Critical and logical Reasoning Set 6

Critical Reasoning Questions for SBI PO, IBPS PO, NICL, RBI Grade B, BOI, Bank of Baroda and other competitive exams

  1. Extinction is a process that can depend on a variety of ecological, geographical, and physiological variables. These variables affect different species of organisms in different ways, and should, therefore, yield a random pattern of extinctions. However, the fossil record shows that extinction occurs in a surprisingly definite pattern, with many species vanishing at the same time.
    Which of the following, if true, forms the best basis for at least a partial explanation of the patterned extinctions revealed by the fossil record?
    A) Major episodes of extinction can result from widespread environmental disturbances that affect numerous different species.
    B) Certain extinction episodes selectively affect organisms with particular sets of characteristics unique to their species.
    C) Some species become extinct because of accumulated gradual changes in their local environments.
    D) In geologically recent times, for which there is no fossil record, human intervention has changed the pattern of extinctions.
    E) Species that are widely dispersed are the least likely to become extinct
    View Answer
    Option A
    Explanation:

    A gives us a reason that explains how extinction can occur suddenly with many species going extinct.
  2. Commercially available chemical fertilizers contain the same nutrients and micronutrients as organic fertilizers such as manure and composted garden clippings. Plants have tiny root hairs that absorb nutrients, and whether the source of the nutrients is organic or chemical is irrelevant to the plant’s ability to take in the nutrients. Nevertheless, organic fertilizers are better for the health of the plant than are chemical fertilizers alone.
    Which of the following, if true, would most strongly support the position above?
    A) The nutrients in organic fertilizers are slowly released to the plant over time, rather than being absorbed by the plant immediately.
    B) In organic fertilizers, the natural combination of nutrients with other natural materials makes the nutrients more usable by the plant than nutrients found in chemical fertilizers.
    C) Plants often must be provided with nutrients because naturally occurring nutrients in the surrounding soil are depleted or washed away over time.
    D) The typical gardener can’t easily know the exact amount and type of nutrients in an organic fertilizer such as manure.
    E) Chemical fertilizers produced by the leading manufacturer contain nutrients that are no harder for the plants to absorb than those provided by the competitor’s chemical fertilizer.
    View Answer
    Option C
    Explanation:

    B provides a specific benefit of organic fertilizers over chemical fertilizers.
  3. The standard computer keyboard, called QWERTY because of the arrangement of the first six letters, is very inefficient. The letters were arranged in this odd but familiar manner when the first typewriters were being designed in the 1800s. When keys were arranged logically, typists could strike the keys very quickly. Early typewriters were so slow the fast typists caused mechanical problems in the machines. In order to slow down the typists, the keys were rearranged in a seemingly random order. If a manufacturer of computer keyboards were to arrange the keys in the most efficient manner, everyone would want to buy a new, improved keyboard.
    If true, which of the following would most seriously weaken the above conclusion?
    A) Modern computer word-processing systems are much faster than the most accomplished typist and there is no reason to use the slower keyboard.
    B) Americans have universally adapted to the QWERTY keyboard and aren’t interested in learning an entirely new system.
    C) Discovering the most efficient arrangement of keys would require extensive tests on typists and non-typists alike.
    D) The human brain is incredibly adaptable and can adapt to any arrangement of the keyboard, even if it is less efficient.
    E) Computer keyboards include many keys that were not needed on manual or electric typewriters.
    View Answer
    Option B
    Explanation:

    Americans do not want the improvement, hence conclusion is weakened.
  4. Years ago, some in the government’s intelligence community feared the work of telecommunications researchers at then-emerging private security firms. The government experts concluded that these private firms posed the biggest risk to successful government espionage. As the private security firms began publicly releasing and advertising encryption algorithms and other security products, these government experts saw support for their conclusion when an encryption algorithm that government experts could not break began appearing in countless emails.
    Which of the following, if true, most weakens the conclusion of the government experts referred to above?
    A) Shortly before the government experts reached their conclusions, two private security companies each claimed to have developed “the world’s strongest email encryption algorithm”
    B) The private security firms’ decision to advertise their products and sell them publicly led to other members of the private sector and academia scrutinizing the encryption algorithms.
    C) An open-source encryption algorithm, developed by an academic and freely available from popular websites, is recognized by numerous ex-government code breakers as the most unbreakable algorithm ever developed.
    D) An enemy government recently succeeded in placing a spy within the government espionage operations referred to above.
    E) To strengthen the reputation of the private security firms, employees of these firms publish information about the strength of their products and the benefits of using them.
    View Answer
    Option C
    Explanation:

    These algorithms are available on the websites by some academic or free style programmer so its not the private firm to be blamed because the algorithms are freely available to use. So it weakens the conclusion.
  5. High School Principal: There is little doubt that extra-curricular activities such as sports teams waste the time students could better spend on academics. Close to half the students in this school barely passed the math and science portions of the graduation exam. Clearly, our attention needs to be refocused. In order to improve our school’s performance on the graduation exam, I propose that we discontinue all school sports beginning next year.
    Each of the following, if true, casts doubt on the principal’s conclusion that discontinuing school sports will improve academics EXCEPT
    A) A surplus in last year’s school budget was spent on transportation for the football team rather than on buying a new available edition of the school’s science textbook.
    B) Most members of school sports teams were in the half of students that easily passed the graduation exam.
    C) The principal does not have a specific plan for re-focusing the school’s resources on academics.
    D) The school’s math and science textbooks have been outdated for two years.
    E) Even though the principal claims that half the school’s students “barely passed” the graduation exam, they did meet the state’s minimum requirements for graduation.
    View Answer
    Option A
    Explanation:

    A: It doesn’t matter where the surplus amount is spent. This option doesn’t impact principal claim in any way.
  6. Advertisement: At most jewelry stores, the person assessing the diamond is the person selling it so you can see why an assessor might say that a diamond is of higher quality than it really is. But because all diamonds sold at Gem World are certified in writing, you’re assured of a fair price when purchasing a diamond from Gem World.
    The reasoning in the advertisement would be most strengthened if which one of the following were true?
    A) Many jewelry stores other than Gem World also provide written certification of the quality of their diamonds.
    B) The certifications of diamonds at Gem World are written by people with years of experience in appraising gems.
    C) The diamonds sold at Gem World are generally of higher quality than those sold at other jewelry stores.
    D) The diamond market is so volatile that prices of the most expensive diamonds can change by hundreds of dollars from one day to the next.
    E) The written certifications of diamonds at Gem World are provided by an independent company of gem specialists
    View Answer
    Option E
    Explanation:

    E: it gives more information that the certification seems to be fairly written.
  7. Electronics manufacturer: Developing a line of smartphones would require a research-and-development push that would directly trade off with our R&D efforts on five other products. Plus, a line of MP3 players – another product we have discussed developing – has an inherently higher profit potential than a line of smartphones and would be cheaper to manufacture.
    The electronics manufacturer’s statements, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?
    A) Developing a line of MP3 players would not trade off with the R&D efforts on an other products.
    B) The manufacturer is more likely to make money by developing a line of MP3 players than it is by developing a line of smartphones.
    C) Developing a line of smartphones would be a bad business decision for the manufacturer.
    D) The manufacturer will make money if it develops a line of MP3 players.
    E) The only new product that would be profitable for the manufacturer is a line of MP3 players.
    View Answer
    Option B
    Explanation:

    B: even if they both require same trade off with the 5 other products, we know the the latter is more profitable. Hence, the chances of making money in latter case is more.
  8. Some animals, such as dolphins, dogs, and African grey parrots, seem to exhibit cognitive functions typically associated with higher-order primates such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans. Some parrots, for example, have vocabularies of hundreds of words that they can string together in a comprehensible syntax. This clearly shows that humans and primates are not the only animals capable of using language to communicate. One parrot, named Alex, has been known to ask to be petted or kissed and will exhibit aggression if the gesture offered is not the specific one requested.
    Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion above?
    A) Dolphins can be trained to assist divers in ocean rescues.
    B) Gorillas in captivity often learn hand signals for food and water.
    C) Dogs are capable of sensing their owners’ moods and often exhibit concern if they sense sadness.
    D) Chimpanzees can memorize long sequences of key punches on machines that dispense food.
    E) Alex does not exhibit aggression when offered a gesture that he specifically requested.
    View Answer
    Option B
    Explanation:

    B only confirms what the passage tells us: gorillas are capable of using some form of language.
  9. Healthy human beings can’t tickle themselves. This is because they anticipate the sensation and reduce their touch perception accordingly. Reducing the perception of completely predictable sensations allows the brain to focus on crucial changes in the environment not produced by the person’s own actions. A person who tries to tickle himself and is simultaneously tickled by another person will have a heightened sense of the other person’s touch compared to his own. Healthy people also can’t mistake their own voice as coming from another person. Schizophrenics, however, may hear their own voices and, having not anticipated the sounds, not recognize the voice as their own.
    Which of the following statements can be correctly inferred from the passage above?
    A) Human beings can’t tickle themselves because they anticipate the sensation.
    B) Further research in this area may lead to a better understanding of why certain people are more susceptible to tickling.
    C) A healthy human hearing a tape of her own voice won’t recognize the voice because she won’t anticipate the sounds.
    D) Tickling yourself as someone else is tickling you will reduce your sensory perceptions and cause you not to react to the tickling.
    E) Healthy humans constantly anticipate the sound of their own voice and differentiate it from other voices.
    View Answer
    Option E
    Explanation:

    The question asks you to make an inference that extends the reasoning in the argument.
    The passage states the information in A directly, so it can’t be an inference.
    E is supported by the premise that healthy humans can’t mistake their voices and provides a reason that the passage suggests but doesn’t state directly.
  10. Over the next 30 years, the number of people aged 65 and older will double, while the number of adults under age 65 will increase by less than 15 percent. In addition to those demographic changes, costs per enrollee in federal health care programs are likely to continue growing much faster than inflation. These pressures will cause federal spending for health care programs to increase by more than two-thirds as a share of the economy.
    If the statements above are all true, which of the following can properly be inferred on the basis of them?
    A) Federal spending on health care programs currently accounts for less than one-third of the government’s spending.
    B) Over a 30 year period, costs per enrollee in federal health care programs must grow faster than inflation.
    C) Currently, people 35 years of age or older make up a larger proportion of the population than do people under 35 years of age.
    D) Countries with a larger proportion of citizens over 65 often have crippling health care costs.
    E) Countries with younger populations spend less than two-thirds of their budgets on federal health care programs.
    View Answer
    Option C
    Explanation:

    The Scenario where the number of pleople more than 65 double is possible when the number of pleople greatre than 35 is greater than the number of peole less than 35 today.
    Option C correctly highlights the point and thus is correct.

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2 Thoughts to “Critical and logical Reasoning Set 6”

  1. jaga

    THANK U 🙂

  2. What I have observed in terms of personal computer memory is that often there are technical specs such as SDRAM, DDR and many others, that must fit in with the technical specs of the motherboard. If the computer’s motherboard is very current and there are no operating system issues, modernizing the memory space literally normally takes under sixty minutes. It’s on the list of easiest pc upgrade processes one can consider. Thanks for giving your ideas.

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