The cafeteria of a certain elementary school provides a free lunch every day to the entire student body - a significant expense in the school's annual budget. A vice principal was exploring cost-reducing measures that would not compromise nourishment. A local Italian restaurant offered the school a large number of pizzas at a vastly reduced bulk rate. The pizzas were served one day, and afterward, the vice principal calculated that the cost of the pizza and delivery was slightly more than the average cost of typical cafeteria lunch day. Therefore, he concluded that the school could not save money by replacing a day of cafeteria lunch with a day of pizza from this restaurant. Which of the following would be most useful for evaluating the conclusion drawn by the vice principal?

The blue-tipped puffer is a migratory bird that is found along the coast of this state in summer months. The puffers enjoy the seeds of Thomson's Mulberry trees; because these trees are plentiful in the state's Coastal Park, traditionally many blue-tipped puffers would be found in the park during summer months. Ten years ago, the grey fox, a primary predator of the puffer, was re-introduced into the park, and its numbers have been thriving. Over that time, we have seen many fewer puffers in the park during the summer months. Clearly, the puffers are choosing to spend their summers elsewhere. Which of the following would be the most important to determine in order to evaluate the argument?

Scientists have created double-blind studies so that neither the subjects of the experiment nor scientists know whether the subject is receiving an actual drug or a placebo, which is nothing more than a sugar pill. Essentially, if one knows whether one is receiving actual medicine or a placebo, such knowledge can affect the outcome of a study. A recent double-blind study on the effectiveness of the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) Freloxamine on depression found that those subjects administered the drug were 15% more likely to have a decrease in symptoms than the control group, which was comprised of those who received a placebo. Since neither group knew which they were receiving, the placebo or the SSRI, the observed drop in depression can only be attributed to Freloxamine. Which of the following, if true, best calls into question the conclusion of the argument?

A construction project has been tasked with building a four-lane road from a remote mountain fortress to a major expressway lying at the base of the mountain. The slope leading to the mountain fortress is so precipitous that the only conceivable way to carry out the project is by building the road downhill, since construction equipment is able to move down, but not up, the steep terrain. The foreman has devised the following solution: dismantle each construction vehicle and tie a part upon the back of a donkey, an animal capable of making the steep ascent. The foreman has at his disposal more than 100 donkeys, each of which is capable of making multiple trips up the mountain. In order for the foreman's plan to be successful, which of the following pieces of information is most important?

Linguist: Each language has a word that captures a concept or emotional state in a way that no other language does. To capture such a breadth of expression, an artificial language should be created that contains words corresponding to all the different concepts and emotional states captured by the world's languages. That is not to say that such a language would contain as many words as there are in all the world's languages. Rather, only for those words that have no corresponding word in another language. While such a plan is hugely ambitious, the resulting language would be more thorough than any existing language. The conclusion drawn above depends on which of the following assumptions?

Mayor: the commuters from the nearby suburb of Coldstream perennially complain of a difficult commute to our downtown region. To address these concerns, we should install high-speed toll collector on the interstate between here and Coldstream, thus relieving any traffic snarls caused by the hand-operated toll booths. Civil engineer: Over 95% of commuters from Coldstream take local roads, not the interstate, to our downtown region. The civil engineer uses which of the following techniques in responding to the mayor?

The city of Littleville wishes to institute a congestion charge, in which cars driving through the most crowded streets of Littleville, in the downtown area, would pay a fee when they did so. Proponents argue that, in these circumstances, most of the drivers in the city would choose to use outlying roads. This reduction in the traffic in downtown Littleville would help reduce the number of car accidents in the area.The conclusion drawn in the above argument depends on which of the following assumptions?

Aviation Analyst: To combat human error involved in air traffic control, Miro Jets Inc. has recently installed each of its DC-10 passenger planes with a special anti-collision device. The device alerts the DC-10, via a red light, when another plane is slightly more than three minutes away from a potential collision. The red light comes on and stays on until the approaching plane is safely out of range. Aviation experts at Miro Jet Inc. have determined that three minutes is ample time for a plane to divert its respective flight path to avoid a collision. Therefore, if the red light on the anti-collision device is off, the DC-10 is more than three minutes flying time from any plane. Which of the following, if true, most fundamentally calls into question the aviation analyst's argument?

The Malbec grape, originally grown in France, has become the main varietal in Argentina. This is surprising because most Malbec grown in Argentina is grown at high altitudes, whereas the Malbec grape once was grown at low altitudes. Therefore, Argentinian winegrowers should grow the Malbec grape at low elevations.Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion of the argument?

Lawrence County has seven county run hospitals. Because three privately run hospitals are now in existence in the county, Lawrence has decided to close one of its seven county hospitals, to reduce costs to the county. The county executives want to choose a hospital to close so that its absence has the fewest negative health consequences for citizens of the county. An independent consulting firm, advising the county executives, has recommended closing the hospital with the highest fatality rate. Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the consulting firm's recommendation for the choosing the hospital to close?

Because state sanctions against hunting have been eased, Deersdale Preserve has experienced an influx of hunters in the last several months. During this time, the silvertail fox, a popular target for hunters, has seen a marked decrease in population. Therefore, to prevent the population of silvertail fox-an important apex predator responsible for keeping the Deersdale County's rabbit population in check-from falling even lower, the state should once again place strict sanctions against hunting.Which of the following, if true, most strongly suggests that stricter sanctions against hunting would not have the desired effect?

For years, Pleasanton was a commuter community to industries in Middleburg. The close of several factories in Middleburg has set in motion a wave of mortgage defaults: citizens of Pleasanton are foreclosing on their houses in significant numbers. Many of the mortgages were held by local banks, and these adversely affected banks have been under pressure from their boards to offset the banks' losses. One principal means to recoup these losses is for the banks to raise interest rates, including mortgage rates. If those owning property in Pleasanton continue to default on their mortgages, then the mortgage rates offered by these banks will continue to rise.Which of the following, if true, best supports the conclusion that mortgage rates in Pleasanton will continue to increase?

Ten years ago, the Salisbury City Council passed the Culinary Bill, new legislation to protect the interests of local non-franchise restaurants. Of the 120 local non-franchise restaurants in Salisbury today, 85 opened during the last ten years. Clearly the Culinary Bill has caused a surge in the number of local non-franchise restaurants operating in Salisbury over the past ten years. Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Omega Corporation has hired two management consultant firms, ManageFix! and EfficiencyRun, to help cut unnecessary costs by streamlining its corporate structure. By following ManageFix!'s plan, Omega Corp. will save more money than it would by following EfficiencyRun's plan. Therefore, by following ManageFix!'s plan, Omega Corp. will be doing the most that can be done to cut unnecessary costs due to inefficient corporate structure.Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Along the mudflats of Garantia exist two types of annelids: earthworms and lugworms. Earthworms tend to emerge from the mud early in the morning when there is more moisture and nutrients. As a result, earthworms have access to more nutrients and thus reproduce far faster than the lugworm, which spends much of the day submerged in the mud. Nonetheless, the lugworm population far outnumbers that of the earthworm.Which of the following, if true, helps LEAST to resolve the apparent discrepancy noted above?