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09 May 2026, 09:11
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A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
(N/A)
Question Stats:
75% (00:56) correct
25%
(00:29)
wrong
based on 4
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Not Attempted Yet
Letter to the editor: According to last Thursday's editorial, someone who commits a burglary runs almost no risk of being caught. This is clearly false. Police reports show that at least 70 percent of people who commit crimes are caught. All burglars are criminals, so although some burglars will undoubtedly escape, a large percentage of them will eventually be caught.
Which one of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning parallel to that exhibited in the argument that a large percentage of burglars will be caught?
(A) A large percentage of professional persons are self-employed. Thus, since nurses are professional persons, a large percentage of nurses are self-employed.
(B) Psychiatrists have medical training, and a large percentage of them also have social-work training. Therefore, some people who have social-work training also have medical training.
(C) Since a large percentage of professional persons have changed their careers, and since career changes require new training, all professional persons who have changed their careers required new training.
(D) A large percentage of doctors are specialists. Since anyone who is a specialist must have training beyond the usual medical curriculum, it follows that many doctors have training beyond the usual medical curriculum.
(E) Many engineers are employed in management positions, and since anyone in a management position needs training in management, many engineers need training in management.
Which one of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning parallel to that exhibited in the argument that a large percentage of burglars will be caught?
(A) A large percentage of professional persons are self-employed. Thus, since nurses are professional persons, a large percentage of nurses are self-employed.
(B) Psychiatrists have medical training, and a large percentage of them also have social-work training. Therefore, some people who have social-work training also have medical training.
(C) Since a large percentage of professional persons have changed their careers, and since career changes require new training, all professional persons who have changed their careers required new training.
(D) A large percentage of doctors are specialists. Since anyone who is a specialist must have training beyond the usual medical curriculum, it follows that many doctors have training beyond the usual medical curriculum.
(E) Many engineers are employed in management positions, and since anyone in a management position needs training in management, many engineers need training in management.
09 May 2026, 09:29
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I think the ans is option a
The flaw in the original argument is:
“70% of criminals are caught”
→ burglars are criminals
→ therefore a large percentage of burglars will be caught.
That logic is flawed because it assumes that what is true for the larger group must also be true for a subgroup.
Option A follows the exact same pattern:
“A large percentage of professional persons are self-employed”
→ nurses are professional persons
→ therefore a large percentage of nurses are self-employed.
Again, it wrongly transfers a property of the larger group to one specific subgroup.
That is why A is the best parallel.
Quick elimination:
(B) Valid conclusion. If many psychiatrists have both trainings, then at least some people with social-work training also have medical training.
(C) Talks about all career changers needing training. Different structure entirely.
(D) This is actually reasonable logic:
many doctors are specialists + specialists need extra training
→ many doctors have extra training.
(E) Also structurally valid:
many engineers are managers + managers need management training
→ many engineers need management training.
So only A reproduces the same flawed reasoning pattern.
Answer: A
The flaw in the original argument is:
“70% of criminals are caught”
→ burglars are criminals
→ therefore a large percentage of burglars will be caught.
That logic is flawed because it assumes that what is true for the larger group must also be true for a subgroup.
Option A follows the exact same pattern:
“A large percentage of professional persons are self-employed”
→ nurses are professional persons
→ therefore a large percentage of nurses are self-employed.
Again, it wrongly transfers a property of the larger group to one specific subgroup.
That is why A is the best parallel.
Quick elimination:
(B) Valid conclusion. If many psychiatrists have both trainings, then at least some people with social-work training also have medical training.
(C) Talks about all career changers needing training. Different structure entirely.
(D) This is actually reasonable logic:
many doctors are specialists + specialists need extra training
→ many doctors have extra training.
(E) Also structurally valid:
many engineers are managers + managers need management training
→ many engineers need management training.
So only A reproduces the same flawed reasoning pattern.
Answer: A
09 May 2026, 14:15
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Letter to the editor: According to last Thursday's editorial, someone who commits a burglary runs almost no risk of being caught. This is clearly false. Police reports show that at least 70 percent of people who commit crimes are caught. All burglars are criminals, so although some burglars will undoubtedly escape, a large percentage of them will eventually be caught.
Which one of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning parallel to that exhibited in the argument that a large percentage of burglars will be caught?
The flaw is that the argument takes a statistic about a broad group, criminals, and applies it to a smaller subgroup, burglars. A large percentage of all criminals being caught does not prove that a large percentage of burglars are caught. Burglars could have a much lower capture rate than criminals overall.
(A) A large percentage of professional persons are self-employed. Thus, since nurses are professional persons, a large percentage of nurses are self-employed.
Correct. This repeats the same flaw. It takes a statistic about a broad group, professional persons, and applies it to a subgroup, nurses. But nurses may not match the broader group’s pattern.
(B) Psychiatrists have medical training, and a large percentage of them also have social-work training. Therefore, some people who have social-work training also have medical training.
Wrong. This reasoning is valid. If some psychiatrists have social-work training and all psychiatrists have medical training, then some people with social-work training also have medical training.
(C) Since a large percentage of professional persons have changed their careers, and since career changes require new training, all professional persons who have changed their careers required new training.
Wrong. This does not transfer a broad-group percentage to a subgroup. It applies a condition to those who changed careers.
(D) A large percentage of doctors are specialists. Since anyone who is a specialist must have training beyond the usual medical curriculum, it follows that many doctors have training beyond the usual medical curriculum.
Wrong. This is valid: if many doctors are specialists and all specialists need extra training, then many doctors need extra training.
(E) Many engineers are employed in management positions, and since anyone in a management position needs training in management, many engineers need training in management.
Wrong. This is also valid. It correctly applies a rule to a group known to fall under that rule.
Answer: (A)
Which one of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning parallel to that exhibited in the argument that a large percentage of burglars will be caught?
The flaw is that the argument takes a statistic about a broad group, criminals, and applies it to a smaller subgroup, burglars. A large percentage of all criminals being caught does not prove that a large percentage of burglars are caught. Burglars could have a much lower capture rate than criminals overall.
(A) A large percentage of professional persons are self-employed. Thus, since nurses are professional persons, a large percentage of nurses are self-employed.
Correct. This repeats the same flaw. It takes a statistic about a broad group, professional persons, and applies it to a subgroup, nurses. But nurses may not match the broader group’s pattern.
(B) Psychiatrists have medical training, and a large percentage of them also have social-work training. Therefore, some people who have social-work training also have medical training.
Wrong. This reasoning is valid. If some psychiatrists have social-work training and all psychiatrists have medical training, then some people with social-work training also have medical training.
(C) Since a large percentage of professional persons have changed their careers, and since career changes require new training, all professional persons who have changed their careers required new training.
Wrong. This does not transfer a broad-group percentage to a subgroup. It applies a condition to those who changed careers.
(D) A large percentage of doctors are specialists. Since anyone who is a specialist must have training beyond the usual medical curriculum, it follows that many doctors have training beyond the usual medical curriculum.
Wrong. This is valid: if many doctors are specialists and all specialists need extra training, then many doctors need extra training.
(E) Many engineers are employed in management positions, and since anyone in a management position needs training in management, many engineers need training in management.
Wrong. This is also valid. It correctly applies a rule to a group known to fall under that rule.
Answer: (A)
