Logical Reasoning

PT8 · S1 · Q10 If the public library shared

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If the public library shared by the adjacent towns of Redville and Glenwood were relocated from the library’s current, overcrowded building in central Redville to a larger, available building in central Glenwood, the library would then be within walking distance of a larger number of library users.

Conclusion

The library would be within walking distance of a larger number of library users if relocated to central Glenwood.

Evidence (that is because)

There are many more people living in central Glenwood than in central Redville. People generally will walk to the library only if it is located close to their homes.

Evaluate

This argument has a Plan / Goal format.

PLAN: relocate the library to central Glenwood

GOAL: more library users in walking distance of the library

The author suggests moving the library to central Glenwood will put it within walking distance of more users because there are more people in central Glenwood than in central Redville, where the library currently is.

Maybe there are more people there, but a way smaller proportion of them use the library. Maybe there are reasons why people are less willing to walk to places in central Glenwood.

Goal

Let's find an answer that reinforces the idea that a move to Glenwood would make the library more accessible by foot to more people.

10.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

  1. The public library was located

    No Impact

    The library's past location doesn't affect the current comparison between Redville and Glenwood. Whether the library was previously between the towns is unrelated to whether it will have more nearby users in Glenwood.

    3% picked this

  2. Correct

    The area covered by central

    Why this is right

    If central Glenwood is approximately the same size as central Redville, and if there are more people in central Glenwood (as we were told), then central Glenwood has higher population density, which helps us argue that a library there would be in walking distance of more people. By contrast, if central Glenwood was a much larger area than central Redville, then even though there are more people in central Glenwood, it could be that a library somewhere in central Glenwood will still be out of walking distance for many residents. (i.e. there are more people in LA than in NYC, but there are more people who walk to things in NYC because stuff is compressed, not spread out over a huge area of land)

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

    50% picked this

  3. The building that is available

    Irrelevant Comparison

    This might suggest that fewer people could be inside the library at any given time, but it wouldn't have anything to do with how many people live within walking distance. If anything, this weakens by making it seem like people would be less inclined to use the library in central Glenwood.

    1% picked this

  4. Many of the people who

    No Impact

    Users who do not live in either town are not relevant to the argument's concern about number of users within walking distance. Whether the library is in Glenwood or Redville, these people will NOT be within walking distance.

    2% picked this

  5. The distance that people currently

    Unclear Impact

    It's hard to know whether this would still be true in Glenwood, so it doesn't really give us any way to compare having the library in Redville vs. in Glenwood. It sounds like Redville has an "unexpectedly high number of users who walk" because their average distance surpasses what we'd guess people would be willing to walk. So if anything, that hurts the author and allows an opponent to say there are more walking-users in Redville.

    45% picked this

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