It is estimated that over 10 billion packs of cigarettes are smoked in the United States every year. An additional tax of 50 cents on every pack of cigarettes sold would achieve two desirable goals. First, the additional 5 billion dollars in revenue could be used to supplement the nation’s education budget and restore many programs that have been cut back or eliminated, such as vocational training and art education. In addition, the higher prices of buying cigarettes will encourage smokers to reduce the numbers of cigarettes that they smoke, which would help to improve the health of both the smokers and the bystanders who inhale their second-hand smoke.
Which of the following describes a flaw in the argument’s reasoning?
John: There is no God because we cannot prove the existence of God
Mary: But inability to prove the existence of something doesn’t deny its existence
Mary attacks John’s argument by pointing out,
1 Crore+ students have signed up on EduRev. Have you? Download the App |
That the policy of nuclear deterrence has worked thus far is unquestionable. Since the end of the Second World War, the very fact that there were nuclear armaments in existence has kept major powers from using nuclear weapons, for fear of starting a worldwide nuclear exchange that would make the land of the power initiating it uninhabitable. The proof is that a third world war between superpowers has not happened.
Which one of the following, if true, indicates a flaw in the argument?
Mayor: The law prohibiting pedestrians from crossing against red lights serves no useful purpose. After all, in order to serve a useful purpose, a law must deter the kind of behavior it prohibits. But pedestrians who invariably violate this law are clearly not dissuaded by it; and those who comply with the law do not need it, since they would never cross against red light even if there were no law prohibiting pedestrians from crossing against red lights.
The mayor’s argument is flawed because it
Reviewer: The Plain Truth, a biography of the philosopher Socrates, states that Socrates was both very wise and very poor. The book must be incorrect, because a man possessing such wisdom would surely find a way to avoid poverty.
Which of the following best shows the most significant flaw in the reviewer's argument?
Although City International School has provided qualified teachers and a revamped curriculum for the last three years, the social science and geography scores for grade X students have failed to reach the expected levels. Therefore, the parents have recommended to the principal that the text-heavy subjects such as social science and geography be taught in their native language instead of in English.
The recommendation of the parents is flawed because they failed to consider whether __________.
Any announcement authorized by the head of the department is important. However, announcements are sometimes issued, without authorization, by people other than the head of the department, so some announcements will inevitably turn out not to be important.
The reasoning is flawed because the argument
A study of the dietary habits of a group of people who had recently developed cancer and a group without cancer found that during the previous five years the diets of"
"the two groups' members closely matched each other in the amount of yogurt they contained. Yogurt contains galactose, which is processed in the body by an enzyme. In the people with cancer the levels of this enzyme were too low to process the galactose in the yogurt they were consuming. It can be concluded that galactose in amounts exceeding the body's ability to process it is carcinogenic.
Of the following, which one constitutes the strongest objection to the reasoning in the argument?
Reva: Using extraneous incentives to get teenagers to change their attitude toward school and schoolwork won’t work. Take the program in West Virginia, for instance, where they tried to reduce their dropout rate by revoking the driving licenses of kids who left school. The program failed miserably.
Anne: It’s true that the West Virginia program failed, but many schools have devised incentive programs that have been very successful in improving attendance and reducing discipline problems.
According to Anne, the weak point in Reva’s claim is that it
Some employees have raised doubts about the manager’s impartiality in awarding performance ratings. He was discovered to be biased towards female employees than towards male employees. But the record shows that he has given a rating of 4 or higher (upon 5) to 80% of the male employees under him while giving such ratings to only 65% of the female employees. This clearly shows that the manager has not discriminated against male employees during performance appraisal.
The argument above is flawed in that it ignores the possibility that