Disposable diapers, while a convenience, are an environmental disaster. If people would use cloth diapers instead of those made of disposable paper, much less paper would be produced saving millions of trees each year. Therefore, people should go back to buying, washing and reusing cloth diapers and Earth's precious natural resources would not be consumed so rapidly.

This argument depends of which of the following assumptions?

Industry Analyst: This summer is expected to be particularly hot and dry in the major orange-growing regions of Florida, the state accounting for the largest share of orange production in the United States. While hot and dry weather usually leads to a substantial drop in the yield of oranges, my projections indicate that the revenues of Florida orange producers will not be substantially affected by these unfavorable conditions.

Which of the following statements, if true, would support the claim of the Industry Analyst?

Advertisement: Last year, Factorial Mutual Fund continued its strong record of investment performance. Investors who included Factorial Fund in their portfolios realized an average capital gain of 15% across all of their investment assets, nearly double the market return. Therefore, investors interested in high returns should consider adding Factorial Mutual Fund to their portfolios.

The claim in the advertisement above is based on which of the following assumptions?

Spokesperson: The major school lunch vendors recently agreed to stop selling high-calorie beverages in elementary and middle schools because studies show that children of ages 7 to 8 who substitute one low-calorie beverage for one high-calorie soft drink in their daily diets will, on average, weigh 20 pounds less than they would have by the time they reach high school. Since only low-calorie beverages will be sold in schools, within six to eight years, we can expect to see a reduction in the percentage of overweight high-school children.

The spokesperson assumes which of the following to be true?

Scientist: All other things being equal, the intensity of heat increases as the distance from the heat source decreases. Knowing this, most people conclude that the Earth's seasons are caused by the Earth's changing distance from the sun. In other words, winter occurs when the Earth is far from the sun, and summer occurs when the earth is close to the sun. However, we know that as North America experiences summer, South America experiences winter, even though the difference in the continents' distance to the sun is negligible. Therefore, the earth's changing distance from the sun does not cause the seasons.

In the argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

The mayor of Coast Town has determined that the best way to pay for the construction of a new library is to charge all residents and non-residents a fee for visiting Coast Town's well-regarded beach. The mayor reasons that at current levels of visitation, the revenue generated from the beach visitation fee will pay for the new library within three years.

Which of the following pieces of information would be most useful in evaluating the mayor's conclusion?

A recent survey conducted in the New Homes magazine indicated that more than 70% of its readers are planning to purchase or build a new home over the next two years. Based on the results of the survey, the editor of the magazine concluded that over the next two years, the real estate industry is likely to experience rapid growth driven by the high market demand for new homes.

Which of the following statements, if true, would be the most damaging to the conclusion of the magazine's editor?

Antoine: The alarming fact is that among children aged 19 years and younger, the number taking antipsychotic medicines soared 73 percent in the last four years. That is greater than the increase in the number of adults taking antipsychotic medicines during the same period.

Lucy: But the use of antipsychotic drugs by adults is considered normal at the current rate of 11 adults per 1,000 taking the drugs. In contrast, the number of children on antipsychotic medication last year was 6.6 per 1,000 children.

Lucy's argument is structured to lead to which of the following as a conclusion?

Congressman Jones experienced a drop in his approval numbers after announcing that taxes in his district would increase the following year. His office also received a significant number of phone calls decrying this tax raise. Nevertheless, he claims that reactions to the tax increase were unrelated to his drop in voters' approval of him.Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports Congressman Jones's position?

Traditionally, the foundations of houses were made of concrete. A builder is experimenting with using a hard plastic polymer for foundations. A foundation made with the polymer is about the same price to construct and install as is concrete foundation. Unlike concrete, the polymer will block all water flow and is not prone to cracking with age. The builder argues that houses built with the polymer foundation will last longer. Which of the following must be studied in order to evaluate the argument presented above?

At HappyDay farms, seasonal staff is employed to pick apples during the harvest season each year. This staff is trained to identify and select only high quality apples, table-worthy apples. As part of this process, apples that have been visibly damaged by insects or disease are left to rot in the fields. The farmer who owns the property and sells the fruit is, therefore, less well informed about potential problems with his crops, such as insect infestations, than are the pickers themselves.The conclusion drawn above is based on the assumption that

Cognitive psychologist: The argument against IQ as a hereditary trait that is fixed throughout one's lifetime ignores the evidence of eye orientation. That is, there is a high correlation between the speed in which a person's eyes orient towards a stimulus and that person's IQ. Specifically, an experiment measured the number of milliseconds subjects required to orient their eyes to the where on a large screen a word was flashed. The study found that the more rapid the response the higher that person's IQ. Which of the following is an assumption the cognitive psychologist makes?

The Interstate Bridge over the Apache River, built in the 1950s, shows a substantial amount of rust: as much as 45% of its surface is coated in rust. Community activists have argued that the bridge presents a hazard: it is likely to collapse in places where it has rusted through. Professors of mechanical engineering at the local university did an extensive analysis of the bridge. These professors and their graduate students determined that 98% of the rust on the bridge exists on the surface only, and actually seals the underlying steel from the corrosive influence of the elements. The results of this academic study suggest that the bridge is safe for continued use. In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

The price of the SuperPixel high definition television, by Lux Electronics, has typically been out of the range of most consumers, a few of whom nonetheless save up for the television. This past July, the SuperPixel reduced its price by 40%, and sales during that month nearly tripled. TechWare, a popular electronics magazine, claims that the SuperPixel television should continue to see sales grow at this rate till the end of August. Which of the following suggests that TechWare's forecast is misguided?

Last week, an investigative journalist published an exposé in the newspaper, demonstrating that many of the shoes sold in a certain department store in California were made overseas in sweatshops that are alleged to use child labor. This week, the department store experienced a drop in shoe sales, after twelve weeks of robust sales of shoes. The management team of the department store maintains that the unfavorable article in the newspaper last week had nothing to do with their drop in shoe sales this week. Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the management team's position?