CRITICAL REASONING

HSEM4BTECHCR1219

Critical Reasoning questions involve reading brief arguments (each argument is generally one to three sentences long)
and answering questions relating to those arguments.

In order to analyze arguments, it is important to understand their basic structure:

Premises + (Assumptions) = Conclusion

How to Approach Critical
In words, premises and assumptions lead to a conclusion. Reasoning Questions?
PREMISES are STATED pieces of information or evidence that generally 1. Read the question stem first,
provide support for the given conclusion. They may be facts, opinions, or and determine what type of
claims. If they are opinions or claims, they will not be the overall claim the question you are facing.
author is making; rather, they will be some intermediate claim the author is
using to support the overall claim (or conclusion). 2. Read the passage critically;
analyze the basic
ASSUMPTIONS are UNSTATED parts of the argument that are NECESSARY to components of the argument
reach the given conclusion. In the formula above, the word Assumptions is put in light of the question.
in parentheses to signal that assumptions are NEVER stated in the written
3. Formulate a correct answer
argument.
to the question in your head
The main point of the argument is the CONCLUSION, which is logically or on scratch paper.
supported by the assumptions and premises. Conclusions are in the form of an
4. Attack the answer choices
opinion or a claim.
until only one remains
You can think of the conclusion of an argument as the top of a building,
supported by the building itself (the premises) and the unseen underground
foundation (the assumptions).

The four major question types in Critical Reasoning are as follows:

(1) Find the Assumption

(2) Draw a Conclusion

(3) Strengthen the Conclusion

(4) Weaken the Conclusion

Notice that three of the four major question types involve finding the conclusion in order to answer the question, and
the fourth requires us to find the conclusion itself among the answer choices. Clearly, the conclusion is the most
important part of each argument!

You may also encounter any of seven minor question types:

 Explain an Event or Discrepancy
 Analyze the Argument Structure
 Evaluate the Conclusion
 Fill in the Blanks
 Resolve a Problem
 Provide an Example
 Mimic the Argument
 Classify Statements as True/False based on Content

Page 1 of 7
CRITICAL REASONING

HSEM4BTECHCR1219

PRACTICE EXERCISE

1. All mammals have hair. Therefore, elephants have hair.

If so, what is the “missing step”, or “hidden assumption”?

2. Frozen water is less dense than liquid water. Therefore, frozen water will float in liquid water.
If so, what is the “missing step”, or “hidden assumption”?

Directions for Q3 and Q4: Two hours ago I had a splitting headache, so I took six Maqikol tablets. I still have a
headache. Therefore, Maqikol is a useless medicine.

3. How can we strengthen this argument?

4. How can we weaken this argument?

Directions for Q5 and Q6: Answer the questions based on the given information.

In an attempt to increase sales, Magic Co, Ltd. implemented a new customer service policy that required all sales
representatives to address all prospective clients by name. Within six months, sales had risen 15%. The new policy
was therefore a success.

5. How can we strengthen this argument?

6. How can we weaken this argument?

Page 2 of 7
CRITICAL REASONING

HSEM4BTECHCR1219

7. It is obvious that Einstein could not have formulated the theory of relativity. It is a common fact that Einstein did
not receive a passing grade in math class as a child.

What is the "assumption" made in this argument?

8. Many houses that do not meet the building code will collapse in the next earthquake. The foundation of Dora’s
house contains the structural stabilizers required by the building code, so her house will survive the earthquake.

What are the valid inferences made in this argument?

9. A life insurance company allows people to prepay their endowment insurance at current rates. The policyholder
then pays the premium every year. People should participate in the program as a means of decreasing the cost
for their living after retirement.

Which of the following, if true, is the most appropriate reason for people NOT to participate in the program?
(a) Peoples are unsure about which insurance company they will choose after retirement.
(b) The amount of money accumulated by putting the prepayment funds in an interest-bearing account today
will be greater than the total cost of insurance when they retire.
(c) The annual cost of premium is expected to increase at a faster rate than the annual increase in the cost of living.
(d) Some of the insurance companies are contemplating large increases in premium next year.
(e) The prepayment plan would not cover the cost of hospitalization.

10. Something must be done to stop spam. In early days, people seldom received unsolicited email
advertisement; but now that numerous bulk email software and email address finders are developed to collect
email address all around the world. Advertisers use email addresses to market their products and even sell such
email lists to other advertisers. As a result, almost everyone ever get junk email, and sometime several and even
tens of annoying emails a day. So, relevant anti-spam regulations should be framed to stop unsolicited
advertising.

The two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

(a) Background that the argument depends on and conclusion that can be drawn from the argument.
(b) Part of evidence that the argument includes, and inference that can be drawn from this passage.
(c) Pre-evidence that the argument depends on and part of evidence that supports the conclusion.
(d) Background that argument depends on and part of evidence that supports the conclusion.
(e) Pre-evidence that argument includes and a method that helps to supports that conclusion.

Page 3 of 7
CRITICAL REASONING

HSEM4BTECHCR1219

11. An electric-power company gained greater profits and provided electricity to consumers at lower rates per unit
of electricity by building larger-capacity more efficient plants and by stimulating greater use of electricity within
its area. To continue these financial trends, the company planned to replace an old plant by a plant with triple
the capacity of its largest plant.

The company's plan as described above assumed each of the following EXCEPT:
(a) Demand for electricity within the company's area of service would increase in the future.
(b) Expenses would not rise beyond the level that could be compensated for by efficiency or volume of
operation, or both.
(c) The planned plant would be sufficiently reliable in service to contribute a net financial benefit to the
company as a whole.
(d) Safety measures to be instituted for the new plant would be the same as those for the plant it would replace.
(e) The tripling of capacity would not result in insuperable technological obstacles to efficiency.

Directions for Q12 and Q13: Blood banks will shortly start to screen all donors for NANB hepatitis. Although the
new screening tests are estimated to disqualify up to 5 percent of all prospective blood donors, they will still miss
two-thirds of donors carrying NANB hepatitis. Therefore, about 10 percent of actual donors will still supply
NANB- contaminated blood.

12. The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?

(a) Donors carrying NANB hepatitis do not, in a large percentage of cases, carry other infections for which
reliable screening tests are routinely performed.
(b) Donors carrying NANB hepatitis do not, in a large percentage of cases, develop the disease themselves at any
point.
(c) The estimate of the number of donors who would be disqualified by tests for NANB hepatitis is an
underestimate.
(d) The incidence of NANB hepatitis is lower among the potential blood donors than it is in the population at
large.
(e) The donors who will still supply NANB-contaminated blood will donate blood at the average frequency for
all donors.

13. Which of the following inferences about the consequences of instituting the new tests is best supported by the
passage above?
(a) The incidence of new cases of NANB hepatitis is likely to go up by 10 percent.
(b) Donations made by patients specifically for their own use are likely to become less frequent.
(c) The demand for blood from blood banks is likely to fluctuate more strongly.
(d) The blood supplies available from blood banks are likely to go down.
(e) The number of prospective first-time donors is likely to go up by 5 percent.

14. Continuous indoor fluorescent light benefits the health of hamsters with inherited heart disease. A group of them
exposed to continuous fluorescent light survived twenty-five percent longer than a similar group exposed
instead to equal periods of indoor fluorescent light and of darkness.

The method of the research described above is most likely to be applicable in addressing which of the following
questions?

Page 4 of 7
CRITICAL REASONING

HSEM4BTECHCR1219

(a) Can industrial workers who need to see their work do so better by sunlight or by fluorescent light?
(b) Can hospital lighting be improved to promote the recovery of patients?
(c) How do deep-sea fish survive in total darkness?
(d) What are the inherited illnesses to which hamsters are subject?
(e) Are there plants that require specific periods of darkness in order to bloom?

15. Surveys show that every year only 10 percent of cigarette smokers switch brands. Yet the manufacturers have
been spending an amount equal to 10 percent of their gross receipts on cigarette promotion in magazines. It
follows from these figures that inducing cigarette smokers to switch brands did not pay, and that cigarette
companies would have been no worse off economically if they had dropped their advertising.

Of the following, the best criticism of the conclusion that inducing cigarette smokers to switch brands did not pay
is that the conclusion is based on
(a) computing advertising costs as a percentage of gross receipts, not of overall costs
(b) past patterns of smoking and may not carry over to the future
(c) the assumption that each smoker is loyal to a single brand of cigarettes at any one time
(d) the assumption that each manufacturer produces only one brand of cigarettes
(e) figures for the cigarette industry as a whole and may not hold for a particular company

16. A proposed ordinance requires the installation in new homes of sprinklers automatically triggered by the
presence of a fire. However, a home builder argued that because more than ninety percent of residential fires are
extinguished by a household member, residential sprinklers would only marginally decrease property damage
caused by residential fires.

Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the home builder's argument?
(a) Most individuals have no formal training in how to extinguish fires.
(b) Since new homes are only a tiny percentage of available housing in the city, the new ordinance would be
extremely narrow in scope.
(c) The installation of smoke detectors in new residences costs significantly less than the installation of sprinklers.
(d) In the city where the ordinance was proposed, the average time required by the fire department to respond
to a fire was less than the national average.
(e) The largest proportion of property damage that results from residential fires is caused by fires that start
when no household member is present.

17. Teresa: Manned spaceflight does not have a future, since it cannot compete economically with other means of
accomplishing the objectives of spaceflight.

Edward: No mode of human transportation has a better record of reliability: two accidents in twenty-five years.
Thus manned spaceflight definitely has a positive future.

Which of the following is the best logical evaluation of Edward's argument as a response to Teresa's argument?
(a) It cites evidence that, if true, tends to disprove the evidence cited by Teresa in drawing her conclusion.
(b) It indicates a logical gap in the support that Teresa offers for her conclusion.
(c) It raises a consideration that outweighs the argument Teresa makes.
(d) It does not meet Teresa's point because it assumes that there is no serious impediment to transporting
people into space, but this was the issue raised by Teresa.
(e) It fails to respond to Teresa's argument because it does not address the fundamental issue of whether space
activities should have priority over other claims on the national budget.

Page 5 of 7
CRITICAL REASONING

HSEM4BTECHCR1219

18. Which of the following best completes the passage below?

In a survey of job applicants, two-fifths admitted to being at least a little dishonest. However, the survey may
underestimate the proportion of job applicants who are dishonest, because
(a) some dishonest people taking the survey might have claimed on the survey to be honest
(b) some generally honest people taking the survey might have claimed on the survey to be dishonest
(c) some people who claimed on the survey to be at least a little dishonest may be very dishonest
(d) some people who claimed on the survey to be dishonest may have been answering honestly
(e) some people who are not job applicants are probably at least a little dishonest

19. Read the information and answer the question below.

o James weighs more than Kelly.
o Luis weighs more than Mark.
o Mark weighs less than Ned.
o Kelly and Ned are exactly the same weight.
If the information above is true, which of the following must also be true?
(a) Luis weighs more than Ned. (b) Luis weighs more than James.
(c) Kelly weighs less than Luis (d) James weighs more than Mark
(e) Kelly weighs less than Mark.

20. Bill earns more commission than does Sandra. But since Andrew earns more commission than does Lisa, it
follows that Bill earns more commission than does Lisa.

Any of the following, if introduced into the argument as an additional premise, makes the argument above
logically correct EXCEPT:
(a) Andrew earns more commission than Bill
(b) Sandra earns more commission than Lisa
(c) Sandra earns more commission than Andrew
(d) Sandra and Andrew earn the same amount of commission
(e) Bill and Andrew earn the same amount of commission

21. Advertiser: The revenue that newspapers and magazines earn by publishing advertisements allows publishers
to keep the prices per copy of their publications much lower than would otherwise be possible. Therefore,
consumers benefit economically from advertising.

Consumer: But who pays for the advertising that pays for low-priced newspapers and magazines?

We consumers do, because advertisers pass along advertising costs to us through the higher prices they charge
for their products.

Which of the following best describes how the consumer counters the advertiser's argument?
(a) By alleging something that, if true, would weaken the plausibility of the advertiser's conclusion
(b) By questioning the truth of the purportedly factual statement on which the advertiser's conclusion is based
(c) By offering an interpretation of the advertiser's opening statement that, if accurate, shows that there is an
implicit contradiction in it
(d) By pointing out that the advertiser's point of view is biased
(e) By arguing that the advertiser too narrowly restricts the discussion to the effects of advertising that are
economic

Page 6 of 7
CRITICAL REASONING

HSEM4BTECHCR1219

22. Mr. Lawson: We should adopt a national family policy that includes legislation requiring employers to provide
paid parental leave and establishing government-sponsored day care. Such laws would decrease the stress levels
of employees who have responsibility for small children. Thus, such laws would lead to happier, better-adjusted
families.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion above?
(a) An employee's high stress level can be a cause of unhappiness and poor adjustment for his or her family.
(b) People who have responsibility for small children and who work outside the home have higher stress levels
than those who do not.
(c) The goal of a national family policy is to lower the stress levels of parents.
(d) Any national family policy that is adopted would include legislation requiring employers to provide paid
parental leave and establishing government-sponsored day care.
(e) Most children who have been cared for in daycare centers are happy and well adjusted.

23. The law of demand states that if all other factors remain equal, the higher the price of a good, the less people will
consume that good. In other words, the higher the price, the lower the quantity demanded. This principle is
illustrated when ________________.
(a) Company A has a monopoly over the widget market so an increase in widget prices has little effect on the
quantity demanded
(b) a manufacturer of luxury cars noticed that its customer base is relatively unresponsive to changes in price
(c) the recent increase in gas prices caused an increased demand for fuel-efficient cars
(d) an increase in the number of computer retailers led to a decrease in the average price of computers
(e) a reduction in the price of oranges from $2 per pound to $1 per pound results in 75 pounds of oranges being
sold as opposed to 50 pounds

24. Child's World, a chain of toy stores, has relied on a "supermarket concept" of computerized inventory control
and customer self-service to eliminate the category of sales clerks from its force of employees. It now plans to
employ the same concept in selling children's clothes. The plan of Child's World assumes that
(a) supermarkets will not also be selling children's clothes in the same manner
(b) personal service by sales personnel is not required for selling children's clothes successfully
(c) the same kind of computers will be used in inventory control for both clothes and toys at Child's World
(d) a self-service plan cannot be employed without computerized inventory control
(e) sales clerks are the only employees of Child's World who could be assigned tasks related to inventory control

25. Millions of identical copies of a plant can be produced using new tissue-culture and cloning techniques.

If plant propagation by such methods in laboratories proves economical, each of the following, if true, represents
a benefit of the new techniques to farmers EXCEPT:
(a) The techniques allow the development of superior strains to take place more rapidly, requiring fewer
generations of plants grown to maturity.
(b) It is less difficult to care for plants that will grow at rates that do not vary widely.
(c) Plant diseases and pests, once they take hold, spread more rapidly among genetically uniform plants than
among those with genetic variations.
(d) Mechanical harvesting of crops is less difficult if plants are more uniform in size.
(e) Special genetic traits can more easily be introduced into plant strains with the use of the new techniques.

Page 7 of 7