Logical reasoning PrepTest 120 · Section 4 · Question 4

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Main Point

Stimulus Summary:
(Background about science and humans), but correctly predicting human behavior doesn't provide understanding, because reasons.

Answer Anticipation:
Remember: In Main Point questions, don't work past the correct answer! If you can identify the main point of the argument without digging very far into the logic of the argument, or even spending a lot of time digesting the other statements, you'll save some time for a harder question type.

Here, the argument starts with some information, but once it pivots, you should know that everything before the pivot is unlikely to be the main point. That pivot is to a statement that reflects a bit on what preceded, which usually means that it's the main point. Here, it's followed by a for, which introduces a premise supporting what was just stated—reinforcing the pivot statement as the main point. And since that support continues through the rest of the stimulus, the main point must be the pivot statement.

Let's look for an answer stating that the argument's conclusion is that successfully predicting humans behavior doesn't provide an understanding of it.

Answer Explanation:
This answer perfectly reflects the pivot statement that was supported by the rest of the stimulus, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
For Main Point questions, don't overinvest. Use structural elements and what you know about conclusions to quickly identify the main point, pick the answer reflecting it, and move on.

Incorrect. This is a paraphrase of the "for" statement, so it's a premise directly supporting the main point.

Incorrect. There are no concrete examples provided of predicting an event guaranteeing an understanding of the event. And even if there were, this would be an implication of the argument, not the author's main point.

Incorrect. This is background information—the argument pivots away from it ("However").

Incorrect. This is another paraphrase/assumption built into the supporting premise, so it's not the main point.