Logical reasoning PrepTest 124 · Section 3 · Question 23

Incorrect. The premise doesn't have an "as long as," and the conclusion doesn't rule one thing out in favor of another, so this answer isn't parallel to either piece of the stimulus.

Incorrect. The premise here is closer to the conclusion of the stimulus—people get more satisfaction not from doing an average job of something they like, but rather doing something well even if they don't enjoy the job. Since the premise of this answer is structured similarly to the conclusion of the stimulus, this answer isn't parallel.

Incorrect. This answer is similar to the stimulus, but it's off in a few key ways. First, the premise is about "[s]ome" students, whereas the stimulus established a premise that applied to all species. Second, this answer's conclusion talks about what's "most important" for something, which doesn't have a parallel in the stimulus. That said, the rest of the conclusion does follow the "not A, but rather B" structure, so that element is parallel. But since the rest isn't, we can rule this answer out.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Valid

Question Type:
Parallel Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
If a change isn't too fast, a species can survive change. So cutting down trees isn't the problem; rather it's the speed of doing it.

Answer Anticipation:
While you could squint a bit to make this argument seem conditional (and the first statement can definitely be viewed that way), it's not clearly conditional, with strong indicator words, so trying to force it into that structure is as likely to lead us to eliminate the correct answer as to select it.

Instead, let's identify key elements of how the argument works.

The key logic in the premise is establishing that something can happen "as long as" something else is true. We summarized that "as long as" as "if," but any similar phrase will serve to create a similar relationship.

The conclusion also has a particular logical structure, stating that something isn't the result of A (cutting down trees), but rather B (the rate of cutting down trees). Note that the two things are related, so that relationship should be maintained in the correct answer.

So short version? Let's find an answer that has an "as long as" premise and a "not A, but rather B" conclusion.

Answer Explanation:
The premise of this answer states that people don't fear change "as long as" they know what it will bring. From that, it concludes that any fear comes not from the change, but rather from a failure to inform them of its results. This has the same as long as/not A but rather B structure as the stimulus, and it doesn't have any extraneous relevant elements that don't match the stimulus, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
Don't feel the need to identify only conditional logic, or causality, or comparisons in a stimulus for a Parallel Reasoning question! Any elements that define the logic and how the argument works can serve as a guide in finding the correct answer.

Incorrect. There's no "as long as" premise, and the conclusion isn't about the decline in agriculture not being a result of A, but rather a result of B, so this answer doesn't match either part of the stimulus.