Logical reasoning PrepTest 142 · Section 2 · Question 3

Incorrect. There's no conditional that would let us conclude that the administration is an economic success since that's a sufficient condition for overall success.

Incorrect. There's actually no sufficient condition to prove that the administration isn't an overall success, so this answer can't be justified by the information in the stimulus.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Political administration economic success AND Success at protecting liberties → Overall success
Even if an administration doesn't care for the environment, if they protect liberties, they may be an overall success.
Present admin: not Care for environment; Success at protecting liberties

Answer Anticipation:
This stimulus features a conditional statement with an AND sufficient condition, a statement that can feel like a conditional statement but isn't, and then a nonconditional statement about the present administration. Since this is a Must Be True question, it's likely that we're going to have to apply the conditional to the specific scenario described to form an inference.

Before we do that, though, let's dig into that second sentence. There are two issues with viewing it as a conditional, even though it includes that "if" in there. The first is that the opening clause is an even if statement—and those statements don't really add anything to a conditional. It's not a part of the sufficient condition since it assumes that the even if element could or could not be present; and, for similar reasons, it's not a necessary condition. It's more a statement that the element isn't necessary, which we can't diagram in conditional notation. Additionally, the necessary condition of this entire sentence would be that a government that protects individual liberties but doesn't care for the environment may be an overall success—that's hardly a guarantee.

Since the current administration does protect individual liberties while not caring for the environment, this second statement tells us it may be an overall success, so that's one potential answer.

We also have to check what we know about the current administration against the conditional statement to see if it applies. While it meets one of the two sufficient conditions—protecting individual liberties—the stimulus is silent on whether this administration is also economically successful. In order for this conditional to apply to the scenario described, the answer would have to bring up economic success, and from there it could conclude that the administration is an overall success.

So we're looking for an answer stating either that the administration may be an overall success, or if the administration is economically successful then it is an overall success.

Answer Explanation:
This answer choice provides an additional condition that lets the stimulus's conditional statement apply to the current administration. Since the current administration is established to be successful in protecting individual rights, if they are also economically successful, then they meet the two sufficient criteria to guarantee overall success.

Key Takeaway:
First, be wary of statements that mix conditional language with weaker language—"can," "might," "may"—these don't provide the same guarantees as purely conditional statements. Second, even if statements establish that something isn't necessary, which can't be represented in conditional notation. Third, when the scenario in a Must Be True question doesn't meet all the sufficient conditions for the conditional rule to be applied to it, one avenue for a correct answer is to establish that criteria and then conclude the necessary condition.

Incorrect. There are no premises linking economic success to the environment, so this answer is unsupported.

Incorrect. None of the statements in the stimulus establish environmental protection as related to overall success—in fact, a statement establishes that overall success can come despite not protecting the environment.