Concert of classical music

A recent research study of undergraduate students analyzed the effects of music on human emotions. Each of the 200 participants attended at least 1 two-hour concert of classical music per week over the course of 12 weeks of their spring semester. At the end of the experiment, all of the students filled out a questionnaire assessing their emotional state. Based on the results of the questionnaires, all of the 10 students who attended the greatest number of concerts reported lower stress levels and higher satisfaction with their lives. Also, most of the 20 students who attended the fewest number of concerts reported below-average levels of emotional comfort.

Which of the following must be true based on the evidence presented above?
A. Most of the 200 participants improved their emotional state and lowered their stress levels.

B. During each week of the experiment, the participants spent at least 2 hours less on their academic work as a result of concert attendance.

C. Listening to classical music for at least 2 hours per week improves the emotional well-being of the majority of young adults.

D. More than 6 participants attended at least 14 concerts during the course of the experiment.

E. At least some of the students participated in the study in order to gain free access to classical concerts.

Ethanol

Which of me following best completes the passage below?

Adding ethanol to the gasoline used in cars reduces exhaust emissions while slightly increasing evaporation from gasoline tanks in cars and service stations. These evaporative emissions are a major component of the smog found in many large cities in the hot summer months but, except in hot weather, evaporative emissions pose less of a pollution problem than exhaust emissions do. Therefore, if air pollution were the only consideration, one could conclude that -----.

(A) ethanol should be added only to gasoline intended for use in large cities

(B) the benefits of using gasoline to which ethanol has been added are greater in hot weather than in cold weather

(C) the disadvantages of adding ethanol to gasoline are likely to be outweighed by the advantages, at least in cold weather

(D) it is not necessary to work at reducing exhaust emissions in large cities

(E) adding ethanol to the gasoline used in large cities will improve air quality in the cities in hot weather

A then B then C then D

If A, then B.
If B, then C.
If C, then D.

If all of the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true?

(A) If D, then A.
(B) If not B, then not C.
(C) If not D, then not A.
(D) If D, then E.
(E) If not A, then not D.

Top notch high school graduates

Everyone who has graduated from TopNotch High School has an intelligence quotient (IQ) of over 120. Most students with an IQ of over 120 and all students with an IQ of over 150 who apply to one or more Ivy League universities are accepted to at least one of them.

The statements above, if true, best support which of the following conclusions?

(a) Every graduate of TopNotch High School with an IQ of 150 has been accepted to at least one Ivy-League school.
(b) If a person is a high-school graduate and has an IQ of less than 100, he or she could not have been a student at TopNotch High School.
(c) If a person has an IQ of 130 and is attending an Ivy-League school, it is possible for him or her to have graduated from TopNotch High School.
(d) At least one graduate from TopNotch high school who has applied to at least one Ivy-League university has been accepted to one of them.
(e) If a high-school graduate has an IQ of 150 and is not attending an Ivy-League school, then he or she did not apply to one of them.

Rice Production in Teruvia

In Teruvia, the quantity of rice produced per year is currently just large enough to satisfy domestic demand. Teruvia’s total rice acreage will not be expanded in the foreseeable future, nor will rice yields per acre increase appreciably. Teruvia’s population, however, will be increasing significantly for years to come. Clearly, therefore, Teruvia will soon have to begin importing rice.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. No pronounced trend of decreasing per capita demand for rice is imminent in Teruvia.
B. Not all of the acreage in Teruvia currently planted with rice is well suited to the cultivation of rice.
C. None of the strains of rice grown in Teruvia are exceptionally high-yielding.
D. There are no populated regions in Teruvia in which the population will not increase.
E. There are no major crops other than rice for which domestic production and domestic demand are currently in balance in Teruvia.

Air pollution

In 1986, the city of Los Diablos had 20 days on which air pollution reached unhealthful amounts and a smog alert was put into effect. In early 1987, new air pollution control measures were enacted, but the city had smog alerts on 31 days that year and on 39 days the following year. In 1989, however, the number of smog alerts in Los Diablos dropped to sixteen. The main air pollutants in Los Diablos are ozone and carbon monoxide, and since 1986 the levels of both have been monitored by gas spectrography.

Which of the following statements, assuming that each is true, would be LEAST helpful in explaining the air pollution levels in Los Diablos between 1986 and 1989?

• (A) The 1987 air pollution control measures enacted in Los Diablos were put into effect in November of 1988.
• (B) In December of 1988 a new and far more accurate gas spectrometer was invented.
• (C) In February of 1989, the Pollution Control Board of Los Diablos revised the scale used to determine the amount of air pollution considered unhealthful.
• (D) In 1988 the mayor of Los Diablos was found to have accepted large campaign donations from local industries and to have exempted those same industries from air pollution control measures.
• (E) Excess ozone and carbon monoxide require a minimum of two years to break down naturally in the atmosphere above a given area.

The American Revolution

Question:
The American Revolution arose partly in response to British general search warrants, which gave arbitrary and intrusive powers to government officers. Thus, the founders created the Fourth Amendment to protect against unreasonable and warrant-less intrusions of privacy by a powerful and partisan federal government. During the 20th century, countless dictators have used arbitrary and intrusive surveillance to monitor and suppress dissidents. Any democracy that does not enforce equally extensive protections will systematically suppress dissent.

Which of the following, if true, best weakens the argument?

a) The United Kingdom’s parliamentary system does not have such extensive protections but has never systematically suppressed dissent.
b) Many dictators have been very beneficial and constructive leaders for their countries.
c) Many democracies have haphazardly used surveillance to monitor dissidents and suppress dissent during times of war.
d) Some dictators have been supported by the United States.
e) At least some countries in the former Soviet Union now have democratic elections but still suppress dissent.

Nematodes

Question: Nematodes

Potato cyst nematodes are a pest of potato crops. The nematodes can lie dormant for several years in their cysts, which are protective capsules, and do not emerge except in the presence of chemicals emitted by potato roots. A company that has identified the relevant chemicals is planning to market them to potato farmers to spread on their fields when no potatoes are planted; any nematodes that emerge will soon starve to death.

Which of the following, if true, best supports the claim that the company’s plan will be successful?

• (A) Nematodes that have emerged from their cysts can be killed by ordinary pesticides.
• (B) The only part of a potato plant that a nematode eats is the roots.
• (C) Some bacteria commonly present in the roots of potatoes digest the chemicals that cause the nematodes to emerge from their cysts.
• (D) Trials have shown that spreading even minute quantities of the chemicals on potato fields caused nine-tenths of the nematodes present to emerge from their cysts.
• (E) The chemicals that cause the nematodes to emerge from their cysts are not emitted all the time the potato plant is growing.

Fish consumption in Jurania

Question: Fish consumption in Jurania

From 1980 to 1989, total consumption of fish in the country of Jurania increased by 4.5 percent, and total consumption of poultry products there increased by 9.0 percent. During the same period, the population of Jurania increased by 6 percent, in part due to immigration to Jurania from other countries in the region.

If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true on the basis of them?

• A. During the 1980’s in Jurania, profits of wholesale distributors of poultry products increased at a greater rate than did profits of wholesale distributors of fish.
• B. For people who immigrated to Jurania during the 1980’s, fish was less likely to be a major part of their diet than was poultry.
• C. In 1989 Juranians consumed twice as much poultry as fish.
• D. For a significant proportion of Jurania’s population, both fish and poultry products were a regular part of their diet during the 1980’s.
• E. Per capita consumption of fish in Jurania was lower in 1989 than in 1980.

Fresh Potatoes

Question:

Fresh potatoes generally cost about $2 for a 10-pound bag, whereas dehydrated instant potatoes cost, on average, about $3 per pound. It can be concluded that some consumers will pay 15 times as much for convenience, since sales of this convenience food continue to rise.

Which of the following, if true, indicates that there is a major flaw in the argument above?

• (A) Fresh potatoes bought in convenient 2-pound bags are about $1 a bag, or 2 1/2 times more expensive than fresh potatoes bought in 10-pound bags.
• (B) Since fresh potatoes are 80 percent water, one pound of dehydrated potatoes is the equivalent of 5 pounds of fresh potatoes.
• (C) Peeled potatoes in cans are also more expensive than the less convenient fresh potatoes.
• (D) Retail prices of dehydrated potatoes have declined by 20 percent since 1960 to the current level of about $3 a pound.
• (E) As a consequence of labor and processing costs, all convenience foods cost more than the basic foods from which they are derived.

Guidebook writer

Question:

Guidebook writer: I have visited hotels throughout the country and have noticed that in those built before 1930 the quality of the original carpentry work is generally superior to that in hotels built afterward. Clearly carpenters working on hotels before 1930 typically worked with more skill, care, and effort than carpenters who have worked on hotels built subsequently.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the guidebook writer’s argument?

• A. The quality of original carpentry in hotels is generally far superior to the quality of original carpentry in other structures, such as houses and stores.
• B. Hotels built since 1930 can generally accommodate more guests than those built before 1930.
• C. The materials available to carpenters working before 1930 were not significantly different in quality from the materials available to carpenters working after 1930.
• D. The better the quality of original carpentry in a building, the less likely that building is to fall into disuse and be demolished.
• E. The average length of apprenticeship for carpenters has declined significantly since 1930.

Public Library

Question :

If the public library shared by the adjacent towns of Redville and Glenwood were relocated from the library’s current, overcrowded building in central Redville to a larger, available building in central Glenwood, the library would then be within walking distance of a larger number of library users. That is because there are many more people living in central Glenwood than in central Redville, and people generally will walk to the library only if it is located close to their homes.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

• (A) The public library was located between Glenwood and Redville before being moved to its current location in central Redville.
• (B) The area covered by central Glenwood is approximately the same size as that covered by central Redville.
• (C) The building that is available in Glenwood is smaller than an alternative building that is available in Redville.
• (D) Many of the people who use the public library do not live in either Glenwood or Redville.
• (E) The distance that people currently walk to get to the library is farther than what is generally considered walking distance.

Male Baldness

Question 1:

Most doctors dismiss male pattern baldness as a problem of heredity. A new theory, however, postulates that baldness can also result from number of external factors, such as a stressful urban lifestyle. Supporters of this new theory point out that baldness is twice as common among male who live in cities as it is among those who live elsewhere.

Which of the following most weakens the new theory described above?

A - Scientists have developed several drugs that halt baldness in men and can be taken internally
B - Census reports show that most men who are born in large cities live almost their entire lives within the city of their birth to remain close to their families
C - Most men do not develop male pattern baldness until they reach the age of 55, at which point their thoughts turn to pursuing a more restful lifestyle
D - Men who never lived in large cities are those who are least likely to develop male pattern baldness
E -A study determined that bald men are less likely to marry and reproduce