PT158 S2 Q22 ExplanationDevan has never bothered

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Different Flaw7% picked this

   Each officer of this club must be a member of two years standing, or be a committee member, or have special qualifications. Evelyn cannot

   This argument has a different logical structure from the stimulus. It establishes requirements for being a club officer (two years' standing OR committee member) and concludes that someone who meets neither requirement is not an officer. This is actually valid reasoning — if the requirements are genuinely necessary conditions, failing all of them does disqualify someone. The flaw in the stimulus was jumping from "fails friendship criteria" to "is an enemy" — a false dichotomy between two extreme categories. This answer concludes only that someone is not an officer, which is the direct logical consequence of failing the criteria. There is no leap to an extreme opposite category. It concludes "not-X" from failing the criteria for X, whereas the stimulus concluded "anti-X" from failing the criteria for X.

   7%
2. B

   Valid Logic15% picked this

   In order to thrive, this plant needs to be located in a sunny spot and to be watered regularly. So, since this spot is

   This argument is logically valid, not flawed. It states that a plant needs sunny location AND regular watering to thrive. The plant is not in a sunny spot, so at least one necessary condition is unmet. The conclusion — that the plant will not thrive — follows logically. This is straightforward modus tollens: if both A and B are necessary for C, and A is absent, then C will not occur. The stimulus's flaw was a false dichotomy — leaping from "not friend" to "enemy." This answer contains no such leap; it simply concludes that a necessary condition is unmet, therefore the outcome will not occur. There is no jump to an opposite extreme category.

   15%
3. C

   Correct59% picked this

   This book has been widely reviewed and hasn't received even one hostile review. Hence we can conclude that, so far, all the

   Why this is right

   This answer perfectly mirrors the stimulus's flawed reasoning. The book has been widely reviewed and received no hostile reviews, so it does not meet the criteria for a "bad" book. The conclusion then leaps to: therefore it must be a masterpiece. This is the same false dichotomy as the stimulus. Just as the stimulus jumped from "not a friend" to "enemy" (ignoring mediocre, average, or indifferent relationships), this answer jumps from "not bad" (no hostile reviews) to "masterpiece" (extreme positive), ignoring the vast middle ground of books that are merely decent, competent, forgettable, or mediocre. The structure is identical: failing to meet the criteria for one extreme category, therefore belonging to the opposite extreme category, with all intermediate categories completely overlooked. A book with no hostile reviews could simply be unremarkable — just as someone who is not a friend could simply be a stranger.

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

   59%
4. D

   Different Flaw4% picked this

   A decision in favor of developing the northern border of the town logically implies that it would be equally acceptable to develop the southern,

   This argument says a decision to develop the northern border logically implies it is not in the town's best interest to use the land for recreation. This is a different type of flaw — it assumes that choosing one use for land automatically means an alternative use is not in the town's interest. The flaw here is about conflating a decision with a judgment about the best interest, or about opportunity cost and land use exclusivity. The stimulus's flaw is a false dichotomy between two extreme relational categories (friend/enemy). This answer does not leap from "not-X" to "opposite of X" — it draws an inference about competing uses of a resource. The logical structures are different: the stimulus treats two categories as exhaustive, while this answer treats two land uses as mutually exclusive and draws an evaluative conclusion about one from the selection of the other.

   4%
5. E

   Different Flaw15% picked this

   If everyone were an author, poet, or academic, then society would come crashing to a halt. But most people are not poets or authors.

   This argument claims that if everyone belonged to certain intellectual professions, society would collapse. This is a conditional claim about a hypothetical universal scenario. The structure is entirely different from the stimulus. The stimulus identifies specific criteria not met by an individual and then classifies that individual in an extreme opposite category. This answer makes a prediction about a hypothetical world where everyone has the same profession. There is no "not-X therefore anti-X" structure, no false dichotomy between two extreme categories, and no ignored middle ground. The flaw, if any, is about the unrealistic hypothetical or about overlooking that society can have some authors without everyone being one. The logical pattern does not match.

   15%