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GRE Big Book Critical Reasoning Test 17

Jimmy Wang
06/20/2024

GRE Critical Reasoning

Directions

Critical Reasoning questions test the ability to understand, analyze, and evaluate arguments. Some of the abilities tested by specific questions include identifying the roles played by specific phrases or sentences in an argument, recognizing the point of an argument, recognizing assumptions on which an argument is based" drawing conclusions and forming hypotheses, identifying methods of argumentation, evaluating arguments and counter-arguments, and analyzing evidence.

Each of the Critical Reasoning questions is based on a short argument, a set of statements, or a plan of action. For each question, select the best answer of the choices given.

An oil company conducted an investigation of the environmental effects of oil spills and concluded that waterfowl exposed to oil spills have a 95 percent survival rate. The investigation, based on the examination of waterfowl admitted t6 a veterinary clinic near the site of a recent oil spill, noted that only one in twenty affected waterfowl died.

#1

Which of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the investigation's conclusion about the survival rate of the waterfowl?

Very few of the affected waterfowl were readmitted to the clinic after reexposure to the oil.

Most of the affected waterfowl were exposed to oil floating on the surface of the water.

Only those affected waterfowl that appeared to stand a good chance of survival were brought to the veterinary clinic.

Many of the affected waterfowl that survived the spill had suffered serious injuries.

Each affected waterfowl that died was larger than average for its species.

A test of the National Weather Service’s storm- detecting radar systems found that the 1957 system is ten times more reliable than the new computerized system. Therefore, the technology used in the new radar system must be less sophisticated than the radar technology used in the 1957 system.

#2

The conclusion drawn above depends on which of the following questionable assumptions?

The level of sophistication of the technology used in storm-detecting radar systems can be determined from the reliability of the system,

Computer hardware is now a key component of the new storm-detecting radar systems used by weather forecasting services.

The reliability of storm-detecting radar systems is determined by their accuracy in predicting weather patterns.

The reliability of storm-detecting radar systems is determined by the frequency of break- downs.

Most of the significant advances in storm- detecting radar systems technology were made in the 1950’s.

A doctor investigated whether an insufficient amount of dopamine in the brain causes Parkinson’s disease. The doctor injected dopamine into the bloodstreams of patients with Parkinson’s disease. The progress of the disease was not halted, nor did any of the patients improve. The doctor concluded that Parkinson’S disease must be caused by some- thing other than a lack of dopamine in the brain.

#3

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the doctor's conclusion?

Parkinson’S disease causes the brain to produce less dopamine than it normally would.

Research has shown that many different chemicals interact to influence the workings of the brain.

Research has shown that dopamine often causes diseases other than Parkinson’s disease.

Recent research has shown that dopamine, when injected into the bloodstream, cannot enter the brain.

Dopamine synthesized in the laboratory for injections is identical at the molecular level to dopamine synthesized in the brain.

Geological and historical evidence shows that earth- quakes in the eastern United States can be as powerful as those in California and can strike a much larger area. An eastern earthquake will jolt an area 100 times greater than the area that would be affected by a California quake of comparable magnitude.

#4

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the difference described above in the size of the affected areas?

The crust of the Earth in California, compared to that in the eastern United States, has a greater abundance of faults that absorb the shock waves of an as they travel outward from the epicenter.

The causes of earthquakes in California are better understood than those of earthquakes in the eastern United States.

Several of the most powerful and extensive earthquakes that have occurred in the United States were centered somewhere in the eastern United States.

Buildings in the eastern United States are typically older than those in California and will therefore suffer far greater damage in the event of a major earthquake.

Since major earthquakes have occurred far less frequently and regularly in the eastern United States than in California, it is harder to predict when the next major eastern quake might strike.

The major goal of physical education programs in schools is to help all children become physically fit. But only a small proportion of children ever participate in team sports. Moreover, team sports usually do less to encourage fitness in participants than do physical education programs that focus directly on aerobic exercise.

#5

The considerations above, if true, could be used most effectively to argue against

the use of in-school physical education programs to encourage lifelong fitness habits in students

the use of team sports in schools as an occasional activity for talented athletes

the use of a large part of a school’s physical education curriculum for team sports

schools’ relying heavily on aerobic exercise programs to help all children become physically fit

the participation by young children in community sports teams

United States advertising agencies are increasingly using interviews at shopping malls, called “mall intercepts,” to test for advertising effectiveness, product concept viability, and consumer buying habits. Critics of mall intercepts maintain that the shopping habits of mall shoppers are not representative of those of the larger population.

#6

Which of the following, if true, would provide evidence that most supports the critics' claim about mall intercepts?

Indoor malls often attract the customary numbers of shoppers even during inclement weather when outdoor malls are likely to lose business.

Some mall shoppers patronize more than one store in any given shopping trip.

Mall shoppers who use public transportation to reach the mall tend to have lower incomes than mall shoppers who drive to the mall.

Mall shoppers, on average, spend 50 percent more time shopping than shoppers at other locations do.

In the course of any year, 95 percent of all households in the United States have at least one member who does some shopping at a mall.

# GRE Critical Reasoning

GRE Critical Reasoning

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