PTF97.S1.Q8

SECTION 1 · lr

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SECTION 2 · rc

PASSAGE 1
Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8

PASSAGE 2
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PASSAGE 3
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PASSAGE 4
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SECTION 3 · lr

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SECTION 4 · lr

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PrepTest F97 - Section 1 - Question 8

Question

Explanation

Analytics

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John wants to win the annual Mayfield raffle next year because he needs the Mayfield raffle’s prize. ██ ██ ██████ ████ ████ ███ ██████ ████ █████ ███ ██████████ ██ ███ ███████ ███ ██ ████ █████ ██ ███████ ████ ██ ██ ███████ ████ █ ██████ ███████ ██████ ██ ████ ████ ███████ ██████████ ██ ███████ ███ ████████ ██████ ████ ██████ █████ ███████ █████ ███████ ████ █████

Objective: Identify a Flaw

We're talking about someone named John, who wants to win the prize from the Mayfield raffle next year. The argument concludes that if John enters a few additional raffles next year, then he'll have a better chance of winning the Mayfield prize. This is because if John enters multiple raffles, he'll have a better chance of winning at least one of those raffles.

The problem with the argument is that entering other raffles doesn't affect John's chance of winning the Mayfield prize. Sure, if John enters several raffles he'll be more likely to win some raffle, but his chance of winning the Mayfield raffle will remain the same as if he only entered the Mayfield raffle. He would just have additional chances to win other raffles, which isn't what he wants.

When looking for the answer that accurately describes this flaw, we should read carefully and try to make abstract language more concrete. Even though we've identified the flaw, the phrasing of answer choices can lead us into traps if we don't stay sharp. Also keep in mind, the correct answer will be accurate to something the stimulus actually does, and it will describe a flaw rather than describing a legitimate mode of argument.

Analysis by AlexandraNash

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The argument exhibits which one ██ ███ █████████ █████ ██ ██████████

presupposing that a ██████████ ██████ ██████ ███ █ ███████ ███████ █████████ ███ ██████████ ████ ███ ██████ ███████ ████ ██ ██ ███████

John does desire to win the Mayfield raffle, but the argument doesn't assume that John's desire affects his chances of winning. Instead, the argument says John can increase his chances by entering other raffles.

mistaking for the ████████ ██████ ███ ████ ███ █████ ███ ███████ ████ ████████

In this stimulus, the activity is entering raffles, and the goal is winning the Mayfield prize. The argument doesn't confuse those two elements; it claims that entering more raffles (the activity) will get John closer to the prize (the goal).

assuming without warrant ████ █ ██████ ████ ██ ██████████ ██ ███ ██████ ███████ ████ ██ █████ ██████████ ████ ███ ██████ ██ ██ ██████████

The argument doesn't claim that John will be successful; it only says that he can improve his chances, not guarantee a win. The argument also doesn't claim any activities are likely to be successful—it never says that some raffles are easier to win than others, for example.

assuming that an ██████ ██ ██ ██ ██████ ███████████ ██████ ████████ █████

The argument doesn't assume an event won't occur. It proposes a way for John to increase his chances of winning a prize, which would be impossible if the argument just assumed that John wouldn't win.

confusing the likelihood ████ ██ █████ ███ █████ ██ █ ███ ██ ██████ ████ █████ ████ ███ ██████████ ████ █ ██████████ █████ ██ ████ ███ ████ █████

In this stimulus, the event is winning the Mayfield raffle, and the set of events is winning raffles in general. The argument claims entering more raffles will make the specific event (winning the Mayfield raffle) more likely, but in fact it would only make it more likely that one of many events in the set (winning a raffle in general) would occur.

By tying the abstract language to concrete elements in the stimulus, we can see that (E) accurately describes the argument. And it also describes a flaw, because this reasoning does not actually support the conclusion that entering more raffles will help John win the Mayfield prize.

Difficulty

Question

81% of people who answer get this correct

This is a moderately difficult question.

CURVE

Score of students with a 50% chance of getting this right

25% 132

144

75% 156

Analysis

Question Stem Tags

Flaw or descriptive weakening

Stems that ask us to articulate a flaw in the stimulus' argument, either in abstract terms or by pointing out a weakness. Learn more.

Stimulus Tags

Link assumption

Arguments that feature an unjustified shift from one concept to another, which don't fit neatly into other common flaw categories (e.g. moving from premises about "houses" to a conclusion about "dwellings"). Learn more.

Answer Popularity

Popularity Avg. score

148

158

155

143

81%

163

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