Logical reasoning PrepTest 102 · Section 2 · Question 1

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Main Point

Stimulus Summary:
New info - Mental issues are caused by brain chemistry
Premise - Mentally healthy = having similar brain chemistry to most people
Conclusion - The new info will promote more tolerance for mental issues

Answer Anticipation:
This argument has a lot of structural indicators that allow us to find the main point of the argument.

It starts with what we "are learning"—this is almost certainly going to represent the results of studies, and those are almost always premises. This is reinforced by the following statement starting with, "These findings will promote," showing that the findings themselves are supporting a prediction of what will happen due to them, setting up the first statement as a premise and this one as a conclusion. The second sentence also eventually has a "since" clause, which is a premise supporting the other half of the sentence.

As such, that first half of the second sentence is the main point of the argument.

Answer Explanation:
This answer reflects the statement that we identified as the main point of the argument, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
These earlier Main Point questions will generally have strong words indicating structure—use them to quickly identify the main point!

Incorrect. This is information that we "are learning," so it's a premise, and it supports the prediction that this information will lead to more compassion/tolerance.

Incorrect. The stimulus never establishes that these are the "main determinants" of mental behavior, so this answer is out of scope.

Incorrect. This is a premise, introduced by the premise word "since."

Incorrect. This answer is a generalization from what is stated in the stimulus, but it's not stated (nor is it fully supported), so it's incorrect.