| Critical Reasoning Butler: February 2025 |
| February 25 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 In flightless birds, such as penguins and ostriches, the primary purpose of feathers is to preserve body heat. The feathers are effective in preserving body heat because birds are exothermic, meaning they produce their own heat. For this reason, evolutionary biologists insist that the recent discovery of fossils of prehistoric raptors, who had similar feathers, is evidence that at least some raptors were exothermic.
In the passage, the author develops the argument by
A) reaching a conclusion about an unknown phenomenon by drawing an analogy between it and a known phenomenon
B) providing a new interpretation of evidence once cited in support of an earlier hypothesis
C) putting together the theory that most completely explains several pieces of evidence that seem to oppose one another
D) theorizing about how the biological processes of today’s organisms may have developed from certain biological processes of their prehistoric ancestors
E) highlighting the differences between the environments of today’s flightless birds and those of prehistoric raptors
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CR 2 Sixty to sixty-five percent of cancer survivors suffered mobility limitations due to the effects of chemotherapy on their musculature. Treatments for preventing mobility limitations through the use of anabolic steroids have improved, but the proportion of cancer survivors who suffer from mobility limitations has increased.
Which of the following, if true, best reconciles the apparent discrepancy described above?
A. When cancer patients successfully complete a chemotherapy treatment, their musculature is unprepared to deal with the stress of performing normal activities.
B. Radiation therapy, a method of chemotherapy, can sometimes damage cancer patients’ musculature, but radiation can now be performed with less damage.
C. Thanks to improved medical technology, cancer patients who previously would have died, now live; however, this technology leaves them with more damaged musculatures than previous technology did, making the cancer survivors more likely to experience mobility issues.
D. The improvement of treatments aimed at preventing mobility loss due to chemotherapy has been gradual, and further investigation is still needed.
E. The mobility limitations caused by chemotherapy can be reduced by carefully controlling the application of chemotherapy drugs and providing physical therapy, but these methods cannot completely prevent the issue.