| Critical Reasoning Butler: January 2025 |
| January 26 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 A new town ordinance that requires all home owners to install burglar alarms and other anti-theft measures on their property has received stiff opposition from those who believe that citizens of a free society must be allowed to freely take risks, as long as those risks do not harm others. Resultantly, they conclude that it should be each home owner’s decision to install the anti-theft measures.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion drawn above?
A. Many new homes come with pre-installed anti-theft measures.
B. Property owners who do not install anti-theft measures, on average, experience greater monetary loss due to burglary than those who do install such measures.
C. Banks are required to install extremely stringent anti-theft measures.
D. The rate of burglary in states that do not have laws mandating the installation of anti-theft measures is greater than that in states that do have such laws.
E. Theft insurance rates are higher for everyone because of the need to pay for the increased losses sustained by those without anti-theft measures.
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CR 2 Lunacorp and Salem Industries are two sanitation firms that employ an equal number of workers who work the same number of hours per week. According to each company’s end of year report, the employees of Lunacorp took fewer sick leaves last year than did the employees of Salem Industries. Therefore, employees of Lunacorp are less likely to fall ill than are employees of Salem Industries.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion above?
A. Lunacorp’s expenditure on new job-related medical claims is greater than Salem Industries’.
B. Salem Industries holds more health inspections than does Lunacorp.
C. Salem Industries’ infirmary is more modern than Lunacorp’s.
D. Salem Industries provides sanitation services for environments that are more hazardous for its employees to work in than does Lunacorp.
E. Salem Industries provides more types of health-care benefits than does Lunacorp.