Logical reasoning PrepTest 144 · Section 2 · Question 10

Incorrect. The Asian elephant can accelerate, so this answer choice doesn't establish something that applies to it.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen with Sufficient Premise

Stimulus Summary:
The Asian elephant always has 2-3 feet on the ground even when accelerating, so it can't run.

Answer Anticipation:
The premises here get into the specifics of the Asian elephant's walking mechanics, and then it jumps to a conclusion about running. There's no discussion of what counts as running in the premises, and so that term needs to be defined in some way for the argument to work. From there, it needs to be shown that what we know about the Asian elephant's walking mechanisms precludes it from meeting this definition—most likely something about the number of feet on the ground since that's really all we know about the elephant!

Answer Explanation:
This answer provides a necessary condition for running—having all feet off the ground—that the Asian elephant doesn't meet. Therefore, this answer justifies the conclusion that the Asian elephant can't run.

Key Takeaway:
Strengthen with Sufficient Premise questions often introduce a new term or concept in the conclusion. When that happens, the correct answer will need to address that new concept in some way—either directly by mentioning it, or by establishing a generalization that includes it. It's an easy way to narrow down options—here, two answers didn't even mention running and so could be immediately eliminated.

Incorrect. "Running" is never defined as being related to speed, and this answer establishes that the Asian elephant can walk fast, but that doesn't mean it can't also run.

Incorrect. Unusual or not, the Asian elephant does it—and there's still no connection between that fact and running.

Incorrect. Without connecting this to running, this answer doesn't connect to the conclusion.