Critical Reasoning for CAT/GMAT '08

[dkny.jakhar]

looking forward to a healthy participation from all of you

regards

Jakhar

[dkny.jakhar]

dear all,
i would start with few posts on basic fundas, thereby moving on to discussion on questions and solutions. thou we can find out many similar threads on PG but still i felt the need becasue we can start afresh .

regrds

Jakhar

[dkny.jakhar]

Dear all ,

Here is a post that can help you with one of the most important area in various entrance tests particularly CAT…wherein from the last 4-5 years the questions on Critical Reasoning(CR) has been a regular feature.

So, let us begin…
Before starting on with what is CR , we should understand that why these questions are asked . See , the purpose of these questions is to test your decision making ability in other words it is the lowest possible level on which your decision making approach can be tested because you’ll be the future managers , you’ll face many problems , can you identify the problems? Can you analyse the main problem from the given situation? Can you evaluate and reach to the solution ? This is on what CR tests you on…

So , let us start now by understanding what is the structure of CR type question-

A typical CR question has three parts-
A small paragraph(4-5 lines) , which is ARGUMENT according to the terminology used in CR.
Question that is asked
Answer options most 4 or 5

We’ll describe the-first part-first of all i.e. ARGUMENT

Now, why do we argue…I believe the most obvious answer to this question is that we argue to prove our point i.e. we want to prove our point of view and want the other person to agree to what ever we are saying… So likewise in the argument presented to us in CR question the author wants us to believe in whatever he is saying i.e. the point he wants to prove- this is called Conclusion .

Now I want you to believe in whatever I am trying to prove, so what would I do? Won’t I provide you with relevant facts or information so as to make you believe. These facts or reasons in CR are called PREMISES.

So, in a given argument ,Premise(s)(facts) have to be given so as to form a logical path that’ll lead me to the Conclusion(the point made by the author).But, at times the premises given to me are not sufficient to reach to the conclusion in that case we have to consider another factor that is ASSUMPTION in order to reach to the conclusion . Assumption is thus an unstated premise or a fact that along with the premise leads me to the conclusion.
So, there are three parts in an argument which follows the relation :
Premise(s) + Assumption = Conclusion
Note: it’s not that in every argument the assumption exists but if after reading the argument one feels that the premises given are not sufficient to reach to the conclusion only then there could be an assumption but if after reading the argument you feel that the premises given to me are sufficient to reach the conclusion then NO assumption exists.

Happy learning....i'll continue the post soon.......

regrds

jakhar...

P.S. i would want all my fellow puys to start posting questions and explanantion on CR questions

[dkny.jakhar]

hi friends......yet another post on critical reasoning...

we'll continue from where we left....

By now you all must be quite familiar with the terms like...Argument ? Premise ? Conclusion ?

Understanding and finding ASSUMPTION is something you must be really very good at..and if you are able to figure out the assumtion the hidden fact -in that case you have a good eye to understand the argument and thereby understanding the CR question.

But before we go on exploring and locating Assumption ...you need to do one more thing...

Whenever you come across a CR question enlist all the things given to you in an Argument- i.e locate premise , conclusion ...etc. As this would help you understand a question in a better way.

for eg. take this question- Forbear to judge ,for we are all sinners(a quote from shakespears play)

We are given a Premise:We are all sinners.
Conclusion: Forbear to judge.

So, make it a habit to locate all the elements given in an Argument.

Now we move on to exploring assumption :
for eg. Q. a >b & a>c and so, b=c.
So, enlisting what all things are given to you: P1- a>b and P2- a>c and a conclusion is b=c

Now, how to find the assumption; Ask a Q that whether the given facts are sufficient to reach to the conclusion , if the ans comes out to be Yes in that case no assumption exists ;and if the ans is No then there exists an assumption... so asking the same Q in the above question - what is the ans Yes/ No. If the ans is No then in that case you are right there exists an assumption and the assumption is A: a-b=a-c ; i.e. a is greater than b by the same value as a is greater than c. So, providing this hidden fact we are able to understand and form a logical link that'll lead to conclusion with a much better understanding.

Try another Q. The question is - Liquid Ammonia is lighter than water. So, liquid Ammonia will float on water.

Yes the first step is to enlist what all things are given to you-
P-Liquid Ammonia is lighter than water.&C- Liquid Ammonia will float on water.

Note:- At time you are given conclusion indicators in the form of words like- so, thus, hence,as a result etc. these words will help me to locate a conclusion (if given) easily.Likewise we have premise indicators like - and(connecting 2 premises), whereas , but(showing contrast) etc.

So, now comes the second thing that is to ask a question -that whether the given premise(s) sufficient to reach to the conclusion if Yes then there is no assumption , if No there exists an assumption.

So... does assumption exists or not.If the ans is Yes to the question above then you are wrong as there exists an assumption...

If your Answer is Yes these facts are sufficient then tell me ...did you use your common sense that anything that is lighter than water will float on water....if so you are breaking the Rule#1 which is- Never use your common sense.

Is it mentioned somewhere that -Anything lighter than water will float on water...No, it's not mentioned...So, we cannot take it for granted.

The Assumption : Anything lighter than water will float on water.

So, by providing this additional fact we 'll be able to understand the argument.

Other way of finding the assumtion is challenge the conclusion that...if in place of liq. ammonia there is some substance X which is lighter than water then is the conclusion valid for the substance X as well.

If you had some clarity on the issue...then try this Question

Q. India's time Zone is 5-1/2 hrs ahead of G.M.T.(Greenvich Mean Time) Hence, India lies East of U.K.

So, does the assumption exist????? to be contd

[dkny.jakhar]

Dear All ,
Here are the three rules I always apply and get result(most of the times)...

Rule# 1 : Never use your common sense while doing CR questions.
Rule# 2 : Do not forget Rule#1 ( So that tells what is the importance of Rule#1)
Rule# 3 : exhaust your logic at each and every Answer option , you'll definitely come to the correct ans option. Keep a fresh and and a clear mind while doing CR question.

Keep these rules in mind and you'll definitely crack the questions- the timely application of these rules will be told to you when we come across the questions where these rules play an important role.

Logic : Plain , Simple , Lucid.

Happy learning

regards..

Jakhar

[tzsrivastava]

Originally Posted by dkny.jakhar

looking forward to a healthy participation from all of you

regards

Jakhar

hey dkny...gud wrk dude....seggregation will surely help us to consolidate our learning effectively....but do keep posting verbal funda's on VA thread.....

take me as a avid reader and contributor here.....

rgds
tarun

[dkny.jakhar]

hi @tzssrivastava,

thanks for the encouragement,...would definitely start posting few questions on this thread,..

regards

Jakhar

[tzsrivastava]

Hi all...after all the lessons and funda's by dkny....here's the first question set on this thread...
1. A controversial program rewards prison inmates who behave particularly well in prison by giving them the chance to receive free cosmetic plastic surgery performed by medical students. The program is obviously morally questionable, both in its assumptions about what inmates might want and in its use of the prison population to train future surgeons. Putting these moral issues aside, however, the surgery clearly has a powerful rehabilitative effect as is shown by the fact that, among recipients of the surgery, the proportion who are convicted of new crimes committed after release is only half that for the prison population as a whole.
A flaw in the reasoning of the passage is that it
(A) allows moral issues to be a consideration in presenting evidence about matters of fact
(B) dismisses moral considerations on the grounds that only matters of fact are relevant
(C) labels the program as “controversial” instead of discussing the issues that give rise to controversy
(D) asserts that the rehabilitation of criminals is not a moral issue
(E) relies on evidence drawn from a sample that there is reason to believe is unrepresentative
2. The retina scanner, a machine that scans the web of tiny blood vessels in the retina, stores information about the pattern formed by the blood vessels. This information allows it to recognize any pattern it has previously scanned. No two eyes have identical patterns of blood vessels in the retina. A retina scanner can therefore be used successfully to determine for any person whether it has ever scanned a retina of that person before.
The reasoning in the argument depends upon assuming that
(A) diseases of the human eye do not alter the pattern of blood vessels in the retina in ways that would make the pattern unrecognizable to the retina scanner
(B) no person has a different pattern of blood vessels in the retina of the left eye than in the retina of the right eye
(C) there are enough retina scanners to store information about every person’s retinas
(D) the number of blood vessels in the human retina is invariant although the patterns they form differ from person to person
(E) there is no person whose retinas have been scanned by two or more different retina scanners
3. There are just two ways a moon could have been formed from the planet around which it travels: either part of the planet’s outer shell spun off into orbit around the planet or else a large object, such as a comet or meteoroid struck the planet so violently that it dislodged a mass of material from inside the planet. Earth’s moon consists primarily of materials different from those of the Earth’s outer shell.
If the statements above are true, which one of the following, if also true, would most help to justify drawing the conclusion that Earth’s moon was not formed from a piece of the Earth?
(A) The moons of some planets in Earth’s solar system were not formed primarily from the planets’ outer shells.
(B) Earth’s moon consists primarily of elements that differ from those inside the Earth.
(C) Earth’s gravity cannot have trapped a meteoroid and pulled it into orbit as the Moon.
(D) The craters on the surface of Earth’s moon show that it has been struck by many thousands of large meteoroids.
(E) Comets and large meteoroids normally move at very high speeds.
4. Caffeine can kill or inhibit the growth of the larvae of several species of insects. One recent experiment showed that tobacco hornworm larvae die when they ingest a preparation that consists in part of finely powdered tea leaves which contain caffeine. This result is evidence for the hypothesis that the presence of non-negligible quantities of caffeine in various parts of many diverse species of plants is not accidental but evolved as a defense for those plants.
The argument assumes that
(A) caffeine-producing plants are an important raw material in the manufacture of commercial insecticides
(B) caffeine is stored in leaves and other parts of caffeine-producing plants in concentrations roughly equal to the caffeine concentration of the preparation fed to the tobacco hornworm larvae
(C) caffeine-producing plants grow wherever insect larvae pose a major threat to indigenous plants or once posed a major threat to the ancestors of those plants
(D) the tobacco plant is among the plant species that produce caffeine for their own defense
(E) caffeine-producing plants or their ancestors have at some time been subject to being fed upon by creatures sensitive to caffeine
5. The only plants in the garden were tulips, but they were tall tulips. So the only plants in the garden were tall plants.
Which one of the following exhibits faulty reasoning most similar to the faulty reasoning in the argument above?
(A) The only dogs in the show were poodles and they were all black poodles. So all the dogs in the show were black.
(B) All the buildings on the block were tall. The only buildings on the block were office buildings and residential towers. So all the office buildings on the block were tall buildings.
(C) All the primates in the zoo were gorillas. The only gorillas in the zoo were small gorillas. Thus the only primates in the zoo were small primates.
(D) The only fruit in the kitchen was pears but the pears were not ripe. Thus none of the fruit in the kitchen was ripe.
(E) All the grand pianos here are large. All the grand pianos here are heavy. Thus everything large is heavy.
6. Scientific research will be properly channeled whenever those who decide which research to fund give due weight to the scientific merits of all proposed research. But when government agencies control these funding decisions, political considerations play a major role in determining which research will be funded, and whenever political considerations play such a role, the inevitable result is that scientific research is not properly channeled.
Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the statements above?
(A) There is no proper role for political considerations to play in determining who will decide which scientific research to fund.
(B) It is inevitable that considerations of scientific merit will be neglected in decisions regarding the funding of scientific research.
(C) Giving political considerations a major role in determining which scientific research to fund is incompatible with giving proper weight to the scientific merits of proposed research.
(D) When scientific research is not properly channeled, governments tend to step in and take control of the process of choosing which research to fund.
(E) If a government does not control investment in basic scientific research, political consideration will inevitably be neglected in deciding which research to fund.

lets start the discussion...

rgds
tarun

[tzsrivastava]

and frds
we will try to discuss in the format dkny had suggested a couple of posts back..(premise,conclusion etc)...and just the answers...

rgds
tarun

[dkny.jakhar]

ANSWERS CR#1:

Ans1 . i zeroed in on two options C&E , and i think the answer is E(thou i have a strong inclination that the answer is wrong and the correct one is C)
anyway my rational for negating rest of the answers is...A-talks something about the moral issues being used to present evidence about matter of fact...but this is not the case...bothe moral and matter of fact issues are presented separately..

B- the argument towards the end dismisses the moral issues but nowhere is there the indication that only the facts are imp...

D- how can we decide that the rehabilitation is a /or not amoral issue...

I negated C because it is given in the argument that this prog is obviously questionable on moral as well as on facts...

so my answer is E.