A
It fails to address adequately the possibility that even if a condition is sufficient to produce an effect in a species, it may not be necessary to produce that effect in that species.
B
It fails to address adequately the possibility that a condition can produce a change in a species even if it does not produce that change in other species.
C
It overlooks the possibility that a condition that is needed to produce a change in one species is not needed to produce a similar change in other species.
D
It presumes without warrant that human beings were presented with greater difficulties during ice ages than were individuals of most other species.
E
It takes for granted that, if a condition coincided with the emergence of a certain phenomenon, that condition must have been causally responsible for the phenomenon.
The question stem reads: The biologist’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds? This is a Flaw question.
The biologist begins by describing how many paleontologists suggest that the difficulties of the ice age were a cause of the evolution of the human brain. The biologist concludes those palentologists are wrong. In other words, the ice age was not responsible for the evolution of the human brain. As evidence, the biologist cites that many animal species survived the ice age with no evolutionary changes to their brain.
The biologist has hypothesized that the ice age was not repsonsbile for the evolution of the human brain. If we were to construct an ideal experiment to test this hypothesis, what kind of subjects would you want to use? You would want to use human brains! However, the biologist instead uses animals brains as evidence. The question is, “Are humans and animals” the same? Maybe. Maybe not. The biologist’s argument relies on the assumption that humans and animals would respond to the evolutionary pressures of the ice age in the same way. So let’s look for an answer choice that distinguishes how animal brains and human brains would respond to the ice age.
Answer Choice (A) is incorrect. The biologist does not suggest that the ice age was sufficient or necessary to produce brain evolution in humans or animals.
Correct Answer Choice (B) draws the distinction between humans and animals that we are looking for. The biologist fails to consider the possibility that the ice age could have produced the evolution of the brain in humans without producing the evolution of the brain in other species.
Answer Choice (C) is incorrect. The argument is not about whether the ice age was necessary for producing changes in the brains of humans or animals. The argument is about whether the ice age was sufficient to bring about changes in the brains of humans and animals.
Answer Choice (D) is incorrect. The biologist never presumes that humans had a more difficult time during the ice age than animals.
Answer Choice (E) is incorrect. The biologist does not presume that the ice age was causally responsible for the evolution of human brains. He concludes that the ice age was not casusualy responsible for the evolution of human brains.
The arrival of television in North America did not lead to a decline in new book publications or in book sales.
An increase in new books sold each year does not always coincide with an increase in library circulation.
A
Television has, over the years, brought about a reduction in the amount of per capita reading in North America.
B
The introduction of television usually brings about a decrease in library use.
C
Book publishers in North America now sell fewer copies per title than they sold in the early days of television.
D
The availability of television does not always cause a decline in the annual number of book titles published or in the number of books sold.
E
The introduction of television expanded the market for books in North America.
A
Child-rearing books should encourage people with children to put poinsettias in their homes.
B
Poinsettias are not dangerously poisonous.
C
According to many child-rearing books, poinsettias are dangerous.
D
The belief that households with children or pets should not have poinsettias is mistaken.
E
Poinsettias pose no risk to children or pets.
News media are more likely to report on rare or unusual threats to life than on common threats.
People who estimate risk based on news reports likely underestimate the risk of common threats and overestimate the risk of rare or unusual threats.
A
Whether governmental action will be taken to lessen a common risk depends primarily on the prominence given to the risk by the news media.
B
People tend to magnify the risk of a threat if the threat seems particularly dreadful or if those who would be affected have no control over it.
C
Those who get their information primarily from the news media tend to overestimate the risk of uncommon threats relative to the risk of common threats.
D
Reporters tend not to seek out information about long-range future threats but to concentrate their attention on the immediate past and future.
E
The resources that are spent on avoiding product tampering are greater than the resources that are spent on avoiding threats that stem from the weather.
A
It takes for granted that if something is conducive to a certain goal it cannot also be conducive to some other goal.
B
It overlooks the possibility that many children enjoy rigorously organized playtime.
C
It takes a necessary condition for something’s enhancing a child’s creativity and resourcefulness to be a sufficient condition for its doing so.
D
It fails to consider the possibility that being able to write a good novel requires something more than creativity and resourcefulness.
E
It fails to consider the possibility that something could enhance a child’s overall cognitive development without enhancing the child’s creativity and resourcefulness.
The question stem reads: The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds? This is a Flaw question.
The author begins by stating how many parents organize their child's playtime in order to enhance their child's cognitive development. The author concludes that the parents' belief is incorrect: Organizing a child's playtime will not enhance cognitive development. To prove their claim, the author says, "To thoroughly structure a child's playtime and expect this to produce a creative and resourceful child would be like expecting a good novel to be produced by someone who was told exactly what the plot and characters must be."
What a minute. Is producing "a creative and resourceful child" the reason parents organize playtime? All we know is that the parents organized play time to enhance cognitive development. Creativity and resourcefulness are a subset of cognitive functions. So there could be cognitive functions the parents want to enhance besides creativity and resourcefulness. Perhaps the parents organize playtime to improve a child's ability to organize. Shocking! So the author has failed to consider that organized playtime might enhance cognitive development in areas besides creativity and resourcefulness.
Answer Choice (A) is incorrect. The author wants to say organized playtime is not conducive to enhancing cognitive development. (A) would look better if it said, "Takes for granted that if something (organized playtime is not conducive to a certain goal (developing creativity and resourcefulness), it also cannot be conducive to some other goal (enhancing cognitive development).
Answer Choice (B) is overlooked by the argument but is also irrelevant. Whether or not children enjoy organized playtime is arbitrary.
Answer Choice (C) is also incorrect. The author never considers organized playtime to be necessary for enhancing a child's creativity and resourcefulness.
Answer Choice (D) has nothing to do with the argument. The author never actually says writing a good novel requires creativity and resourcefulness. The author claims you can't expect a good book to be written by someone who is told what characters and plot to use.
Correct Answer Choice (E) is what we discussed. The author does fail to consider that organized playtime could enhance other aspects of cognitive development (which would improve overall cognitive development) without enhancing creativity and resourcefulness.