Self-study
Support Warm air tends to be humid, and Support as humidity of air increases, the amount of rainfall also increases. ███ ███ ████ ████ ████████ ██████ ███ ████ ██████████ ████ ████ ██████████ ████ ███ ████ ████ █████ ██ ██████ ████████ ████ ███ ███ ███████████ ██ ██████████ ██ █████
Method of Reasoning
The argument starts by presenting a correlation between two factors (warm air and humidity) and giving evidence that the second factor (humidity) causally contributes to a third factor (rainfall). It then concludes that an increase in the third factor is evidence of an increase in the first.
Identify and Describe Flaw
This argument features bad causal reasoning. We’re given evidence that warm air could be one potential cause of higher rainfall, but there could be others. An increase in rainfall could be from pollution, changes in Earth’s ozone layer, or any other number of reasons. We’re also only given a correlation between warm air and rainfall, so we don’t know if warm air leads to more rain in the first place.
17.
Which one of the following ███ █ ██████ ███████ ██ █████████ ████ ███████ ██ ███ ██████ ███████ ██ █████████ ██ ███ ████████ ██████
a
Food that is █████ █████ ██ ██ ███████████ ███ ███ ████ ██████████ █████ ████ ███ █████████ ███ ███ ██████ █████ ███ █████████ █████████ ████ ██████ ████ █ ███████ ████ ██ ██ ██ ██████ ████ ██████ █████ ███ ████ ████ ██ ███████ ████ ███ ████ ██████ ███ █ ███████ ████
(A) starts by presenting a correlation between two factors (fresh food and nutritious food) and giving evidence that the second factor (nutritious food) causally contributes to a third factor (health). It then incorrectly concludes that an increase in the third factor is evidence of an increase in the first. The stimulus also combines a correlation and a causal relationship to conclude that an increase in a certain factor is evidence of an increase in another factor, so (A) matches.
b
Your refusal to ████ ██████ ████ ████████ ████████ █████████ ████ ████ ██ █████████ ███████████ ██ ████ █████ ███ ██████ ███ ██ ███ ██████ █████ ████████ ████████ █████████ ███ ██████ ████ ████ ██ █████████ ████████████
Wrong flaw. (B) presents a single correlation: people who hide their finances are usually guilty of impropriety. It then incorrectly assumes that this correlation must apply in a specific instance. The stimulus, however, combines a correlation and a causal relationship to conclude that an increase in a certain factor is evidence of an increase in another factor, so (B) doesn’t match.
c
People tend not ██ ████ ██ ██████ ██ ████ ███████ ████ ████ ███ ████████ ████ ███ █████████ ███ ███ ████ ████ ███ ████████ ███ ████████ ███ ████ ███████ ██████ ██ ████ ███████ ████████ ██████████ ██████ ███ █████ ████ ███ ████████ ████ ██ ███ ███████████ ██████ ████ ████ ████████
Wrong flaw. (C) presents a preference that people have (disliking public transit when they have a lot of bags), and then concludes that this preference will make them use cars instead. We don’t know if people will act on this preference, so the conclusion doesn’t follow. The stimulus, meanwhile, combines a correlation and a causal relationship to conclude that an increase in a certain factor is evidence of an increase in another factor, so (C) doesn’t match.
d
Statistics show that ██████ ███ █████████ ██████ ██████ ███ █████████ █████ ████ ████ ███████ ████████ ████ ██████ ███ ██████████ ███ █████ ██████ ████████ ████ ████ ███████ ██████████ █████ ████ ███ ██████████ ███ ██ █████████ ███████ ██ ████ ████ ███ ██ ████ ███████
Wrong flaw. (D) gives us evidence (people are overweight and don’t exercise) that seems to contradict statistics (people are healthier and living longer) to undermine a conditional relationship. We don’t know if the statistics are accurate, so the conclusion doesn’t have to be true. The stimulus, meanwhile, combines a correlation and a causal relationship to conclude that an increase in a certain factor is evidence of an increase in another factor, so (D) doesn’t match.
e
People tend to █████ ████ █████ ██████████ ████████ ████ ████ █████ ███ ███████████ █████ █████ ███ ████ ██████████ ███████ █████ ████ █████ ████ ███ █████ ████ ██ ████ ██ ███ ████ ████ ███████ █████ ███ █████████ ████ ██ █████ ████ ██ ███ ████████ █████ ██ ███████████
No flaw. If people only watch what they enjoy, and more people are watching television than ever before, then it’s reasonable to conclude that people enjoy at least some of what they watch.