CR SET 1

1. Snowmaking machines work by spraying a mist that

freezes immediately on contact with cold air. Because

the sudden freezing kills bacteria, QuickFreeze is

planning to market a wastewater purification system

that works on the same principle. The process works

only when temperatures are cold, however, so

municipalities using it will still need to maintain a

conventional system.

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest

grounds for a prediction that municipalities will buy

QuickFreeze's purification system despite the need to

maintain a conventional purification system as well?

(A) Bacteria are not the only impurities that must be

removed from wastewater.

(B) Many municipalities have old wastewater

purification systems that need to be replaced.

(C) Conventional wastewater purification systems

have not been fully successful in killing bacteria

at cold temperatures.

(D) During times of warm weather, when it is not in

use, QuickFreeze's purification system requires

relatively little maintenance.

(E) Places where the winters are cold rarely have a

problem of water shortage.

2. Homeowners aged 40 to 50 are more likely to

purchase ice cream and are more likely to purchase

it in larger amounts than are members of any other

demographic group. The popular belief that teenagers

eat more ice cream than adults must, therefore,

be false.

The argument is flawed primarily because the author

(A) fails to distinguish between purchasing and

consuming

(B) does not supply information about homeowners

in age groups other than 40 to 50

(C) depends on popular belief rather than on

documented research findings

(D) does not specify the precise amount of ice

cream purchased by any demographic group

(E) discusses ice cream rather than more nutritious

and healthful foods

3. Suncorp, a new corporation with limited funds, has

been clearing large sections of the tropical Amazon

forest for cattle ranching. This practice continues

even though greater profits can be made from rubber

tapping, which does not destroy the forest, than from

cattle ranching, which does destroy the forest.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain

why Suncorp has been pursuing the less profitable of

the two economic activities mentioned above?

(A) The soil of the Amazon forest is very rich in

nutrients that are important in the development

of grazing lands.

(B) Cattle-ranching operations that are located in

tropical climates are more profitable than

cattle-ranching operations that are located in

cold-weather climates.

4. According to a prediction of the not-so-distant future

published in 1940, electricity would revolutionize

agriculture. Electrodes would be inserted into the soil,

and the current between them would kill bugs and

weeds and make crop plants stronger.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly indicates

that the logic of the prediction above is flawed?

(A) In order for farmers to avoid electric shock while

working in the fields, the current could be turned

off at such times without diminishing the

intended effects.

(B) If the proposed plan for using electricity were

put into practice, farmers would save on

chemicals now being added to the soil.

(C) It cannot be taken for granted that the use of

electricity is always beneficial.

(D) Since weeds are plants, electricity would affect

weeds in the same way as it would affect crop

plants.

(E) Because a planting machine would need to avoid

coming into contact with the electrodes, new

parts for planting machines would need to be

designed.

5. A company is considering changing its policy

concerning daily working hours. Currently, this

company requires all employees to arrive at work

at 8 a.m. The proposed policy would permit each

employee to decide when to arrive—from as early

as 6 a.m. to as late as 11 a.m.

The adoption of this policy would be most likely to

decrease employees' productivity if the employees'

job functions required them to

(B) consult at least once a day with employees from

other companies

(C) submit their work for a supervisor's eventual

approval

(D) interact frequently with each other throughout

the entire workday

(E) undertake projects that take several days to

complete

6. Parland's alligator population has been declining in

recent years, primarily because of hunting. Alligators

prey heavily on a species of freshwater fish that is

highly valued as food by Parlanders, who had hoped

that the decline in the alligator population would lead

to an increase in the numbers of these fish available

for human consumption. Yet the population of this fish

species has also declined, even though the annual

number caught for human consumption has not

increased.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain

the decline in the population of the fish species?

(A) The decline in the alligator population has meant

that fishers can work in some parts of lakes and

rivers that were formerly too dangerous.

(B) Over the last few years, Parland's commercial

fishing enterprises have increased the number

of fishing boats they use.

(C) The main predator of these fish is another

species of fish on which alligators also prey.

(D) Many Parlanders who hunt alligators do so

because of the high market price of alligator

skins, not because of the threat alligators pose

to the fish population.

(E) In several neighboring countries through which

Parland's rivers also flow, alligators are at risk

of extinction as a result of extensive hunting.

7. The amount of time it takes for most of a worker's

occupational knowledge and skills to become obsolete

has been declining because of the introduction of

advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). Given the

rate at which AMT is currently being introduced in

manufacturing, the average worker's old skills become

obsolete and new skills are required within as little as

five years.

Which of the following plans, if feasible, would allow

a company to prepare most effectively for the rapid

obsolescence of skills described above?

(A) The company will develop a program to offer

selected employees the opportunity to receive

training six years after they were originally hired.

(B) The company will increase its investment in AMT

every year for a period of at least five years.

(C) The company will periodically survey its

employees to determine how the introduction of

AMT has affected them.

(D) Before the introduction of AMT, the company will

institute an educational program to inform its

employees of the probable consequences of the

introduction of AMT.

(E) The company will ensure that it can offer its

employees any training necessary for meeting

their job requirements.

8. In virtually any industry, technological improvements

increase labor productivity, which is the output of

goods and services per person-hour worked. In

Parland's industries, labor productivity is significantly

higher than it is in Vergia's industries. Clearly,

therefore, Parland's industries must, on the whole, be

further advanced technologically than Vergia's are.

The argument is most vulnerable to which of the

following criticisms?

(A) It offers a conclusion that is no more than a

paraphrase of one of the pieces of information

provided in its support.

(B) It presents as evidence in support of a claim

information that is inconsistent with other

evidence presented in support of the same claim.

(C) It takes one possible cause of a condition to be

the actual cause of that condition without

considering any other possible causes.

(D) It takes a condition to be the effect of

something that happened only after the

condition already existed.

(E) It makes a distinction that presupposes the

truth of the conclusion that is to be established.

9. While many people think of genetic manipulation of

food crops as being aimed at developing larger and

larger plant varieties, some plant breeders have

in fact concentrated on discovering or producing

dwarf varieties, which are roughly half as tall as

normal varieties.

Which of the following would, if true, most help to

explain the strategy of the plant breeders referred to

above?

(A) Plant varieties used as food by some are used

as ornamentals by others.

(B) The wholesale prices of a given crop decrease

as the supply of it increases.

(C) Crops once produced exclusively for human

consumption are often now used for animal

feed.

(D) Short plants are less vulnerable to strong wind

and heavy rains.

(E) Nations with large industrial sectors tend to

consume more processed grains.

10. Traverton's city council wants to minimize the city's

average yearly expenditures on its traffic signal lights

and so is considering replacing the incandescent bulbs

currently in use with arrays of light-emitting diodes

(LEDs) as the incandescent bulbs burn out. Compared to

incandescent bulbs, LED arrays consume significantly

less energy and cost no more to purchase. Moreover,

the costs associated with the conversion of existing

fixtures so as to accept LED arrays would be minimal.

Which of the following would it be most useful to

know in determining whether switching to LED arrays

would be likely to help minimize Traverton's yearly

maintenance costs?

(A) Whether the expected service life of LED arrays

is at least as long as that of the currently used

incandescent bulbs

(B) Whether any cities have switched from

incandescent lights in their traffic signals to

lighting elements other than LED arrays

(C) Whether the company from which Traverton

currently buys incandescent bulbs for traffic

signals also sells LED arrays

(D) Whether Traverton's city council plans to increase

the number of traffic signal lights in Traverton

(E) Whether the crews that currently replace

incandescent bulbs in Traverton's traffic signals

know how to convert the existing fixtures so as

to accept LED arrays