Logical Reasoning

PT120 · S4 · Q24 New evidence suggests that the

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New evidence suggests that the collapse of Egypt’s old kingdom some 4,000 years ago was caused by environmental catastrophe rather than internal social upheaval.

Conclusion

The collapse of Egypt's Old Kingdom was caused by an environmental catastrophe rather than internal social upheaval.

Evidence

Ocean sediments reveal a period of global cooling at the time, a condition generally associated with extended droughts. The author acknowledges that while there were serious social problems in Egypt at the time, they resulted from a severe dry spell.

Evaluate

Since we have a causal conclusion, we can use our Explain Curious Fact template.

CURIOUS FACT: what caused the collapse of Egypt's Old Kingdom?

EXPLANATION: an environmental catastrophe (specifically a long drought) caused the collapse.

Goal

To strengthen the argument, we want to rule out an Alternate Explanation for the collapse (such as social issues) or boost the plausibility of the author's explanation that it was related to environmental reasons such as drought.

24.

Which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument?

  1. Historically, most civilizations have succumbed

    Weakens

    This states that most civilizations collapse due to internal strife rather than external factors, which undermines the argument's conclusion that environmental factors caused the collapse.

    2% picked this

  2. The social problems in Egypt’s

    Weakens

    This claims that Egypt's social problems were severe enough to cause the collapse, supporting the idea of internal upheaval rather than environmental causes as the main driver.

    4% picked this

  3. Correct

    At the time of the

    Why this is right

    This suggests that nearby isolated civilizations underwent sudden declines at the same time as Egypt's collapse, implying a broader regional issue like environmental catastrophe, rather than localized social problems, reinforcing the author's argument about environmental causes.

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

    78% picked this

  4. Egyptian records recovered from the

    Weakens

    This mentions that Egyptian records explicitly referred to deteriorating societal conditions, adding weight to the idea that social problems were significant during the collapse.

    15% picked this

  5. Shortly after the collapse of

    Weakens

    This tells us that a civil war occurred shortly after the collapse, hinting that social strife was significant, aligning with internal causes rather than the external environmental factors.

    2% picked this

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