| Critical Reasoning Butler: November 2025 |
| November 9 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 A local department store hires college students for one month every spring to audit its unsold inventory. It costs the department store 20 percent less to pay wages to students than it would cost to hire outside auditors from a temporary service. Even after factoring in the costs of training and insuring the students against work-related injury, the department store spends less money by hiring the student auditors than it would by hiring auditors from the temporary service.
The statements above, if true, best support which of the following assertions?
(A) The amount spent on insurance for college-student auditors is more than 20 percent of the cost of paying the college students' basic wages.
(B) It takes 20 percent less time for the college students to audit the unsold inventory than it does for the outside auditors.
(C) The department store pays its college-student auditors 20 percent less than the temporary service pays its auditors.
(D) By hiring college students, the department store will cause 20 percent of the auditors at the temporary service to lose their jobs.
(E) The cost of training its own college-student auditors is less than 20 percent of the cost of hiring auditors from the temporary service.
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CR 2 Hyperkalemia occurs when the body contains an excessive amount of potassium. In severe circumstances, hyperkalemia can lead to abnormal heart rhythms. Lowering potassium levels is essential to treating those who suffer from hyperkalemia. However, patients with severe hyperkalemia are initially given an injection of calcium, even though calcium does not lower the body’s potassium levels. Instead, the calcium protects the heart from the negative effects of excess potassium. Patients are then given doses of a medicine, such as insulin or albuterol, that help reduce potassium levels.
The information given, if true, most strongly supports which of the following?
(A) If an injection of calcium is not given first, medicines such as insulin or albuterol could exacerbate the conditions of severe hyperkalemia.
(B) Patients with mild to moderate hyperkalemia are not given calcium to protect their heart.
(C) Patients given calcium injections cannot be given insulin until the calcium has provided its full effect.
(D) Not all treatments for hyperkalemia are intended to address the root cause of the condition.
(E) Patients cannot reduce their potassium levels without a sufficient intake of calcium.