| Critical Reasoning Butler: May 2026 |
| May 29 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 Demand for gold has been stagnant for five years now. However, despite the fact that prices and production amounts have also been steady during the last five years, gold mines experienced a twelve percent increase in profits this year.
Any of the following statements, if true about last year, helps to explain the rise in profits EXCEPT:
A. Many smaller gold mines were acquired by a larger mining conglomerate, prompting a fall in the price of mining supplies as the number of potential buyers reduced.
B. Gold mines have reduced labor costs by switching from paying miners an hourly wage to paying them by the amount of ore mined.
C. The price of cyanide, a vital component of the chemical process used to extract pure gold from its ore, dropped over twenty-five percent.
D. Many nations that consume large amounts of gold increased their production of electronics, which require the use of gold as a conductor, yet their overall use of gold decreased.
E. Taxes on mining activities in gold producing regions were lowered.
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CR 2 News anchor: The average resident of the state’s four major cities drives 150 miles per month, and most of the state’s residents live in these four cities. Moreover, the average distance driven by the residents of the state tends to remain stable from one month to the next. Therefore, most of the state’s residents drive at least 100 miles each month.
The argument presented by the news anchor is most susceptible to which of the following criticisms?
A. It reaches a conclusion for the entire state on the basis of data from just four cities.
B. It fails to consider the possibility that even if, on average, a certain distance is driven by the people within a certain group, many of those in the group may not drive at all.
C. It confuses a claim that would necessarily lead to the argument’s conclusion about the state’s residents with a claim that would only be highly likely to follow from the argument’s conclusion regarding the state’s residents.
D. It ignores the possibility that the residents of the cities may be driving outside of city limits.
E. It fails to consider the possibility that even if most residents of the state drive at least 100 miles each month, any given resident may not drive at all in some months.