PT155 S1 Q7 ExplanationTransportation official: I reject the claim

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   No Impact8% picked this

   Large trucks are not allowed to have studded snow tires in

   We don't car if other areas do or don't allow large trucks to have studded tires. We care about the ruts in the road in this area. Are they caused by studded tires, large trucks, or something else? This answer doesn't help us assess the causal mystery at all.

   8%
2. B

   Weakens2% picked this

   The number of ruts in the roads of the transportation official's city has declined recently as the amount of

   This supports the plausibility of the Alternate Explanation that trucks are causing the ruts. If a decrease in trucks is followed by a decrease in ruts, it looks like trucks are causing the ruts.

   2%
3. C

   Correct88% picked this

   Most of the places that allow studded snow tires but have negligible large truck traffic have roads full of ruts similar to

   Why this is right

   These data points are even better than the ones the author already presented. In these other cities, studded tires are present / trucks are absent, and the ruts are there. That increases the plausibility that the ruts are connected to studded tires, and also decreases the plausibility that the ruts are connected to trucks. This basically supports the author's explanation and also undermines the alternate explanation.

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

   88%
4. D

   Too Weak: some Weakens, if anything1% picked this

   Some cities with even more truck traffic than in the transportation official's city also have

   Answers with weak language like "some" are almost always wrong on Strengthen, Weaken, Paradox, and Sufficient Assumption. Plus, this answer would just be weakening, since it's strengthening a connection between trucks and ruts, which is the Alternate Explanation, not the author's.

   1%
5. E

   No Impact1% picked this

   Most places that have little snowfall do not allow the use of

   This answer about places where they don't have studded snow tires would only be relevant to us if we were told whether or not those places have ruts in the roads. If places that don't allow studded tires don't have ruts, then that would be a No Cause, No Effect strengthener. But we don't hear about whether these areas do or don't have ruts, so this answer has no value to us.

   1%