PT131.S2.Q4 > Question

SECTION 1 · lr

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 Question 12 Question 13 Question 14 Question 15 Question 16 Question 17 Question 18 Question 19 Question 20 Question 21 Question 22 Question 23 Question 24 Question 25

SECTION 2 · lr

SECTION 3 · lr

SECTION 4 · rc

PASSAGE 1

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

PASSAGE 2

Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 Question 12 Question 13 Question 14 Question 15

PASSAGE 3

Question 16 Question 17 Question 18 Question 19 Question 20 Question 21 Question 22

PASSAGE 4

Question 23 Question 24 Question 25 Question 26 Question 27

The scientist concludes that atmospheric pollution caused global temperatures to rise in the 1500s. She supports this by saying that she found several years of heavy pollution in the 1500s that coincided with a period of high global temperatures.

This is the cookie-cutter flaw of assuming that correlation proves causation. The scientist points out a correlation between atmospheric pollution and high global temperatures in the 1500s and then concludes that the pollution caused the high temperatures. She ignores any other possible explanation for the high temperatures.

The scientist never makes this assumption. She concludes that pollution caused the rise in global temperatures, but she doesn’t assume that the rise in temperatures is harmful.

Like (C), the scientist doesn’t draw a general conclusion. She draws the specific conclusion that “in this case” pollution caused high global temperatures.

Like (B), the scientist doesn’t draw an inappropriately general conclusion. She draws a specific conclusion about a period of time in the 1500s based on facts about that same specific period of time.

This doesn’t describe why the scientist’s reasoning is vulnerable to criticism. She presents her data in her premises and we have no reason to believe that her methods were unreliable.

The scientist infers that atmospheric pollution caused a rise in global temperatures in the 1500s merely from a claim that atmospheric pollution and high global temperatures both occurred during that time.

PrepTest 131 - Section 2 - Question 4

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