PT107.S3.Q25

PrepTest 107 - Section 3 - Question 25

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A recent survey showed that Support 50 percent of people polled believe that elected officials should resign if indicted for a crime, whereas Support 35 percent believe that elected officials should resign only if they are convicted of a crime. ██████████ ████ ██████ ███████ ████ ███████ █████████ ██████ ██████ ██ ████████ ████ ███████ ████ ████ ██████ ██████ ██ ██████████

The "Only If" vs. "If" Trap

A survey found that 50% of people believe elected officials should resign if indicted for a crime, and 35% believe elected officials should resign only if convicted of a crime. Based on this, the author concludes that more people believe officials should resign if indicted than believe they should resign if convicted.

This question comes down to catching the difference between "only if" and "if." The survey says 35% believe officials should resign "only if" convicted. "Only if" introduces a necessary condition. These people are saying conviction is a minimum requirement before supporting resignation. They wouldn't support resignation for a mere indictment without conviction.

The conclusion, however, asserts a comparison involving people who believe officials should resign "if" convicted. "If" introduces a sufficient condition. Believing officials should resign "if convicted" means believing that conviction is enough reason to resign. That's different from believing conviction is required for resignation. People who think conviction is required for resignation might still want to give some officials a chance; they don't have to think conviction should automatically guarantee resignation.

SURVEY
RESULT
35%
believe resign
"only if convicted"
conviction is necessary
for resignation
AUTHOR'S
INTERPRETATION
35%
believe resign
"if convicted"
conviction is sufficient
for resignation

Because the premises don't actually tell us how many people believe officials should resign if convicted, the author's comparison in the conclusion is unfounded.

Anticipation

The flaw is that the author confuses a necessary condition with a sufficient condition. The survey tells us that 35% think conviction is required for resignation. But the conclusion treats that number as if it represents how many people think conviction is enough for resignation. Since the premises never measured the "if convicted" belief, the conclusion's comparison has no foundation.

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25.

The reasoning above is flawed ███████ ██

a

draws a conclusion █████ ███ ██████████ ██ ███████ █████ ████ ██ █ ██████ ██ ████ ██████████

b

confuses a sufficient █████████ ████ █ ████████ █████████

c

is based on ██ █████████ ██ ███ ██ ███ █████

d

draws a conclusion █████ █ ████████ ██████ █████ ██ █████████ ██ ███████ █████ ███ █████████ ████████ ███████

e

contains premises that ██████ ███ ██ ████

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