Logical reasoning PrepTest 155 · Section 4 · Question 18

Incorrect. This answer doesn't connect this severe weather to the areas where people were adopting this new design or AC units. Compare it to the correct answer—(C)—where the two are tied together.

Incorrect. While this answer might give a con for the new design, that doesn't undercut the connection between AC units and the change in designs. It's still possible the AC units drove the architectural changes, and people accepted the negatives of it (or even were unaware of them).

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Weaken

Stimulus Summary:
After WWII, houses with AC and without high ceilings or thick walls (which kept people cool in heat) sold well. Therefore, the availability of AC drove the changes in house design.

Answer Anticipation:
This Weaken question features an argument with a causal conclusion ("are attributable mainly to"), which should immediately cause us to think about a causal flaw. Here, the premises are correlative—AC availability increased at the same time a design feature meant to keep people cool started to fall out of favor.

To weaken this argument, the correct answer will either bring up an alternative explanation for the shift in design, bring up counterexamples of AC units not driving changes in housing design, or bring up reverse causality. Each variation is logical here, so we need to stay flexible.

Answer Explanation:
This answer provides a counterexample—houses that adopted the changes were also located in areas that didn't have AC units. If that's the case, there's evidence the change in design was motivated by something else.

Key Takeaway:
For Weaken questions, be on the lookout for causal flaws. They're relatively common, and the answers fall into patterns that can make them easier to spot.

Incorrect. Interesting, and possibly tempting if you thought this would undercut a benefit of AC units. However, there's no indication that this would be a negative for AC units—it's possible people enjoy having the ability to quickly lose the cool AC air when they turn the unit off.

Incorrect. What impact does thermal-insulating technology have? While it presumably regulates the temperature, there's no indication that it does so at a level that keeps "residents cool during extreme heat" which is the relevant goal as per the stimulus.