- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8950
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:00 am
#35766
Complete Question Explanation
Parallel Reasoning—SN. The correct answer choice is (B)
The first clause of the first sentence indicates that countries with an uneducated population are
destined to be economically and politically weak:
governments that display a serious financial commitment to public education:
made a commitment to public education will avoid economic and political weakness:
conditional chain, on the basis of which the above-mentioned conclusion cannot be properly drawn:
government that displays a serious financial commitment to public education, not that any nation
with a government that has made such a commitment is sure to avoid economic and political
weakness. The conclusion takes the form of a Mistaken Reversal, which needs to be matched by the
conclusion in the correct answer choice. The correct answer choice should also contain two premises
with logically opposite sufficient conditions, which can be connected to form a conditional chain.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice can be immediately eliminated because the premise
(“changes in the climate can remove the traditional food supply”) is not a conditional statement.
This inconsistency would be sufficient to eliminate this answer choice from consideration, and no
conditional diagramming is necessary to prove it wrong.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The argument has the following argument
structure:
choice (B) is correct.
Answer choice (C): Although the conclusion in this answer choice does take the form of a Mistaken
Reversal, it only contains one premise, not two. This is sufficient to eliminate it from consideration,
and no conditional diagramming is necessary to prove it wrong.
Answer choice (D): Although the two premises in this answer choice do form a conditional chain,
the conclusion is in the logically valid form of a contrapositive. When re-worded, the argument can
be diagrammed as follows:
Premise (1):
Studied TP 
Shockingly Inventive (most likely)
Premise (2): Shockingly Inventive High Quality (rarely)
Conclusion: High Quality Studied TP
A smart test-taker would be able to immediately eliminate this answer choice from consideration,
because the relationships in each premise are less than absolute due to the use of such phrases as
“most likely” and “rarely.” This inconsistency alone makes it unnecessary to make a diagram.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice should be immediately ruled out because the relationships
in each premise, as well as the conclusion, are less than absolute due to the use of such phrases as
“unlikely,” “tend to,” and “probably.” This obviates the need to make a formal diagram.
Parallel Reasoning—SN. The correct answer choice is (B)
The first clause of the first sentence indicates that countries with an uneducated population are
destined to be economically and politically weak:
- EP = Educated populations
Weak = Economically and politically weak
S N
EP Weak
governments that display a serious financial commitment to public education:
- CPE = Commitment to public education
S N
EP CPE
made a commitment to public education will avoid economic and political weakness:
- S N
CPE Weak
conditional chain, on the basis of which the above-mentioned conclusion cannot be properly drawn:
- Weak EP CPE
government that displays a serious financial commitment to public education, not that any nation
with a government that has made such a commitment is sure to avoid economic and political
weakness. The conclusion takes the form of a Mistaken Reversal, which needs to be matched by the
conclusion in the correct answer choice. The correct answer choice should also contain two premises
with logically opposite sufficient conditions, which can be connected to form a conditional chain.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice can be immediately eliminated because the premise
(“changes in the climate can remove the traditional food supply”) is not a conditional statement.
This inconsistency would be sufficient to eliminate this answer choice from consideration, and no
conditional diagramming is necessary to prove it wrong.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The argument has the following argument
structure:
- Premise (1): Empathy Good Candidate
Premise (2): Empathy Manipulate Others
Conclusion: Manipulate Others Good Candidate
- Good Candidate Empathy Manipulate Others
choice (B) is correct.
Answer choice (C): Although the conclusion in this answer choice does take the form of a Mistaken
Reversal, it only contains one premise, not two. This is sufficient to eliminate it from consideration,
and no conditional diagramming is necessary to prove it wrong.
Answer choice (D): Although the two premises in this answer choice do form a conditional chain,
the conclusion is in the logically valid form of a contrapositive. When re-worded, the argument can
be diagrammed as follows:
Premise (1):
Studied TP Shockingly Inventive (most likely)Premise (2):
Shockingly Inventive High Quality (rarely)Conclusion:
High Quality Studied TPA smart test-taker would be able to immediately eliminate this answer choice from consideration,
because the relationships in each premise are less than absolute due to the use of such phrases as
“most likely” and “rarely.” This inconsistency alone makes it unnecessary to make a diagram.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice should be immediately ruled out because the relationships
in each premise, as well as the conclusion, are less than absolute due to the use of such phrases as
“unlikely,” “tend to,” and “probably.” This obviates the need to make a formal diagram.
