Logical reasoning PrepTest 134 · Section 2 · Question 14

Incorrect. This answer aligns with the hypothesis, but it doesn't address the supposed counterexample that the researchers seem to ignore.

Incorrect. If this applies to all students, then it really doesn't do much to resolve the paradox since the stimulus discusses the relative grades of students.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
Hypothesis — Studying more increased grades
Results — Students who studied the most had lower grades than some other students
Conclusion — Studying more increased grades

Answer Anticipation:
A hypothesis was presented that drew a causal connection between studying and grades. A study was done that showed students who exhibited the highest level of the cause—they studied the most—didn't have the highest grades. Nevertheless, the researchers concluded that the hypothesis was supported.

So what gives?

Well, the hypothesis was a very general one—a connection between studying and having higher grades. However, the results noted in the stimulus only discussed a small number of the students involved in the study. It does compare the students who studied the most with other students, but there must be some key difference between these compared sets of students that still supports the connection between studying and good grades.

Maybe those who studied the most showed the most improved grades, thus highlighting the connection. Or the students who studied the most were studying, say, rocket science, and so were going to receive grades lower than some students in an easier major, but the rocket scientists who studied the most did the best among that major.

Anything that highlights a relevant difference between the students in the comparison could provide an explanation here, so let's find an answer that presents one.

Answer Explanation:
This answer allows an explanation to be formed that supports the hypothesis. While some students in "easier" courses may have received higher grades than those who studied the most overall, when the difficulty of the course and the grading teacher was controlled for, more studying meant higher grade. In bringing up an explanation for how these students were different and could still align with the hypothesized connection, this answer resolves the paradox.

Key Takeaway:
Paradox questions frequently draw comparisons. When that's the case, the correct answer will often establish or suggest a separate point of comparison that can be used to resolve the discrepancy. Here, the correct answer brought up that the comparison wasn't apples to apples, and making it so explained the paradoxical outcome.

Incorrect. First, the stimulus doesn't state that the students who did better than the top studiers studied the least. Additionally, this answer connects the group to the average, which doesn't affect the paradox.

Incorrect. While this answer might support the hypothesis, we're asked to resolve the paradox about the supposed counterexamples being said to support that hypothesis. This is a correct answer to a different question, but not this one.