Logical reasoning PrepTest 106 · Section 1 · Question 10

Question prompt

It is a principle Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

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

Argument or Facts

Facts

Valid or Flawed

NA

Question Type

Illustration Questions / Principle Questions / Sufficient & Necessary Questions

Stimulus Summary

Economic growth → Consumer confidence balanced with small amount of skepticism

Answer Anticipation

Principle (Must be True) questions present a principle in the stimulus (usually a conditional; frequently two conditionals) and ask you to find an answer that establishes the sufficient condition and concludes the necessary condition. You should make sure that the judgment/conclusion-sounding condition is in the necessary condition.
Here, the principle’s necessary condition arguably could be a conclusion, but so could the sufficient, so let’s take the contrapositive just to be ready for that eventuality:
~Confidence balanced with small amt of skepticism → ~Econ growth
Now, let’s find an answer that lines up with either of these!

Answer choices

  1. A
    Any nation in which Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Confidence balanced with a small amt of skepticism → Econ growth. This is the reversal of the principle, so it’s incorrect.
  2. B
    Any nation in which Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    ~Mostly skepticism → ~Econ growth. The sufficient condition for there not to be growth is that there isn’t confidence balanced with a small amount of skepticism. That’s not the same as not being mostly skeptical, as this answer states, so it’s incorrect.
  3. C
    Any nation in which Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    If the prevailing attitude is just confidence or skepticism, then there isn’t a balance. There not being a balance is the sufficient condition of the contrapositive, so the stimulus would allow us to conclude that there won’t be economic growth, which isn’t what this answer choice states. It is therefore incorrect.
  4. D
    Any nation in which Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    If the prevailing attitude is just confidence, then there isn’t a balance. There not being a balance is the sufficient condition of the contrapositive, so the stimulus would allow us to conclude that there won’t be economic growth, as this answer choice states. Since this answer choice lines up with the contrapositive of the principle, it’s the correct answer.
  5. E
    Any nation in which Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Note that this answer swaps where skepticism and confidence fall in the term - it’s a small amount of confidence that serves as a balance! That’s a shift from the stimulus, so this answer is incorrect. (Also, as in (A), it reverses the relationship in the principle.)

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 22%
  2. B 2%
  3. C 2%
  4. D Credited 72%
  5. E 3%

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