According to futuristic writings in the 1960s, robots would soon drastically reduce crime. With night vision and ability to detect the chemicals involved in ballistics, such robots could be programed to paralyze anyone roaming the street at night with a gun: virtually all criminals fit that description. These criminals would be incapacitated and thus unable to resist an easy arrest.Which of the following, if true, most strongly indicates that the logic of the prediction is flawed?

A large apartment building in a city was assessed by a city environmental bureau for the comparatively high consumption of electricity in the building, and the landlord was threatened with a possible fine if the consumption did not drop significantly in a specified period. While all built-in appliances and lighting in common areas are energy efficient, the landlord found, upon doing an inspection, many residents were using older portable heaters that are not very energy efficient. The landlord decided to send each resident a detailed letter about the electric energy consumption of these older portable heaters, recommending newer more energy efficient models that could be purchased at local stores. He hopes the letter will motivate enough residents to buy more energy efficient heaters. Which of the following, if true, would provide most support for the prediction that the landlord's letter will have its intended effect?

India ranks fifth in the world production of coffee. Popular thought has long associated India with tea and especially with masala chai, but clearly, we need to recognize India as one of the great coffee-drinking nations as well. This argument is flawed primarily because the author

While antibiotics have done inestimable good to humankind over the last seventy years, there are several drawbacks to using antibiotics that, until recently, have been overlooked. The human microbiome, which consists of the trillions of bacteria that reside in each person's body, is essential to good health. Specifically, the body contains and requires both "good" and "bad" bacteria. It is when the proper equilibrium between the "good" bacteria and the "bad" bacteria is disrupted that a number of health issues can emerge. Nonetheless, antibiotics indiscriminately kill both the "good" and the "bad" bacteria, so each course of antibiotics should be followed by a treatment that ___________________________________. Which of the following most logically completes the argument above?

In 1995, ecologists started to reintroduce the wolf into Yellowstone Park, where the wolf had been eliminated intentionally half a century earlier. Rangers expected a rise in the number of wolf would place limits on the elk population and on the populations of many mid-size mammals. One unexpected consequence was a dramatic rise in the population of foxes, which in turn helped to control many rodent populations. Which of the following, if true, most helps explain the dramatic rise in the fox population?

Phytonutrients, found in fresh fruits and vegetables, have beneficial effects on the human cardiovascular system. Because heart disease is a major health concern, American doctors should encourage all people, especially those with heart disease, to eat a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables.Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument above?

Political Analyst: "Although citizens of this state normally oppose any new taxes, they are overwhelmingly in favor of taxes that support the medical initiative. Candidate Johnson vowed to cut these taxes, and he was trounced in the primary elections. Furthermore, in a poll that asked citizens, "Would you pay higher taxes if it meant having the benefit of the new medical initiative?", an astonishing 82% replied "Yes." This is a pattern of support for taxes we have not seen before in this state."In the political analyst's argument, the portion in boldface plays which of the following roles?

Despite the anti-virus protection program installed on its computers, SmartTech has received many complaints from consumers that their computers had become infected with viruses. In order to reduce the number of its computers vulnerable to viruses, the CEO of SmartTech Corp. has had the company's engineers install three different virus-blocking programs on each computer before shipping them to consumers. Nevertheless, customer reports of computer viruses have risen since the institution of this initiative.Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain why acting on the CEO's plan failed to achieve her goal?

At Funston Stores, a salesperson's salary is comprised solely of commissions from sales. A particular salesperson's annual salary was lower in 2009 than in 2008. In both years, all of this salesperson's sales were of only one item, product X, and he made the same number of product X sales in both years. The commission percentage for all Funston salespeople has remained unchanged over the past ten years. The information above most strongly supports which of the following?

Company X and Company Y have each been building a rocket ship able to travel to Mars. After five years of design and construction, the rocket ships have been unveiled to the public, which instantly notices the rocket ships are so similar in design as to be indistinguishable. Therefore, one of the companies must have had information pertaining to the design of the other rocket ship.Which of the following, if true, would most call in to question the validity of the argument?

Six years ago, the police force of Harrisville was reduced, in an effort to make a smaller but more efficient force. In the first two years, crimes in Harrisville, especially by career criminals, were at a higher rate than they had been in the previous decades. Then, for the most recent four years, the crime rate has been the lowest in the seventy years on record, with the significant drop in crimes by career criminals. Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the change in the crime rate between the first two years after the change and the last four years?

The Ixazyiquo tribe are believed to be one of the few remaining tribes in the country of Malugiato to have never had any contact with the Lamandians, settlers who arrived in Malugiain during the last hundred years. Using satellite imagery, a team of anthropologists determined that the Ixazyiquo land is covered with thriving banana plantations. The anthropologists conclude that the Ixazyiquo tribe has in fact had direct contact with the Lamandians.Which of the following, if true, would best support the anthropologists` conclusion?

A mechanized factory with over 3000 separate conveyor belts wants to minimize the cost associated with maintenance, repair, and replacement of these belts. The conveyer belts currently are composed vulcanized rubber around a cotton web base, but the factory owners are investigating new plastic polymer design. For any given size belt, the costs for belts of the two compositions are comparable. Compared to the current rubber/cotton belts, the plastic polymer belts are lighter and easier to move, so operating the conveyor belts made of plastic polymer would consume less electric energy. A change from rubber/cotton belts to plastic polymer belts would require minor modification to some of the drive cylinders of the conveyor belts, but the costs of these changes are negligible. Which of the following would it be most useful to know in determining whether switching to the plastic polymer conveyor belts would be likely to help minimize the factory's cost related to its conveyor belt system?

Last year, the composite El-Hi education (CEHE) ranking for Silver County was its lowest score on record, since composite were first calculated in 1964. The CEHE ranking is a sophisticated weighed average of standardized testing results from Grade 1 to Grade 12. This year, the testing result for grades 1-6 in Silver County are about the same as they were last year, and the testing results for high school (grades 9-12) in Silver County are lower than last year's high school results in Silver County. Surely the middle school testing results (grades 7-9) in Silver County will also be as low as, or lower than, last year's results. Therefore, Silver County will undoubtedly establish a new low in its CEHE ranking. In the argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

Mayor of Smalltown: Instituting high taxes on sodas, which are currently untaxed in Smalltown, has been shown in the past year to encourage people to reduce their intake of soda and live healthier lifestyles. Because the effects of such taxes on local businesses have not yet been determined, though, I believe we should wait before implementing such a tax.Activist: Your position is inconsistent with previous actions you have taken. You have implemented many laws that have decreased local businesses' revenues in order to help consumers, so concern for local businesses cannot be the true reason you refuse to pass this law now.The activist's argument is flawed because it fails to consider that