PrepTest 144, Section 4, Question 6
If one is to participate in the regional(28 more words not shown)
The flawed reasoning in which(15 more words not shown)
- AIn order to(31 more words not shown)
- BIf Lois were(28 more words not shown)
- CIf Johnson is(26 more words not shown)
- DTo stay informed(36 more words not shown)
- EIf Wayne is(26 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why can't Lily be talented and practice hard?
The band requires at least one of those things. It doesn't forbid having both. A talented trombonist could put in hours of practice, and nothing in the rule would be violated. So knowing that Lily is talented doesn't tell us that she avoids hard work.
What we’re looking for
For a parallel flaw, carry the whole structure across: membership in a group requires X or Y; someone belongs to the group and has X; the argument concludes that the person doesn't have Y. We want the same mistaken exclusion of an option that could coexist with the one already established.
Working the answers
- A
Good weather is a requirement for the army to retain its mobility and have a chance of success. The argument treats meeting that requirement as a guarantee of success. The army could still fail for another reason. That's a different mistake from choosing one of two allowed qualities and declaring the other absent. A doesn't even give us those two alternatives.
- B
Vacation leads to visiting Chicago or Toronto. The argument says Lois isn't on vacation and concludes that she is in neither city. But she could visit either city for work. This denies the condition that would require one of the alternatives; the original establishes band membership and one alternative, then rules out the other. Those are different moves.
- C
Johnson's victory requires both other candidates to stay out. Their absence doesn't guarantee victory; another candidate could still win. C mistakes meeting requirements for guaranteeing the result. It doesn't establish one permissible option and wrongly exclude another.
- DCorrect
Being informed corresponds to belonging to the band. Reading a major newspaper and watching national TV news correspond to talent and hard practice: the rule requires at least one. Julie is informed and reads the newspaper, just as Lily belongs to the band and is talented. The conclusion then wrongly excludes TV news, just as the original wrongly excludes practice. Julie could do both, and Lily could have both qualities.
- E
Getting a ride would require Yvette or Marty to be there. Yvette's absence would establish Marty's presence if we knew Wayne was getting a ride. But we don't. Perhaps neither person is there and Wayne is stranded. This fails to establish the situation that activates the requirement; it doesn't wrongly treat two available options as incompatible.
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