Logical Reasoning

PT138 · S4 · Q3 The level of sulfur dioxide

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The level of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere is slightly higher than it was ten years ago.

Facts

comparison

Sulfur dioxide now > sulfur dioxide 10 yrs ago

causal connector (this is troubling because)

we imposed stricter it's troubling that regulations on coal >> sulfur dioxide levels plants 10 yrs ago are higher

conditional

regulations followed → level of sulfur diox lower

Evaluate

On Most Supported, the #1 thing we look for is Causality, so that causal connector of "this is troubling because" would seem real enticing.

On Must Be True, the #1 thing we look for is Conditionals, so that last sentence should be our priority.

When we see conditionals, they're usually testing us on some combination of these skills: 1) can we contrapose the rule? 2) can we chain together connected rules? 3) do any facts trigger the rule? (usually it triggers the contrapostive)

There aren't any other conditional rules, so we're not making a chain. But the first sentence does trigger the contrapositive of rule.

The contrapositive: levels of sulfur diox not lower → regulations not followed

We know the levels aren't lower. The first sentence tells us that they're actually slightly higher.

So we know that the regulations were not followed.

Goal

Let's look for an answer like,

3.

Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the statements above?

  1. If current regulations on emissions

    Bad Trigger Match

    When we see conditional answers on MBT, we can pause at the trigger and ask ourselves if we know anything for sure that springs from that trigger. Did the passage talk about what would happen if regulations aren't followed from now on? No, the statements do not provide for an inference about the future. They only tell us what would have happened if regulations had been followed.

    11% picked this

  2. Correct

    There have been violations of

    Why this is right

    Our predicted inference was that these regulations were not followed. To say a regulation wasn't followed means that someone didn't abide by or conform to the rule set out in the regulation. If you're not abiding by / conforming to a regulatory rule, you're violating that rule. So this is just a disguised version of saying "the regulations weren't followed", which we knew by combining the rule in the 3rd sentence with the fact in the 1st sentence.

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

    83% picked this

  3. If the regulations on emissions

    Bad Trigger Match

    When we see conditional answers on MBT, we can pause at the trigger and ask ourselves if we know anything for sure that springs from that trigger. Did the passage talk about what would happen if regulations are made stronger? Nope. We can't prove any certain statement about this hypothetical, because we were given no information about it.

    1% picked this

  4. Emissions from coal-burning power plants

    Too Strong (main sources)

    One would assume that sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere is a form of air pollution, but we have no comparative or emphatic wording to justify that it's one of the main sources of air pollution.

    4% picked this

  5. Government regulations will never reduce

    Too Strong (will never)

    We know that the regulations from ten years ago didn't succeed in reducing the level of sulfur dioxide, but that doesn't mean we can prove the extreme claim that regulations will never succeed at doing so.

    0% picked this

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