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In the past most airline companies minimized aircraft weight to minimize fuel costs. The safest airline seats were heavy, and airlines equipped their planes with few of these seats. This year the seat that has sold best to airlines has been the safest one—a clear indication that airlines are assigning a higher priority to safe seating than to minimizing fuel costs.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
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Thousands of people have tonsillectomies every year and all live normal lives after the operation. We can conclude, from this observation, that the tonsils have no function in the body.
The argument would be most weakened by which of the following, if it were true?
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Between 1975 and 1985, nursing-home occupancy rates averaged 87 percent of capacity, while admission rates remained constant, at an average of 95 admissions per 1,000 beds per year. Between 1985 and 1988, however, occupancy rates rose to an average of 92 percent of capacity, while admission rates declined to 81 per 1,000 beds per year.
If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusions can be most properly drawn?
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An airplane engine manufacturer developed a new engine model with safety features lacking in the earlier model, which was still being manufactured. During the first year that both were sold, the earlier model far outsold the new model; the manufacturer thus concluded that safety was not the customers’ primary consideration.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the manufacturer’s conclusion?
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A computer equipped with signature-recognition software, which restricts access to a computer to those people whose signatures are on file, identifies a person’s signature by analyzing not only the form of the signature but also such characteristics as pen pressure and signing speed. Even the most adept forgers cannot duplicate all of the characteristics the program analyzes.
Which of the following can be logically concluded from the passage above?
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Firms adopting “profit-related-pay” (PRP) contracts pay wages at levels that vary with the firm’s profits. In the metalworking industry last year, firms with PRP contracts in place showed productivity per worker on average 13 percent higher than that of their competitors who used more traditional contracts.
If, on the basis of the evidence above, it is argued that PRP contracts increase worker productivity, which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken that argument?
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It is often thought that our own modern age is unique in having a large number of people who live into old age. It has frequently been assumed that plagues, wars, and harsh working conditions killed off most people in previous ages before they could reach old age. However, recent research shows that in 17th century Europe, for example, people over sixty comprised 10 percent of the population. The studies also revealed that although infant mortality remained high until the 20th century in Europe, people who survived to adulthood could expect to live to be old.
The portions in boldface play which of the following roles in the argument above?
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A rare disease, malicitis, is being diagnosed with increasing frequency. The number of cases reported this year is more than double the number reported four years ago. The government should now allocate more funds for treatment and prevention of malicitis.
All of the following, if true, would weaken the conclusion except
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Recent studies have highlighted the harmful effects of additives in food (colors, preservatives, flavor enhancers etc.). There are no synthetic substances in the foods we produce at Munchon Foods ` we use only natural ingredients. Hence you can be sure you are safeguarding your family`s health when you buy our products.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the contention of Munchon Foods?
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Jay: We have too many people working on each of our computers in the office. The high frequency of breakdowns is due to too many people handling the same hardware.
Ada: We have just as many people working in our office, yet we hardly need any repairs to our systems. Our systems must be more robust than yours.
Ada`s argument would be most strengthened by providing data on the
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