foundation, human hair, or a dry-cleaning requirement. The fact that price appears in both sentences doesn't let us run this rule backward.
- C
This would establish dry-cleaning if we knew the made-to-measure wigs had handmade components. We don't. A custom fit doesn't automatically mean any component was made by hand. C reaches the right endpoint from a starting fact we haven't established for the relevant wigs.
- D
This goes from a handmade foundation to a price category. We need to move from the price category we already know to a handmade foundation or human hair. D gives a consequence of having the foundation, not a way to establish that the made-to-measure wigs have it.
- E
This starts with wigs that should be dry-cleaned and gives them a handmade foundation. We are trying to establish which wigs should be dry-cleaned in the first place. A rule about what follows once that is known doesn't get the made-to-measure wigs into the dry-cleaning group.
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