Logical reasoning PrepTest 126 · Section 3 · Question 14

Question prompt

Archaeologist: An ancient stone 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

Flawed

Question Type

Strengthen Questions

Stimulus Summary

Ancient stone building - Composed of quartz, granite, and limestone
Other buildings/houses - Composed of only limestone
Limestone is found in the area; the other two aren’t
Therefore - The ancient stone building probably wasn’t a house

Answer Anticipation

The key feature in this stimulus is the comparative logic used. The argument reaches a conclusion that one building served a different purpose than others because it was made of different materials than others. However, there’s no connection established between materials used and purpose - after all, that could be a fancy house built by a rich person.
The correct answer, therefore, should connect this difference - the building material - to buildings serving a different purpose.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Most of the buildings Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    This building was, as well, so this doesn’t strengthen the argument that this building served a different purpose.
  2. B
    Most of the buildings Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    This answer brings up a difference between the ancient stone buildings and the dwellings, and it throws in a comparison to buildings with non-dwelling purposes, as well, for good measure. This answer uses the differences noted in the stimulus to show that the building in question is more similar to buildings that weren’t used as dwellings than buildings that were used as dwellings, supporting the view that the building is more likely in the former group than the latter.
  3. C
    Most of the buildings Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    This answer makes the building in question even more different from the other buildings in the area, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a dwelling - maybe a rich person lived there.
  4. D
    Most of the buildings Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Anything that increases the odds of something in the area being a dwelling will, if anything, strengthen this argument. This answer also fails to address any of the differences noted, so it doesn’t really affect the argument.
  5. E
    No quartz has been Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Similar to (C), this answer makes the building in question even more of a stand-out, but that supports the view that it was a house for a rich person as much as it supports the view that it was used for something other than as a dwelling.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 6%
  2. B Credited 86%
  3. C 3%
  4. D 2%
  5. E 3%

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