Logical Reasoning

PT144 · S3 · Q21 Consumer magazine: Because

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Consumer magazine: Because front-loading washers use less water than top-loading washers, ordinary powder detergent does not dissolve readily in front-loading washers.

Conclusion (So)

To get clothes really clean in a front-loading machine, you need to use a detergent formulated for front-loaders, not an ordinary powder detergent.

Evidence

Ordinary power detergents don't dissolve readily in front-loading machines.

Evaluate

It sounds like the author cares a lot about whether or not the detergent dissolves readily. What does readily mean? Easily, quickly.

The author apparently thinks that to get clothes really clean, it would be bad if your detergent weren't dissolving readily.

We might choose to look at the argument more formally. The conclusion involves conditional logic, because it uses the necessary indicator "need". Any conditional statement, X → Y, can be read "X requires Y". Our author is saying:

Getting clothes → Using special detergent really clean (requires) not, ordinary powder

The contrapositive creates this logic path:

Use ordinary Clothes not detergent -------------> really clean

The evidence does not define any "legal standard" of really clean / not really clean, but it does discuss a fact about using ordinary powder detergent: it doesn't dissolve readily.

So the evidence provides this part of the conclusion's logic path:

Use ordinary not dissolve detergent → readily

The missing assumption completes the logic path:

not dissolve clothes not readily → really clean

Goal

Look for something saying that it's bad when your detergent doesn't dissolve readily. It impedes your ability to get clothes really clean.

The argument also assumes a difference when it comes to the detergent formulated especially for front-loading washers. It assumes that this detergent does dissolve readily (and that it doesn't introduce any new factors that preclude clothes from getting really clean).

21.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument in the consumer magazine?

  1. All top-loading washing machines use

    Too Strong: all / same

    This is way too extreme: 100% of top-loaders use an identical amount of water? Our author has not committed herself to that outrageous claim.

    1% picked this

  2. A laundry detergent formulated especially

    Wrong Comparison

    The author needs to assume that a laundry detergent formulated especially for front-loading washers dissolves more readily in them than ordinary powder dissolves in them. The argument doesn't need to consider how specially formulated front-loading detergents do if they're used in a top-loader. The conclusion is only about using a front-loader, either with ordinary powder or with specially formulated detergent.

    12% picked this

  3. A washing machine gets clothes

    Too Strong: only

    The author is saying in the case of a front-loading machine, you need to get a detergent that's specially formulated for that type of machine. But he hasn't committed himself to believing this is sort of matching, custom-detergent is needed for other types of machines too. We don't have any reason to think he believes that getting clothes really clean on a top-loader necessitates getting a specially formulated detergent for top-loaders.

    7% picked this

  4. Correct

    A laundry detergent does not

    Why this is right

    The author's reason for eschewing ordinary powder detergent is that it doesn't dissolve readily. He says you can't get clothes really clean in a front-loader if you use the ordinary powder. So he is assuming that you can't get clothes really clean if the detergent doesn't dissolve readily. Conditionally, this is the missing link we predicted. Unless = (if-not) = left side + negated Not dissolve → does not get readily really clean

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

    80% picked this

  5. Washers that use more water

    Unnecessary Comparison

    The author's conclusion is only about using a front-loading machine. The argument doesn't need to assume any sweeping comparisons about different types of washers. It only needs to assume specially formulated detergents for front-loaders dissolve more readily in front-loaders than ordinary powder detergents do, and that dissolving more readily in this front-loading washer makes the clothes more likely to come out really clean.

    1% picked this

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