Criminologist: Some legislators advocate mandating a sentence of life in prison for anyone who, having twice served sentences for serious crimes, is subsequently convicted of a third serious crime. These legislators argue that such a policy would reduce crime dramatically, since it would take people with a proven tendency to commit crimes off the streets permanently. What this reasoning overlooks, however, is that people old enough to have served two prison sentences for serious crimes rarely commit more than one subsequent crime. Filling our prisons with such individuals would have exactly the opposite of the desired effect, since it would limit our ability to incarcerate younger criminals, who commit a far greater proportion of serious crimes.

In the argument as a whole, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?

The traditional treatment of strep infections has been a seven-day course of antibiotics, either penicillin or erythromycin. However, since many patients stop taking those drugs within three days, reinfection is common in cases where those drugs are prescribed. A new antibiotic requires only a three-day course of treatment. Therefore, reinfection will probably be less common in cases where the new antibiotic is prescribed than in cases where either penicillin or erythromycin is prescribed.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

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?

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

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?

A certain city has had many vacant homes in the downtown neighborhoods. The city loses significant tax revenue each year because those houses stand unoccupied. The city felt that the fear of crime was keeping professionals from moving into these houses. Over 80% of the city's professional work force live outside of the city, in nearby suburbs, and commute daily. Plan: Five years ago, the city tripled the size of the municipal police force, increasing patrols throughout the city. All studies have confirmed that crime has dropped substantially. Result: the vacancy rate in these single-family houses has not changed substantially in five years. Further information: Almost all of the vacant houses are in excellent condition, ready for occupancy. The city supports a number of high-paying professional jobs, and the state economy has been booming over the past five years. In light of the further information, which of the following, if true, does most to explain the result that followed the implementation of the plan?

A coffee manufacturer wants more restaurant chains to serve its brands of coffee. The manufacturer is considering a plan to offer its coffee to large chains at a significantly lower price, at least for a certain period. This lower price initially will reduce the manufacturer's profits, but they hope to get into enough nationwide restaurant chains that their volume increases significantly. Once they have a much higher volume, even a small increase in their price would have an enormous effect on their profits.In evaluating the plan's chances of success, it would be most helpful to know which of the following?

Prof. Hernandez's monumental work The History of Central America covers everything about the region from the origin of the Mesoamerican period to the end of the Cold War. While the book has several informative maps and charts, many of the chapters spend less time describing facts and more time explaining Prof. Hernandez's theories. Indeed, the last two chapters consist exclusively of his exposition of theory of the role of Central America in post WWII world politics. Therefore, properly speaking, this book is not a history book. Which of the following is an assumption that supports drawing the conclusion above from the reasons given for that conclusion?