| Critical Reasoning Butler: September 2025 |
| October 20 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 At a large manufacturing corporation, the ratio of the annual job-related injury insurance premium per employee to average employee annual net pay increased between 1978 and 2003. Yet, the annual number of job-related injuries per employee during that time decreased by more than 30 percent.
Which of the following, if true, best explains the discrepancy outlined above?
A. From 1978 to 2003, the severity of job-related injuries at the corporation decreased significantly due to compliance with new workplace safety rules.
B. The number of employees at the corporation decreased between 1978 and 2003.
C. During the 1978– 2003 period, inflation significantly eroded the purchasing power of the dollar.
D. The corporation did not change its insurance provider during the 1978– 2003 period.
E. Between 1978 and 2003, health care costs per job-related injury rose sharply, pressuring insurance providers to raise premiums.
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CR 2 For the past year, a network television talk-show host has been making fun of the name pf a particular brand of chainsaw, the Tree Toppler. The ridicule is obviously taking its toll: in the past 12 months, sales of the Tree Toppler have declined by 15%, while the sales of other chainsaws have increased.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the conclusion drawn above?
A. The talk-show host who is ridiculing the Tree Toppler name actually owns a Tree Toppler.
B. The number of product complaints from owners of Tree Toppler has not increased in the past year.
C. The average price of all chainsaws has increased by 10 percent in the past year.
D. The number of Stores that sell the Tree Toppler has remained steady for the past year.
E. A year ago, a leading consumer magazine rated the Tree Toppler as "intolerably unsafe."