Designer: Any garden and adjoining living room that are separated from one another by sliding glass doors can visually merge into a single space. If the sliding doors are open, as may happen in summer, this effect will be created if it does not already exist and intensified if it does. The effect remains quite strong during colder months if the garden is well coordinated with the room and contributes strong visual interest of its own.

Summary

A Designer says that any garden and adjoining living room separated by a sliding glass door can visually merge into a single space. If the doors are left open, this effect will be created if it is not already present. If they are already visually merged, the effect will be intensified. If the garden is well coordinated with the room and contributes a strong visual interest, the effect will remain quite strong during colder months.

Strongly Supported Conclusions

If the sliding doors are closed, this effect can/cannot be present.

If the doors are left open, this effect will be present.

A
A garden separated from an adjoining living room by closed sliding glass doors cannot be well coordinated with the room unless the garden contributes strong visual interest.

The stimulus does not give this condition. The stimulus only says that being well coordinated and contributing a strong visual interest is sufficient for the effect to remain strong in the winter.

B
In cold weather, a garden and an adjoining living room separated from one another by sliding glass doors will not visually merge into a single space unless the garden is well coordinated with the room.

This is too strong to support. The stimulus says that the effect will remain *strong* if the room is well coordinated and contributes a strong visual interest. The stimulus gives no condition that can conclude that the room does not visually merge.

C
A garden and an adjoining living room separated by sliding glass doors cannot visually merge in summer unless the doors are open.

This is antisupported. The doors being open in the summer *enhances* the effect if it is already present and provides the effect if it is not.

D
A garden can visually merge with an adjoining living room into a single space even if the garden does not contribute strong visual interest of its own.

This reflects the reasoning in the stimulus. The room contributing a strong visual interest is only linked to the effect remaining quite strong during *colder* months. The room can still visually merge without this condition.

E
Except in summer, opening the sliding glass doors that separate a garden from an adjoining living room does not intensify the effect of the garden and room visually merging into a single space.

This is antisupported. The stimulus only uses summer as an example, not a definitive rule. The stimulus says that the effect will be enhanced or created if the doors are left open and does not specify any time of year.


25 comments

Last summer, after a number of people got sick from eating locally caught anchovies, the coastal city of San Martin advised against eating such anchovies. The anchovies were apparently tainted with domoic acid, a harmful neurotoxin. However, a dramatic drop in the population of P. australis plankton to numbers more normal for local coastal waters indicates that it is once again safe to eat locally caught anchovies.

"Surprising" Phenomenon

Why does the decrease in plankton numbers make the anchovies safe to eat?

Objective

The correct answer will establish a relationship between the number of P. australis and the safety of the anchovies. It will imply that fewer plankton means less domoic acid in the anchovies or that a decrease in plankton makes the domoic acid in anchovies safer to consume.

A
P. australis is one of several varieties of plankton common to the region that, when ingested by anchovies, cause the latter to secrete small amounts of domoic acid.

This states that anchovies will secrete, not contain, domoic acid after ingesting P. australis. It is not implied that anchovies secreting domoic acid must contain that acid, nor that domoic acid in the water builds up in anchovies’ bodies.

B
P. australis naturally produces domoic acid, though anchovies consume enough to become toxic only when the population of P. australis is extraordinarily large.

This explains why a decrease in P. australis numbers makes the anchovies safe. Once the plankton are less prevalent, the domoic acid in anchovies lowers to safe levels.

C
Scientists have used P. australis plankton to obtain domoic acid in the laboratory.

This does not imply that high P. australis numbers cause anchovies to contain domoic acid. It is possible that P. australis does not naturally produce or contain domoic acid, in which case its relationship to the anchovies remains unexplained.

D
A sharp decline in the population of P. australis is typically mirrored by a corresponding drop in the local anchovy population.

This does not explain why locally caught anchovies are safe to eat. It does not imply that the surviving anchovies are in any way safer to consume.

E
P. australis cannot survive in large numbers in seawater that does not contain significant quantities of domoic acid along with numerous other compounds.

This establishes a condition necessary for the survival of P. australis, but does not imply that a decrease in plankton must accompany a decrease in domoic acid. It is possible the plankton died for a different reason and domoic acid is still prevalent in the water.


14 comments

Constance: The traditional definition of full employment as a 5 percent unemployment rate is correct, because at levels below 5 percent, inflation rises.

Brigita: That traditional definition of full employment was developed before the rise of temporary and part-time work and the fall in benefit levels. When people are juggling several part-time jobs with no benefits, or working in a series of temporary assignments, as is now the case, 5 percent unemployment is not full employment.

Speaker 1 Summary
Constance claims that it is correct to define full employment as a 5 percent unemployment rate. Why? Because when unemployment drops below 5 percent, inflation increases.

Speaker 2 Summary
Brigita argues that 5 percent unemployment is truly full employment. Why not? Because Constance’s definition doesn’t account for modern working conditions. Brigita says that when people are working multiple part-time or temporary jobs, 5 percent unemployment is not full employment. Furthermore, people currently do work in those conditions. Thus, 5 percent unemployment is not actually full employment.

Objective
We’re looking for a point of disagreement. Constance and Brigita disagree about whether full employment can be accurately defined as a 5 percent unemployment rate.

A
what definition of full employment is applicable under contemporary economic conditions
Constance thinks that the traditional definition of 5 percent unemployment is applicable. However, Brigita thinks that contemporary conditions make the traditional definition inapplicable. This is the speakers’ point of disagreement.
B
whether it is a good idea, all things considered, to allow the unemployment level to drop below 5 percent
Neither speaker makes a claim about whether it would be good or bad to allow unemployment to drop below 5 percent. Constance says that inflation rises when the unemployment rate is below 5 percent, but doesn’t say whether that’s a good or bad thing.
C
whether a person with a part-time job should count as fully employed
Neither speaker talks about the meaning of a individuals being fully employed. Constance and Brigita’s discussion is about full employment on a larger scale, across a whole economy.
D
whether the number of part-time and temporary workers has increased since the traditional definition of full employment was developed
Brigita agrees with this, but Constance doesn’t express an opinion. Constance thinks that the traditional definition is accurate, but that doesn’t mean she thinks there isn’t more part-time and temporary employment now.
E
whether unemployment levels above 5 percent can cause inflation levels to rise
Neither speaker claims that this is the case. Constance only says that unemployment levels below 5 percent cause inflation to rise, and Brigita doesn’t say anything about inflation. We don’t know what either speaker thinks about unemployment being over 5 percent.

9 comments

The supernova event of 1987 is interesting in that there is still no evidence of the neutron star that current theory says should have remained after a supernova of that size. This is in spite of the fact that many of the most sensitive instruments ever developed have searched for the tell-tale pulse of radiation that neutron stars emit. Thus, current theory is wrong in claiming that supernovas of a certain size always produce neutron stars.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that current theory is wrong about supernovas of certain sizes always producing neutron stars.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that because no radiation has been found yet, no radiation (and thus no neutron star) exists. The author also assumes that the supernova was correctly measured, despite the fact the supernova event happened in 1987. Perhaps instruments weren’t quite as sophisticated and reliable in 1987.

A
Most supernova remnants that astronomers have detected have a neutron star nearby.
We already know current theory holds that supernovas of a certain size produce neutron stars. If anything, this supports that argument.
B
Sensitive astronomical instruments have detected neutron stars much farther away than the location of the 1987 supernova.
The current instruments absolutely would be able to detect the neutron star in question if the neutron star existed. Thus, there’s probably no neutron star.
C
The supernova of 1987 was the first that scientists were able to observe in progress.
We don’t care that the scientists observed the supernova in progress. We care about the neutron star, or a lack thereof.
D
Several important features of the 1987 supernova are correctly predicted by the current theory.
Even if the current theory predicts several features, the author argues rather convincingly it’s failing to account for another very important feature: the lack of a neutron star.
E
Some neutron stars are known to have come into existence by a cause other than a supernova explosion.
As far as we know, there’s no neutron star. We don’t care how else neutron stars can come into existence.

23 comments