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whiplash2411
Joined: 09 Jun 2010
Last visit: 02 Mar 2015
Posts: 1,761
Given Kudos: 210
Status:Three Down.
Concentration: General Management, Nonprofit
Schools: HBS '17 (M) Stanford '17 (A)
21 Oct 2010, 12:04
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For instructions on how to register for this competition, please read Bi-Weekly GMAT Challenge. Make sure to read the rules of the competition there before posting on this thread!!
Challenge 1
Question Type: Critical Reasoning
Deadline: Friday, October 22nd 2010 - 3pm Pacific Time
Results announced: Friday October 22nd 2010.
Prize: Veritas Prep Essentials Course!!!
Winner: shamikba
It is not logical to infer a secondary effect from a cause which is known only by one specific effect. This is not correct because the inferred effect must necessarily be produced by some other characteristic of the cause than is the observed effect, which already serves entirely to describe the cause.
Which one of the following arguments makes the same logical error as the one described by the author in the passage?
(A) An anonymous socialite donated a million dollars to the orphanage. I would guess that he also volunteers at the cancer institute.
(B) The radiation from the nuclear bomb caused some genetic variations and mutations in the mother, which lead to the birth defect in the child. Therefore, the radioactive material caused the birth defect.
(C) Every uranium atom possesses great power. It is also minuscule and not visible to the naked eye. It must be its highly complex structure that produces this power.
(D) The local bands that play at the farmer’s festival received more funds from the municipality this year than ever before. Clearly this administration is more civic-minded than previous ones.
(E) If I cool water, which is a liquid, it condenses. If I cool hundreds of other liquids like water, they condense. Therefore, if I cool any liquid like water, it will condense.
Which one of the following arguments makes the same logical error as the one described by the author in the passage?
(A) An anonymous socialite donated a million dollars to the orphanage. I would guess that he also volunteers at the cancer institute.
(B) The radiation from the nuclear bomb caused some genetic variations and mutations in the mother, which lead to the birth defect in the child. Therefore, the radioactive material caused the birth defect.
(C) Every uranium atom possesses great power. It is also minuscule and not visible to the naked eye. It must be its highly complex structure that produces this power.
(D) The local bands that play at the farmer’s festival received more funds from the municipality this year than ever before. Clearly this administration is more civic-minded than previous ones.
(E) If I cool water, which is a liquid, it condenses. If I cool hundreds of other liquids like water, they condense. Therefore, if I cool any liquid like water, it will condense.
Chosen Answer:
Correct Answer Choice: A
Explanation: (Chosen from shamikba's answer)
The error described is that once you derive a cause from a particular effect, you should not infer another effect from that same cause.
Lets break each choice down into cause and effects.
a. The effect is that donor has donated to an orphanage. The cause could be say he is benevolent, or he likes the orphanage or something else. The argument tries to infer a secondary effect that the donor would also volunteer and per the author this suffers from the inference error of inferring a secondary effect from the cause. Hence this choice is correct
b. This is incorrect. The cause here is radiation from the bomb. The primary effect is mutations in the mother. The effect in turn causes a secondary effect of birth defects in the child. Thus you are inferring the secondary effect from the primary effect and not from the cause
c.This is incorrect. Here you are taking two effects and trying to determine/infer a cause that applies to both effects simultaneously. The first effect is that the uranium atom has great power. The second effect is that it is miniscule. Using these two effects a common cause is inferred that the cause of both these effects is the complex structure.
d.This is incorrect. Here a single cause is derived from an effect. Now secondary effect is inferred. The primary effect is that local bands received more funds than ever before. The cause being inferred from this effect is that the administation is more civic minded this year. There is no secondary effect being inferred in this statement
e. This is incorrect. Here you are taking a specific effect and a generalized effect and for each inferring a cause (which happens to be the same). Then you are inferring a secondary effect from this cause.
The specific effect is that water condenses when cooled and the cause inferred is that it is liquid. The second generalized effect is that all liquids condense when cooled, therefore they are liquid. Both these cause effect combinations are used to infer yet another further generalized effect (all liquids like water will condense when cooled)
Explanation: (Chosen from shamikba's answer)
The error described is that once you derive a cause from a particular effect, you should not infer another effect from that same cause.
Lets break each choice down into cause and effects.
a. The effect is that donor has donated to an orphanage. The cause could be say he is benevolent, or he likes the orphanage or something else. The argument tries to infer a secondary effect that the donor would also volunteer and per the author this suffers from the inference error of inferring a secondary effect from the cause. Hence this choice is correct
b. This is incorrect. The cause here is radiation from the bomb. The primary effect is mutations in the mother. The effect in turn causes a secondary effect of birth defects in the child. Thus you are inferring the secondary effect from the primary effect and not from the cause
c.This is incorrect. Here you are taking two effects and trying to determine/infer a cause that applies to both effects simultaneously. The first effect is that the uranium atom has great power. The second effect is that it is miniscule. Using these two effects a common cause is inferred that the cause of both these effects is the complex structure.
d.This is incorrect. Here a single cause is derived from an effect. Now secondary effect is inferred. The primary effect is that local bands received more funds than ever before. The cause being inferred from this effect is that the administation is more civic minded this year. There is no secondary effect being inferred in this statement
e. This is incorrect. Here you are taking a specific effect and a generalized effect and for each inferring a cause (which happens to be the same). Then you are inferring a secondary effect from this cause.
The specific effect is that water condenses when cooled and the cause inferred is that it is liquid. The second generalized effect is that all liquids condense when cooled, therefore they are liquid. Both these cause effect combinations are used to infer yet another further generalized effect (all liquids like water will condense when cooled)
21 Oct 2010, 12:24
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I will go with B.
(A) An anonymous socialite donated a million dollars to the orphanage. I would guess that he also volunteers at the cancer institute.
Explanation: Looks to me both statements are irrelevant. Donating and volunteering are not results of same effect.
(B) The radiation from the nuclear bomb caused some genetic variations and mutations in the mother, which lead to the birth defect in the child. Therefore, the radioactive material caused the birth defect.
Explanation: I will go with this. The effect of radiation causes birth defect in the child. But, there could be another (secondary) causes which support the birth defects.
(C) Every uranium atom possesses great power. It is also minuscule and not visible to the naked eye. It must be its highly complex structure that produces this power.
Explanation: so??? Looks to me Not Relevant
(D) The local bands that play at the farmer’s festival received more funds from the municipality this year than ever before. Clearly this administration is more civic-minded than previous ones.
Explanation: so??? Looks to me Not Relevant
(E) If I cool water, which is a liquid, it condenses. If I cool hundreds of other liquids like water, they condense. Therefore, if I cool any liquid like water, it will condense.
Explanation: We are concluding here, but that's not asked in the argument.
Cheers!
Ravi
(A) An anonymous socialite donated a million dollars to the orphanage. I would guess that he also volunteers at the cancer institute.
Explanation: Looks to me both statements are irrelevant. Donating and volunteering are not results of same effect.
(B) The radiation from the nuclear bomb caused some genetic variations and mutations in the mother, which lead to the birth defect in the child. Therefore, the radioactive material caused the birth defect.
Explanation: I will go with this. The effect of radiation causes birth defect in the child. But, there could be another (secondary) causes which support the birth defects.
(C) Every uranium atom possesses great power. It is also minuscule and not visible to the naked eye. It must be its highly complex structure that produces this power.
Explanation: so??? Looks to me Not Relevant
(D) The local bands that play at the farmer’s festival received more funds from the municipality this year than ever before. Clearly this administration is more civic-minded than previous ones.
Explanation: so??? Looks to me Not Relevant
(E) If I cool water, which is a liquid, it condenses. If I cool hundreds of other liquids like water, they condense. Therefore, if I cool any liquid like water, it will condense.
Explanation: We are concluding here, but that's not asked in the argument.
Cheers!
Ravi
21 Oct 2010, 12:35
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Answer choice A
(A) An anonymous socialite donated a million dollars to the orphanage. I would guess that he also volunteers at the cancer institute.
Correct. Because the person donated to orphanage is the only cause and the effect is the money giving part - nothing else.
(B) The radiation from the nuclear bomb caused some genetic variations and mutations in the mother, which lead to the birth defect in the child. Therefore, the radioactive material caused the birth defect.
multiple effects so incorrect.
(C) Every uranium atom possesses great power. It is also minuscule and not visible to the naked eye. It must be its highly complex structure that produces this power.
Doesn't make sense. there's no cause.
(D) The local bands that play at the farmer’s festival received more funds from the municipality this year than ever before. Clearly this administration is more civic-minded than previous ones.
doesn't make sense here. they are unrelated.
(E) If I cool water, which is a liquid, it condenses. If I cool hundreds of other liquids like water, they condense. Therefore, if I cool any liquid like water, it will condense.
sample size too small. It is inferring the conclusion based on multiple causes (cooling hundreds of other liquids) not a single cause.
(A) An anonymous socialite donated a million dollars to the orphanage. I would guess that he also volunteers at the cancer institute.
Correct. Because the person donated to orphanage is the only cause and the effect is the money giving part - nothing else.
(B) The radiation from the nuclear bomb caused some genetic variations and mutations in the mother, which lead to the birth defect in the child. Therefore, the radioactive material caused the birth defect.
multiple effects so incorrect.
(C) Every uranium atom possesses great power. It is also minuscule and not visible to the naked eye. It must be its highly complex structure that produces this power.
Doesn't make sense. there's no cause.
(D) The local bands that play at the farmer’s festival received more funds from the municipality this year than ever before. Clearly this administration is more civic-minded than previous ones.
doesn't make sense here. they are unrelated.
(E) If I cool water, which is a liquid, it condenses. If I cool hundreds of other liquids like water, they condense. Therefore, if I cool any liquid like water, it will condense.
sample size too small. It is inferring the conclusion based on multiple causes (cooling hundreds of other liquids) not a single cause.
