Because they were anxious to balance Wyoming's population of 8000 men

Question

Because they were anxious to balance Wyoming's population of 8000 men and 2000 women, the state's lawmakers extended voting rights to women in Wyoming in 1869.

Which of the following can serve as an assumption on which the lawmakers' decision was directly based?

(A) Women would vote in ways that would make Wyoming a better place to live.
(B) Women were superior to men in the ability to make political decisions.
(C) Women would want to live in a place where they could vote.
(D) Women who were willing to endure frontier conditions deserved the right to vote.
(E) Women who voted would be better citizens than those who did not.

Abhishek009 · Answer

The key words here are highlighted , so in order to Balance the Women myst want to cast their vote, hence (C) fits in perfectly....

scarletgirl · Answer

I don't understand this. Can anyone provide a better explanation?

AbhishekDhanraJ72 · Answer

can someone expain how to solve these types of questions.???

Sajal089 · Answer

all the other options except C do not justify the lawmakers proposal 
as the population is to be balanced,giving women right to vote can act as an incentive for them to live in wyoming

SiffyB · Answer

Hi @scarlestgirl,

I'm happy to help!

We need to balance the population, meaning either decrease the male population or increase the female population. 
How can be do that? According to the conclusion, I understood that voting rights were somehow connected to the balance that the lawmakers were wanting to achieve. Maybe extending the voting rights would please the women and more women would consider moving to Wyoming! On the other hand, maybe this move would infuriate the male population and many would consider leaving Wyoming. In either way, balance can be achieved. (C) fits properly. It says that women want to live in a place where they can vote and if Wyoming presents them with this opportunity, they might move there.

Hope that helps!

SiffyB · Answer

This is an assumption-type question. One needs to have a thorough understanding of the passage to be able to answer even the easiest of assumption questions.

As you read the passage, try to identify the conclusion and the premise. Then try to look for the reasoning the author is using to justify the conclusion. Manyatimes you will be able to identify loopholes in the argument. Think of assumption as the chain holding two doors together.

The door will open up if not fastened using a chain. We require the chain(assumption) to be able to hold the argument together. Find that missing link. You will definitely be able to think of 1-2 ways by which you can fill the gap in the author's reasoning.

Then go on to read the answer choices. You'll be able to identify the assumptions you thought of in one of the answer choices.

PS: This will take a lot of practice. Being able to come up with assumptions can be a huge task initially. Why I'm asking you to refrain from jumping to the answer choices is that they are constructed in such a way as to confuse you. Without a clear understanding of what the missing link might be, chances are that you will fall for the wrong answer choice or be torn between two to three seemingly correct answer choices.

Hope that helps!

Bangravi2711 · Answer

In the above questions, as the balancing of the population in Wyoming was anxious for the ones , so they extended voting rights to women . Here we can understand that extending voting right & achieving balance in the population has some sought of relevance and inter connectivity. Hence Option C resembles the same. Because, in the following options:-
(a) "a better place to live" .  out of context! because here we are not concerned with which kind of better place to live in. 
(b)  There is no mention of superiority comparison between men and women 
(c)  Correct 
(d) This can be a trick choice , indeed a trap option. But here women were concerned with their voting rights, not willing to endure frontier conditions deserved for the right to vote. 
(e) Can be eliminated clearly , as the meaning (explicitly) is out of scope

Because they were anxious to balance Wyoming's population of 8000 men

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Because they were anxious to balance Wyoming's population of 8000 men

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