| Critical Reasoning Butler: September 2025 |
| September 1 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
_________________________________________
CR 1 Government representative: Between 1996 and 2005, the gray wolf population in Minnesota grew nearly 50 percent; the gray wolf population in Montana increased by only 13 percent during the same period. Clearly, the Minnesota gray wolf population is more likely to survive and thrive long term.
Environmentalist: But the gray wolf population in Montana is nearly 8 times the population in Minnesota; above a certain critical breeding number, the population is stable and does not require growth in order to survive.
The environmentalist challenges the government representative's argument by doing which of the following?
(A) introducing additional evidence that undermines an assumption made by the representative
(B) challenging the representative's definition of a critical breeding number
(C) demonstrating that the critical breeding number of the two wolf populations differs significantly
(D) implying that the two populations of wolves could be combined in order to preserve the species
(E) suggesting that the Montana wolf population grew at a faster rate than stated in the representative's argument
_________________________________________
CR 2 In an attempt to explain the cause of malaria, a deadly infectious disease, early European settlers in Hong Kong attributed the malady to poisonous gases supposedly emanating from low-lying swampland. In the 1880s, however, doctors determined that Anopheles mosquitoes were responsible for transmitting the disease to humans after observing that
the female of the species can carry a parasitic protozoan that is passed on to unsuspecting humans when a mosquito feasts on a person's blood.
What function does the statement in boldface fulfill with respect to the argument presented above?
(A) It provides support for the explanation of a particular phenomenon.
(B) It presents evidence that contradicts an established fact.
(C) It offers confirmation of a contested assumption.
(D) It identifies the cause of an erroneous conclusion.
(E) It proposes a new conclusion in place of an earlier conjecture.