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 Quick-Freeze’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, QuuickFreeze’s purification system requires relatively little maintenance.
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
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.
(c) In certain districts, profits made from cattle ranching are more heavily taxed than profits made from any other industry.
(d) The amount of money required to begin a rubber-taping operation is twice as high as the amount needed to begin a cattle ranch.
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.
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 employee’s productivity if the employee’s job functions required them to
(a) work without interruption from other employees
(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
1. C
2. A
3. D
4. D
5. D
