PT157 S3 Q24 ExplanationA smaller number of short

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Bad Evidence Match3% picked this

   A greater number of small modern apartments than of large Victorian apartments have freestanding bathtubs. Hence, a smaller percentage of large Victorian apartments than

   This answer has only one numerical comparison in its evidence: more small modern apartments than large Victorian apartments have freestanding bathtubs. It is missing the second comparison about total numbers that the original argument includes. The original has two premises (fewer successful, more total) leading to a proportion conclusion. This answer jumps from one premise to a proportion conclusion, making it structurally incomplete as a parallel.

   3%
2. B

   Correct42% picked this

   A greater number of large Victorian apartments than of modern apartments have freestanding bathtubs, even though there are more modern apartments than there are

   Why this is right

   This answer replicates the original's structure precisely. First premise: more large Victorian apartments than modern apartments have freestanding bathtubs (parallel to: more full-length sci-fi films than short documentaries are successful). Second premise: there are more modern apartments than there are Victorian apartments (parallel to: there are more short documentaries than science-fiction films). Conclusion: a higher proportion of large Victorian apartments have freestanding bathtubs (parallel to: a higher proportion of full-length sci-fi films are successful). The modifier shift is also preserved: "large Victorian apartments" in the first premise becomes "Victorian apartments" in the second -- mirroring the shift from "full-length science-fiction films" to "science-fiction films."

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

   42%
3. C

   Bad Evidence Match40% picked this

   A smaller number of small modern apartments than of large Victorian apartments have freestanding bathtubs. For even though there are more small modern apartments

   This answer reverses the relationship between evidence and conclusion. The word "for" in the second sentence is a premise indicator, meaning the proportion comparison and the total count comparison are both premises, while the raw number comparison is the conclusion. The original argument uses raw numbers and totals as premises to reach a proportion conclusion. This answer uses proportions as a premise to reach a number conclusion -- the reasoning runs in the opposite direction.

   40%
4. D

   Bad Evidence Match4% picked this

   A greater number of large Victorian apartments than of small modern apartments have freestanding bathtubs, so there are more small modern apartments than there

   The conclusion indicator "so" and premise indicator "since" reveal the structure: the number comparison and the proportion comparison are premises, while the total count comparison is the conclusion. The original argument concludes with proportions; this answer concludes with total counts. The logical direction is different: the original uses totals as evidence for proportions, while this answer uses proportions as evidence for totals.

   4%
5. E

   Bad Evidence Match10% picked this

   A smaller number of modern apartments than of Victorian apartments have freestanding bathtubs, even though there are fewer modern apartments than there are large

   This answer has several structural mismatches. The modifier shift goes in the wrong direction: it moves from "Victorian apartments" to "large Victorian apartments" in the evidence, whereas the original moves from "full-length science-fiction films" to "science-fiction films" (dropping the modifier). Also, the conclusion refers to "Victorian apartments" broadly rather than the modified form "large Victorian apartments," which is the opposite of the original's pattern where the conclusion restores the modifier. The overall numbers-to-proportions pattern is present, but the term shift pattern is reversed.

   10%