| Critical Reasoning Butler: April 2025 |
| April 28 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 Nearly 5 million children in the United States have asthma, the most common chronic illness of childhood. In the state of Arizona, one in twenty children has asthma, whereas in New York, one in ten children has asthma. If a couple from New York should begin their family in Arizona, their children would be less likely to develop asthma than if the family should remain in New York.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion drawn in the passage?
(A) Many asthmatics do not believe that moving to Arizona will significantly decrease the risk of developing asthma.
(B) The governor of New York's claims that statistics for her state are inaccurate has been proven false.
(C) Whether or not a child develops asthma depends on genetic factors.
(D) Developing asthma is usually a result of environmental factors.
(E) The average child from New York has better lung capacity than the average child from Arizona.
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CR 2 Bankruptcy is a process that depends on a variety of structural, fiscal, and human variables. These variables are different at every company. Therefore, the pattern of companies declaring bankruptcy should be random. Yet tax records from 2010 demonstrate a pattern: a large number of companies throughout the United States declared bankruptcy at the same time.
Which of the following, if true, forms the best basis for at least a partial explanation for the pattern of bankruptcy shown by the tax records?
A. Certain financial problems affect only some types of businesses with particular sets of characteristics unique to their industry.
B. Many companies go bankrupt because the economies of the states in which they are located force them to go into gradual but increasing debt.
C. Companies without franchises in more than one country are more likely to declare bankruptcy.
D. From 2005-2015, government loans and intervention changed the pattern of bankruptcy in the United States.
E. Patterns of bankruptcy emerge when widespread economic issues affect numerous companies.