Logical reasoning PrepTest 125 · Section 4 · Question 23

Incorrect. This statement reverses the chain. The sufficient condition here is the necessary condition of the chain.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Remain competitive globally → Overcome math education crisis
Overcome math education crisis → Successful teaching methods
Successful teaching methods → Get students to study outside of class

Answer Anticipation:
This Must Be True question features a lot of conditional logic ("if", "requires", "No"), so we should make sure we understand the diagram.

The first sentence is a relatively straightforward "if" statement. The second brings up what is "require[d]" for alleviating a crisis—that requirement is a necessary condition.

And the final statement is a "No" statement, which can be a little complex to diagram. Saying "No As are B" is the same as saying "If you are A, then you are not B." The double negatives there can get a bit tricky, so we'd recommend reading the sentence in the stimulus back-to-back with your conditional to make sure they mean the same thing.

With everything diagrammed, we can see that these statements all chain together, so we should write that out, take the contrapositive, and then find an answer that aligns with the chain:
Remain competitive globally → Overcome math edu crisis → Successful teaching methods → Get students studying outside class

not Get students studying outside class → not Successful teaching methods → not Overcome math edu crisis → not Remain competitive globally

Answer Explanation:
not Get students studying outside of class → not Overcome math edu crisis. This answer matches a portion of the contrapositive, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
When you see conditionals in a Must Be True question, start diagramming immediately! The faster you get those statements diagrammed (and chained and contraposed, if relevant), the faster you'll get to the correct answer.

Incorrect. The stimulus doesn't discuss other subjects or their importance, so this answer is out of scope.

Incorrect. Remaining competitive is a necessary condition in this answer ("Only if"), so we can immediately eliminate it since that term is a sufficient condition of the conditional chain.

Incorrect. This answer is causal ("would help us"), whereas the stimulus is conditional. Even without that issue, the argument is a reversal of the conditional chain.