Logical Reasoning

PT116 · S3 · Q2 The Fenwicks returned home from

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The Fenwicks returned home from a trip to find two broken bottles on their kitchen floor.

Curious Fact

What caused those two broken bottles on the kitchen floor?

Hypothesis

Kids broke into the open back door, attempted to raid the kitchen, knocked over the bottles, and then left.

Evaluate

Whenever we see "hypothesis" in the question stem, we know we can apply the Explain Curious Fact template.

The two ways to strengthen such arguments are two make the author's hypothesis more plausible (most common) or to rule out an alternate explanation for the curious fact.

Goal

Get rid of the four answer choices that either make the "kid" hypothesis more plausible or that rule out an alternate explanation for the broken bottles.

2.

Each of the following, if true, helps to support the Fenwicks' hypothesis EXCEPT:

  1. A neighbor thought he had

    Strengthens

    The neighbor saw the back door closing while the owners were away, which increases the plausibility that someone entered through that door, aligning with the hypothesis about the kids.

    8% picked this

  2. When the Fenwicks returned home,

    Strengthens

    Footprints on the porch strengthen the hypothesis by suggesting that kids were at the location. This physical evidence increases the plausibility of the proposed scenario.

    1% picked this

  3. The two bottles that the

    Strengthens

    This indicates that a cat could not remove bottles from the refrigerator, undermining the alternate explanation that cats knocked the bottles over.

    2% picked this

  4. There have been several recent

    Strengthens

    The fact that similar incidents have happened to other houses adds plausibility to the hypothesis that something like this could indeed happen with the kids involved.

    2% picked this

  5. Correct

    The Fenwicks returned home from

    Why this is right

    That the owners were gone longer than expected does not relate to whether the kids or another cause led to the bottles' breakage. It has no impact on the plausibility of the hypothesis or ruling out alternate causes.

    Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    87% picked this

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