Logical reasoning PrepTest 104 · Section 1 · Question 17

Question prompt

The stable functioning of Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Valid

Question Type

Argument Structure Questions

Stimulus Summary

~Majority have predictable goals → ~Laws make people happy
Stable society → Laws make people happy
Therefore - Stable society → Majority have predictable goals

Answer Anticipation

If you take a look at our Summary, you can see that we diagrammed this out. With that done, you can see that the argument is valid.
But you shouldn’t have seen any of that, because doing so is solving past the question! Here, in this Argument Structure question, we don’t necessarily need to diagram out everything and know if it’s valid as long as we can define each part.
The argument here starts out with a conditional that could be a premise or conclusion. However, the second sentence starts with, “This is clear from the fact…” telling us that the first line is some type of conclusion, and what follows is a premise. That conditional continues until the “and,” which tells us that the next statement serves the same purpose as the first one. And, since that ends the argument, we have a main point followed by two premises.
The statement in question is that second premise, so let’s find an answer reflecting that.

Answer choices

  1. A
    It is the conclusion Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    The opening line is the main point of the argument, not the statement in question.

  2. B
    It helps to support Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    This answer is a long way of saying it’s a premise, so this is the correct answer.

  3. C
    It is a claim Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    There’s no opposing point noted in the stimulus, or potential objection raised, so this answer is incorrect.

  4. D
    It is a consequence Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    A consequence of an argument will be some type of conclusion, so this answer is incorrect.

  5. E
    It is used to Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    The argument doesn’t presuppose anything - it’s a valid argument! That said, the statement in question is a general principle, making it hard for it to be itself an illustration of another general principle.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 13%
  2. B Credited 68%
  3. C 1%
  4. D 3%
  5. E 15%

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