Self-study
The laboratory experiment, the most effective method for teaching science, is disappearing from most secondary school curricula, and students are now simulating experiments with computers. ████ █████ ██████ ██ ████████ ██ ███████ ██ ████ █████████ ██████████ █████████ ██████ ███ █████ ██ ██ █ ██████████ ███████ ███████ ███ ██ ████ ████ ██████████ ██████████
Summarize Argument
The shift from teaching secondary school students science through hands-on laboratory experiments to using computer simulations should be stopped. This is because students graduate and enter university without the necessary skills to operate laboratory equipment.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that students not knowing how to operate laboratory equipment is a bad thing.
8.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ ████ ███████ ███ █████████
a
Scientific knowledge is ████████ ██ ███████ ██ ██ █████████ ███ █████████ ███████ ██ ████ ██ ███████ █████ ██████████
This does not affect the argument. The author does not claim computers should not be used at all in scientific teaching. The author claims that laboratory experiments specifically should not be replaced by simulated experiments on computers.
Illusory inconsistency
Illusory inconsistency
Answer is attractive because it seems to (but doesn't actually) contradict the premises or conclusion.
b
In some secondary ████████ ████████ ███████ ██████████ ███████████ █████ ████████ ████████
This does not affect the argument. Students observing teachers perform experiments is not relevant to the argument, which is about the effects of students simulating experiments with computers.
c
Computers have proven ██ ██ █ ████████ ████ ███ ████████ █████████ ██████ ████████ ██████████ ████████████
This does not affect the argument. The author does not claim computers should not be used at all in scientific teaching (such as for teaching terminology). The author claims that laboratory experiments specifically should not be replaced by simulated experiments on computers.
d
Secondary schools and ████████████ ██████ ███ ██████ ████ ███ █ █████ ████ ██ █████ ████ ██████████ ██████████
This does not affect the argument. Schools' and universities' investments in computers do not undermine the author’s point that students should not learn to perform experiments by simulating them on computers.
e
University students can █████ ███████ ███████████ ███████ ██████ ███ ██████████ ██ ███████ ████ ██████████ ██████████
This weakens the argument. By noting that students can learn science effectively without having experience with laboratory equipment, (E) exploits the author’s assumption that students not knowing how to use laboratory equipment is a bad thing.