Sufficient Assumption Questions
These questions ask about what assumption, if true, would allow the conclusion of the argument to be properly drawn. In other words, if a certain thing was assumed, would this make the argument follow logically? There are typically 1-2 per section.
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1. These ergonomic chairs can reduce back pain, but only if they are used each day and proper posture is utilized while sitting in them. The chairs help alleviate pain by reducing the pressure placed on any one given vertebrate or disc. Since Ethel uses one of the ergonomic chairs every day and uses the proper posture while sitting in it, she will reduce her back pain at least somewhat.
Which one of the following, if true, would enable the conclusion to be properly drawn?
(A) Ethel’s back pain is capable of being reduced by using one of the ergonomic chairs.
(B) Ethel’s back pain is caused by too much pressure on one of her vertebrates or discs.
(C) If using one of the ergonomic chairs is capable of reducing back pain, it will reduce one’s back pain to some extent.
(D) While using the ergonomic chair, Ethel is not doing anything to counteract its beneficial effects.
(E) Ethel’s use of the chair will reduce the pressure placed on any one given vertebrate or disc in herback.
2. John Locke wrote that life in the state of nature was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” However, many other writers took a more positive view of the state of nature. For instance, well known writers Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson glorified nature as pure and virtuous compared to the evils of society and civilization. It is clear from this that Locke’s view of nature was quite cynical.
Which one of the following, if true, would enable the conclusion to be properly drawn?
(A) If one is cynical about the state of nature, one will characterize it as nasty and brutish.
(B) One who does not recognize the evils of civilization is not cynical about the state of nature.
(C) Only those who are cynical about the state of nature fail to find any beauty or positive things in it.
(D) If one takes a more negative view of the state of nature than multiple well-known writers, one is cynical about the state of nature.
(E) If one is cynical about the state of nature, one holds views different from Henry David Thoreau andRalph Waldo Emerson.
3. The Mountain Trailways bus which stops in Whitehaven this week is an extended line bus which later stops in Port Halsey. Since this is the only bus line that connects the two cities, anyone in Whitehaven who needs to travel to Port Halsey by bus this week will need to take this Mountain Trailways bus.
The conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
(A) There is no way to reach Port Halsey from Whitehaven by bus this week by taking a bus to at least one third destination to ultimately catch a different bus to Port Halsey.
(B) People who need to take the bus from Whitehaven to Port Halsey this week will be able to take the Mountain Trailways bus.
(C) Bus transit is the only form of mass transit available for those traveling between Whitehaven and Port Halsey.
(D) There is at least one person in Whitehaven who needs to travel to Port Halsey by bus.
(E) No other bus lines will connect Whitehaven andPort Halsey in the near future.
5. All of the telephones in this office building are connected to a direct line to the corporate office down the street, where all departments have an extension. Reaching anyone in that building is now very easy, since one need only dial “88” on an office phone and then the extension in that building. So all of us can contact the Risk Management department without difficulty.
Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion to be properly drawn?
(A) The Risk Management department is located in the corporate office down the street.
(B) The Risk Management department is connected by direct line to this office building.
(C) If a department can be reached without an outside line, it can be reached without difficulty.
(D) The Risk Management department is in a different building than the corporate office down the street.
(E) There will be a need to contact the Risk Management department at some point in the future.
4. Payroll Manager: This office should buy a fingerprint timeclock for employees to punch for their hours worked. Such timeclocks are not prohibitively expensive, and can only be punched by one specific person, eliminating costly “buddy punching” and thus reducing overhead costs. The payroll manager’s argument follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
(A) If a course of action will mitigate overhead costs, it should be undertaken if not prohibitively expensive.
(B) There is no way to reduce buddy punching without purchasing a fingerprint timeclock.
(C) The office should do anything it can that reduces overhead costs and does not require extra expenditures.
(D) Overhead costs from timeclock fraud are much higher than the cost of purchasing a fingerprint timeclock.
(E) Any other viable method to reduce buddy punchingwould be prohibitively expensive.