STUDENT COPY Name : Batch: ANALYTICAL LECTURE - 2 Contents Page CRITICAL REASONING L © ARGUMENT «IDENTIFYING THE CONCLUSION * IDENTIEWING THE PREMISE ‘= DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS ‘© THE EIGHT CRITICAL REASONING QUESTION TYPES. ‘© USING THE VENN DIAGRAM © ONLY AND ALL © SUMMARY TO APPROACH A PROBLEM CLASS PRACTICE 10 ‘TAKE-HOME ASSIGNMENT 1“ MENTORS” ducations study abroaaCRITICAL REASONING The principal objective of a critical reasoning question is to test skills in constructing and evaluating arguments. Although you don’t need to know much about the constructions of logic, you do need to know a few simple terms to cope up with the critical reasoning questions Here’s what you need to know. ARGUMENT: ‘An Argument is a conclusion supported by the premises and assumptions. It has three parts: Conclusion: A conclusion is a claim, the main point of an argument. It is a statement or judgment that follows from one or more reasons. Premise: A premise is a fact, proposition, or a statement (a piece of evidence) from which a conclusion is made, Assumption: An assumption is an unstated premise that supports the conclusion. Example: Nabila was absent in the class. She must have missed the bus. The First part of the Sentence, “Nabila was absent ..."is the Premise [The fact or evidence] The Conclusion of the sentence, “She must have missed the bus” is based on the premise. Taken together the premise and the conclusion form an argument. Whether or not the argument and conclusion are valid is another question, In this case the conclusion is not valid. Nabila could have been absent for a variety of reasons, not necessarily missing the bus: IDENTIFYING THE CONCLUSION? While reading an argument passage, you should always try to look for the conclusion first, Ask yourself, “What's the point? What is the author driving at? What does the author want me to believe?” The point of the argument is the conclusion. Let's try a simple example. “Arup plays football. Arup broke his leg. Therefore, Arup can't play football today.” What's the main point? “Arup can't play football today.” Did you notice that the conclusion was preceded by the indictor word therefore? Words like therefore are grammatical indications that a conclusion is about to be made. Using the "WHY Test” The “Why Test” is a way to check that the statement you chose as the conclusion is supported by the other statements. State what you think the conclusion is, and then ask, “Why?” The other statements should provide the reasons, Try using the "Why Test” on the example already given above. Conclusion: “Arup can't play football today” Why? ‘Arup plays football. Arup broke his leg” You can see how the other statements support the conclusion. Notice that if we had chosen the wrong sentence, the other statements would not have supported the conclusion: Conclusion: “Arup broke his leg” Why? ‘Arup plays football. Arup can't play football today.” Huh? It doesn’t make sense this way, does it? So we know that we have chosen the right conclusion. Copyrigh"® MENTORE’ MBA Analytical-2 Page? Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www mentors com.bdIDENTIFYING THE PREMISE(S): On the other hand, Premises are the parts of argument that support the conclusion. Literally, the premise(s) give the reasons why the conclusion should be accepted. To identify premises, ask yourself, "What reasons has the author used to persuade me? Why should | believe this argument? What evidence exists?” Because language is the test maker's weapon of choice, you must lear to recognize the words that indicate when a premise or conclusion is present. In expressing arguments, authors often use the following words or phrases to introduce premises and conclusions: Premise Indicators Conclusion Indicators because thus since therefore for hence for example consequently for the reason that as a result in that so given that accordingly as indicated by clearly due to must be that owing to shows that this can be seen from conclude that we know this by follows that for this reason DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE ARGUMENT: ‘An argument may be defined’as-Deductive ifit is IMPOSSIBLE for the conclusion to be false when all the premises are true For Example: All men are mortal. Sayeed is a man. Therefore, Sayeed is mortal. If both the premises are true, the conclusion follows automatically. ‘An argument is Inductive if it is IMPROBABLE that the conclusion is false if all premises are true. That is, the conclusion may be false even if all the premises are true. Words like usually, sometimes, generally and some are usually signals of induction. ‘Some cars are red. Ratul has a Car Therefore, Ratul's car is red. In the above statement, both the premises are true. However, that does not necessitate the conclusion. All cars are not red. So, Ratul's car may be one of the non-red cars. For Exampl Copyiigh"® MENTORE’ MBA Analytical-2 Page 3 Dial: 9131828, 9348089, 8959796 www. mentors com.bd‘THE EIGHT CRITICAL REASONING QUESTION TYPES: 1, Must BE TRUE/ Most SUPPORTED: These questions ask you to identify the answer choice that is best proven by the information in the stimulus. Question stem example: “If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true?” "Which of the following can be validly inferred from the passage?” 2. ASSUMPTION: ‘An assumption bridges the gap between an argument's evidence and conclusion. It is piece of support that isn’t explicitly stated but is essential for the conclusion to remain valid. In other words itis the statement without which the argument falls apart @ FINDING THE ASSUMPTION: Denial Test The denial test is an effective way of finding the necessary assumption by the author. Simply deny the statement you think as the ,possible assumption’. See if the argument falls apart. If it does, it is the necessary assumption. If the argument is unaffected, the choice is wrong. Consider the following Argument: Shuvro plays Basketball for IBA. Therefore, he must be over six feet tall. You should recognize that the second sentence is the conclusion. The first one provides the evidence. But is the argument complete? Try to pre-phase an assumption that necessitates the argument. How about the following Argument: All basketball players of IBA aré over six féet tall Now deny this statement. Is the argument still untaffected? Or it falls apart? If all the basketball players of IBA. are-not-over six feet tall, then. Shuvro may or may not be over six feet tall. And that is our conclusive proof that the statement above is a necessary assumption. 3. STRENGTHEN/SUPPORT AND WEAKEN QUESTIONS: Determining an argument’s necessary assumption is also essential to answer the most common question type: Strengthen or Weaken the argument questions, Attacking the central piece of evidence can weaken the Argument. Another common way is to question the validity of the assumption and proving it unreasonable. Let’s take the same stimulus we used before but look at it in the context of weakening the Argument. What was the assumption that holds the argument together? “All Basketball players of IBA are over six feet tall” Ifitis stated: Not all basketball players of IBA are over six feet tall By this statement we've called into doubt the author's basic assumption, thus weakening or damaging the argument. But what about strengthening the argument? Again, the key is the necessary assumption: All basketball players of IBA are over six feet tall TIPS: Remember, Weakening an argument is not the same thing as disproving the conclusion, and strengthening is not the same as proving it. A Strengthener tips the scale toward believing in the validity of the conclusion; a weakener tips the scale in the other direction, towards doubting the conclusion. Copyiighl® MENTORE’ MBA Analytical-2 Page 4 Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www mentors com.bd4, RESOLVE THE PARADOX: Every resolve the paradox stimulus contains a discrepancy or seeming contradiction. You must find the answer choice that best resolves the situation. Question stem example: “Which of the following, if true, would most effectively resolve the apparent paradox above?" 5. METHOD oF REASONING: Method of reasoning questions ask you to describe, in abstract terms, the way in which, the author made his/her argument. Question stem example: "Which one of the following describes the technique of reasoning used above?” 6. FLAW IN THE REASONING: Flaw in the reasoning questions ask you to describe, in abstract terms, the error of reasoning committed by the author. Question stem example: “The reasoning in the astronomer's argument is flawed because this argument... 7. PARALLEL REASONING OR RESEMBLE QUESTIONS: Parallel reasoning or resemble questions ask you identify the answer choice that contains reasoning most similar in structure to the reasoning presented in the stimulus. Question stem example: “Which of the following arguments is most similar in its pattern of reasoning to the argument above?” “Which of the following most closely resembles the meaning used in the argument?” Remember that you are not supposed to correct the argument. You are supposed to find an answer choice with a similar structure even if the original argument contains a fallacy. Also, be careful to notice exactly whats to be. paralleled. all.of an. argument, one speaker, or whatever. Take the following example: “My father, my uncles, and»bottmy- grandfather becamesirritating within five years after they had started smoking. | don’t want to become irritating, So, | will start drinking.” Which of the following most closely resembles the meaning used in the argument above? (a) Every time | drink coffee before going to bed, | have trouble falling asleep. | want to sleep well tonight. So | am going to take a sleeping pill (b) All of the teenagers in my neighborhood have got tickets for speeding on Baily Road. | don’t have any ticket, so | am going to speed on Baily Road (c) The other management trainees on my shift each got married within a week after eating at Star Kabab. | don’t want to get married, so I am going to eat at La Bonanza. (d) Everyone else got transferred out of our department within three years after starting to work hard. | do not want to work in another department. So I'm going to start working hard too. (e) Allof these How to solve it? Letus assume, Smoking = X Becoming irritating = Y Not becoming irritating = Y* Drinking = Z Copyrigh"® MENTORE’ MBA Analytical-2 Page S Dial: 9131828, 9348089, 8959796 www mentors com.bdHere, X is the cause of Y. To prevent Y or to be Y*, the speaker does not want to adopt X. Rather he/she would prefer to adopt an alternate method, that is Z. x — + yY ys ——> 2 Now let us draw similar diagrams for each of the answer options: For answer choice (A) Drinking Coffee = X Trouble falling asleep = Y Sound sleep = Y* Taking sleeping pill = Z x — + yY Ys —+> 2 For answer choice (B) Speeding on Baily Road = X Getting ticket = Y Not getting a ticket = Y* x — > yY ys ——> x For answer choice (C) Eating at Star Kabab = X Getting Married = Y Not getting married = Y" Eating at La Bonanza =Z XGHESHEY Wo TES YZ For answer choice (D) ~ Working hard = x Getting transferred = Y Not getting transferred = Y* x — > yY ys ——> x Here we can see that answer choice (A) & (C) both match the diagram drawn for the statement given in the question. It indicates that both (A) & (C) have the similar logical sequence. However, in the original argument, the speaker is relying on consequences faced by others. While in answer choice (A) the speaker relies on his/her own past experience. So, answer choice (A) cannot be chosen over choice (C). Thus the best answer is answer choice (C) 8. EVALUATE THE ARGUMENT: In evaluating the Argument questions, you must decide which answer choice will allow you to determine the logical validity of the argument. Question stem example: “The answer to which of the following questions would contribute most to an evaluation of the argument?” ‘Although there are 8 separate question types, each question type does not appear with the same frequency. The most popular question types are Strengthen/ Weaken, Must be True, Assumption, and Resolve. Copyiighl® MENTORE MBA Analytical-2 Page 6 Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www mentors.com.bd‘UsING THE “VENN” DIAGRAM: ‘A good way to check whether or not the conclusion follows from premises is to draw a Venn diagram. A simplified form of the Venn diagram may consist of circles, one for each term of an argument. Take a simple argument: All Pythons are snakes; all snakes are reptiles. Therefore, all Pythons are reptiles. We can now classify the various things (terms) in this argument and enclose each in a circle. Thus’ Reptiles The deductive argument can be arranged to show the premises and conclusion, by showing that "Pythons" are totally included in “snakes” & “snakes” are totally included in “reptiles”. Reptiles Snakes Since, Pythons are totally includédin!"reptiles”, the! conclusion Of the argument is valid Venn diagram can also be used to show.if arguments are invalid. For example “Becausevall.men.are mortal and.all. cows.are.mortals Then all men must be cows.” By placing men, mortals, and cows in circles and arranging them appropriately, we arrive at: Mortal We can see that the conclusion — all men are cows” does not stand under scrutiny, since men and cows are not in the same small circle, All we can conclude is both men and cows are mortal. Mortal Mortal ONLY & ALL - A COMMON ANALYTICAL TRICK: A very common trick in analytical question is the confusion between ,only" & all’. Take the following argument: Saddam is a member of Dhaka Club. Only Dhaka Club members are industrialists. Therefore, Saddam is an industrialist. Copyiigh"® MENTORE’ MBA Analytical-2 Page? Dial: 9131828, 9348089, 8959796 www mentors com.bd‘The above conclusion is false because the argument did not mention that “All Dhaka Club members” are industrialists. If it were said that all Dhaka club members are industrialists, then we would have concluded that Saddam is an industrialist. It is clear that the above argument makes it necessary for all industrialists to be Dhaka Club members, but it never necessitate every Dhaka Club member has to be an industrialist Take another argument: Saddam is a member of Dhaka Club. All Dhaka Club Members are industrialists. Bush is not a member of Dhaka Club. Therefore, Bush is not an industrialist. This conclusion is also invalid, because the statement “All members of Dhaka Club are industrialists" — doesn’t say that other people cannot be industrialists. Other people can be industrialists, but all members of Dhaka club must be industrialists. Beware of the questions that confuse ,only" & all’. This is a very commonly used trick of Analytical Ability questions. BRAINSTORMING EXAMPLE I: Premise 1: The IBA admission test exam contains 80 questions. Premise 2: This is/an. IBA Admission ‘Test Question Conclusion: This question contains 80 questions: This is a deductive argument and the éonclusion is obVious '& specific. EXAMPLE Il: Premise 1: The IBA admission test exam contains 80 questions. Premise 2: This question contains 80 questions. Conclusion: This is an IBA Admission test question, Is this conclusion valid? Defend your answer with necessary Evidence. EXAMPLE Ill: Premise 1: Only IBA admission test exam contains 80 questions. Premise 2: This question contains 80 questions. Conclusion: This is an IBA Admission test question Now what is your opinion about this conclusion? Differentiate between Example I and Example II Copyiigh"® MENTORE’ MBA Analytical-2 Page ® Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www mentors com.bdSUMMARY TO APPROACH CRITICAL REASONING PROBLEMS: ‘As we indicated earlier, the difficulty with the Logical Reasoning question is that there is such a variety of question stems that it is difficult to provide a mechanical procedure for approaching such problems. The following tips, however, may help make our somewhat abstract discussion of logic easier to apply to actual problems. PREVIEW QUESTION STEM: The first point of attack in the Logical Reasoning question is to read the question stem (the part to which the question mark is attached) before reading the paragraph or sample argument. The reason for this suggestion is easily explained. There are many different questions that one might ask about an argument: "How can it be strengthened?” "How can it be weakened” ‘What are its assumptions?” “How is the argument developed?" - and so on. If you read an argument without focusing your attention on some aspect of it, all of these aspects of argumentation (and even more) are likely to come to mind, Unfortunately, this is distracting. The most efficient way to handle the Logical Reasoning questions is to read the stem of the question first. Let that guide you in what to look for as you read. Find the conclusion. This is always helpful, even when it is merely a descriptive statement Keep in mind the importance of finding the exact conclusion for structuring the argument and assessing its strengths or weaknesses. ATTACK THE ANSWER CHOICES The differences between the answer choices often help you isolate the issues in the problem. Attack the answer choices by: 1. only focusing on the issues discussed in the question 2. always reading all the answer choices 3. eliminating obviously incorrect: choices 4, contrasting remaining, choices to isolate the relevant issues Remember that you are only trying to choose the best answer. The best is often not perfect, and the less than best and thus incorrect answers often have some merit, ‘Students, please try to forget all these things! We have already changed your mind set! Learning deductive or inductive is not important, rather you should try to understand whether there is any loophole in your claim or not. Remember, IBA admission test may contain a mixture of both critical & normal problems. It’s your IQ that will lead you to a good score in the Analytical Ability Section, Best of Luck! Copyright® MENTORE’ MBA Analytical-2 Page 9 Dial: 9131828, 9348089, 8959796 www mentors.com.bdCLASS PRACTICE Naveed must be a football player; he is wearing a football jersey. The conclusion above is valid only if itis true that: (A) Football players often wear football jerseys. (B) All football players wear football jerseys. (C) Football players never wear any kind of shirt other than football jerseys. (D) Football players are required to wear football jerseys. (E) Only football players wear football jerseys. 2, “If Samiis on the cultural committee, then he is on the central committee.” Ifthe above conclusion is true, which of the following must also be true? (A) All members of the central committee are on the cultural committee. B) Sami is either on the central committee or on the cultural committee. (C) Everyone who is on the cultural committee is also on the central committee. (D) Some members of the central committee are on the cultural committee. E) Sami is on the cultural committee. 3, Which of the following contradicts the statement that “only the intelligent become rich"? (A) Asheq was intelligent, yet he was poor his whole life, (B) Both “intelligent” and “rich” are relative terms. (C) Different people are:intelligentin differentways: (0) Some intelligent peoplé'do not desire to become tich: (E) Irfan is stupid yet he amassed’ large fortune by the. age of 30. 4, Which of the following contfadic(s thé statement that “all the intelligent become rich"? (A) Asheq was intelligent, yet he was poor his whole life (B) Both “intelligent” and “rich” are relative terms, (C) Different people are intelligent in different ways. (D) Some intelligent people do not desire to become rich. (E) Irfan is stupid yet he amassed a large fortune by the age of 30. 5. Department stores range from two to eight floors in height. If a department store has more than three floors, it has an elevator. Ifthe above statements are true, then which of the following statement must also be true? (A) Second floors do not have elevators. (B) Seventh floors have elevators. (C) Only floors above third floor have elevators. (0) All floors may be reached by elevators. (E) Some two-floor department stores do not have elevator. 6. If your radio was made after 1972, it has a stereo feature. The statement above can be deduced logically from which of the following statements? Only if a radio was made after 1972 could it have a stereo feature. Allradios made after 1972 have a stereo feature. ‘Some radios made before 1972 had a stereo feature. ‘Some stereo features are found in radios made after 1972. Stereo features for radios were fully developed only after 1872. moom> Copyight® MENTORS’ MBA Analytical? Page 10 Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www.mentors7. Allelephants are grey. And all mice are grey. Therefore, | conclude that all elephants are mice. The argument above is invalid because: (A) The writer bases his argument on another argument that lacks the substance of the issue. (B) The writer has illogically classified two disparate groups together when there is no relationship between them except that they have the same color. (C) The writer has made an analogy between two dissimilar qualities. (D) The writer has used a fallacy that involves the ambiguous description of animals by their color. (E) The writer has failed to express his reasoning fully, 8. Riyad: | wish you wouldn't drink so much beer, its bad for your health ‘Amit: How can you say that? I don’t weigh a pound more than | did a year ago. Which of the following responses would most strengthen Riyad’s argument? (A) You weigh ten pounds more than you did six years ago. (B) Most people who drink a lot of beer do put on weight. (C) If you keep drinking so much beer, you will soon put on weight (D) Putting on weight is not the only harmful effect of drinking beer. (E) You can put on weight on other ways than by drinking. 9. All good athletes want to win, and all athletes who want to win eat a well balanced diet; therefore, all athletes who do not eat a well balanced diet are bad athletes. If the assumptions of the argument.above are true,.then which of the following statements must be true? (A) No bad athlete wants:to win. 'B) No athlete is a good.athlete who does not eat a well balanced diet. (C) Every athlete who eats a/well/balanced dietiis a good athlete. D) e) All athletes who Want to-winrare-good-athletes: Some good athletes do not eat a well balanced diet. 10. Excessive amounts of mercury in drinking water, associated with certain types of industrial pollution, have been shown to cause Hobson's Disease. Shandip Island has an economy based entirely on subsistence-level agriculture; modern industry of any kind is unknown. The inhabitants of Shandip Island have an unusually high incidence of Hobson's Disease. Which of the following can be validly inferred from the above statements? i. Mercury in drinking water is actually perfectly safe ii. Mercury in drinking water must have sources other than industrial pollution ili, Hobson’s Disease must have causes other than mercury in drinking water (A) Il only (B) Ill only (C) Lor Ill, but not both (D)1 or i, but not both (E) Il oF Ill or both 11. Ata political rally at Manik Mia Avenue, candidate Shuvro exclaimed: “Nearly everyone at the rally is behind me. It looks like I am going to be elected.” Which of the following statements, if true, best supports the above conclusion? (A) Shuvro’s opponent also appeared at the rally. (B) Almost all the residents of Shuvro’s constituency attended the rally. (C) Shuvro was never defeated in an election. (D) Shuvro was supported by the local mayor. E) People always vote their emotions. ‘Copyiighl® MENTORS” MBA Anal Page IT Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www.mentors.combd12, Sabbir to Nazia: “I'm not going to play with your cat because I'l be sneezing all afternoon if Ido. I've played with your cat three times & each time | have sneezed all afternoon Sabbir's argument would be most strengthened if itis true that: (A) Nazia also sneezes after playing with her cat. (B) Sabir never sneezes just before playing with Nazia’s cat (C) Sabbir also sneezes after playing with Abir’s dog. (0) Sabir sneezes only after playing with Nazia’s cat (E) Nazia’s cat also sneezes after playing with Sabir. 13. Although there is no physical distance between the visual organs of the two groups, the inhabitants of the Nijhum Island and that of Dhaka, when a spectrum of colors is shown they differ in perceiving the number of colors. Which of the following can we conclude? (A) Human color perception is at least partly determined by factors other than the physical structure of the visual organs. (8) Nihum Islanders are probably taught in childhood to recognize fewer colors than are people in Dhaka. (C) Differences in social structure probably affect color perception. (D) Color perception in humans is influenced by differences in physical environment. (E) Nihum Islanders may have fewer terms denoting colors in their language than do the people of Dhaka. 14." am afraid that Rashed will never be an outstanding footballer again. Last month he broke his knee and the doctors failed to cure that.” The argument above'is based pon which of the following assumptions? 1) One must have healthy knees to play football 2) How well one plays football may be influenced by the condition of one’s knees. 3) Healthy knees is a must-for,a.professional football career (A) 1 only (B) only (cy1&2 only (0)2.&3 only (E) 1, 2.& 3 together, but not individually 15. “Blooming flowers are beautiful, even if no one is there to appreciate them.” This statement would be a logical contradiction to which of the claims? (A) People will see only what they want to see. (B) Beauty is only skin deep. (C) There is no accounting for taste. (D) Beauty exists only in the eye of the beholder. (E) The greatest pleasure available to mankind is the contemplation of beauty. 16. An average working man with the habit of shaving every morning spends a total of about 60 hours in a year to shave, which means loss of a large number of working days of an ‘employer running a business with sizeable number of employees. Which of the following assumption best suit as the basis for the above argument? A. The national work force consists mainly of men who shave. B. If men did not shave every morning, they would spend time working instead. C. Working men shave in the morning rather than in the evening. D. Men do not shave at the weekend, when they probably would not be at work anyway. E. Some men take more time in shaving than what is assumed as the basis for the above statement. ‘Copyiighl® MENTORS” MBA Anal Page 12 Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www.mentors.combd17. The rate of violent crime in this state is up 30 percent from last year. The fault lies entirely in our court system. Recently our judges’ sentences have been so lenient that criminals can now do almost anything without fear of a long prison term. The argument above would be weakened if it were true that ‘A. 85 percent of the other states in the nation have lower crime rates than does this state. B. White collar crime in this state has also increased by over 25 percent in the last year. C. 35 percent of the police in this state have been laid off in the last year due to budget cuts. D. Polls show that 65 percent of the population in this state opposes capital punishment. E. The state has hired 25 new judges in the last year to compensate for deaths and retirements, 18, Smoking is bad for health. Yet a lot of people smoke. The statement above most resembles to which of the following: (A) Marriage is full of tension. Yet a lot of people get married. 'B) Smoking makes a person smart. Thus, a lot of people smoke. (C) Drinking questions social norms. Thus, women hardly drink in our country. (D) Amit is fat. Yet he never exercised in his whole life. E) Nafis thinks he is intelligent. Yet, he never does well in the tests. 19. It is true that it is against International Law to sell plutonium to countries that do not yet have nuclear weapons, But if United States" companies do not do so, companies in other countries will. Which of the following is most like the argument above in its logical structure? (A) It is true that it is against the police department's policy to negotiate with kidnappers. But if the police want to,prevent-oss-of life, they must negotiate in some cases, (B) It is true that it is.illegal-to.refuse.to.register for.military.service. But there is a long tradition in the United States conscientious objection to serving in the armed forces. (C) Itis true that it is illegal for a government official to participate in a transaction in which there is an apparent conflict of interest. But if the facts are examined carefully, it will Clearly be seen that there was no actual conflict of interest in the defendant's case, (D) It is true that it is against the law to burglarize people’s homes. But someone else certainly would have burglarized that house if the defendant had not done so first. (E) It is true that company policy forbids supervisors to fire employees without two written wamings. But there have been many supervisors who have disobeyed this policy 20. Most persons who oppose gun control are conservatives. Therefore, since Shuvro favors gun control, he is not a conservative, The argument above most resembles which of the following: (A) Most sociology professors are liberals, therefore Dr. Tanmoy, who is liberal is probably a sociology professor. (B) Most corporation presidents own a country home. Ms Nadia is a corporation president. She may or may not have a country home. (C) Few major publishing firms publish much poetry. Since Khan Books publishes only poetry, itis probably not a major publishing firm. (D) Most sports cars are extremely expensive. Since, the new “Tata Indica” is not a sports car, it is probably inexpensive. (E) Most desert plants are cacti. Therefore, the cotta, a desert plant, is probably a cactus. ‘Copyiighl® MENTORS” MBA Anal Page 13 Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www.mentors.combdTAKE HOME ASSIGNMENT 1. “Having good manners is a prerequisite to become a famous leader.” Which of the following contradicts the above statement? Mr. Alif has good manners, but he became a famous leader. Mr. Shahed has both good manner and good leadership qualities. Mr. Faisal has no good manner, but he became a famous leader. Good manner does not always help to become a famous leader. Good academic performance helps to become a famous leader. moom> 3. Sabbir: | want to stay out of Professor Jahangir’s classes if | can. I've heard he’s very strict when it comes to giving out the grades. Mitul: That's not true. My friend took his class last year and he gave him an A. From the conversation above it can be inferred that Mitul interpreted Sabbir’s statement to mean that Professor Jahangir: (A) Makes unfair demands on his students (B) Only gives good grades to a few favored students. (C) Has become increasingly strict in his grading over the past year. (D) Gives out fewer good grades than most teachers in the department (E) Never gives out,grades of A 4, Ononna: | just heard that'Samina failed in her Master's exam. ‘Tamanna: That can’tbe true, she got first class in her B.Com exam From the conversation above, it can be inferred that: Tamanna thinks Ononna is lying, Tamanna thinks Samina has not appeared in her Master’s exam yet. ‘Ononna thinks Samina has failed in the master's exam. Tamanna assumes that someone who got first class in B.Com cannot fail in Masters. ‘Ononna knows that Samina failed her Master's exam. moop> 5. Borsha: Only Union Parishad members are selected in the Upazila Committee. Bobby: That's not true. Mr. Ananta is a Union Parishad member and he is not in the Upazila Committee, Bobby's comment indicates that she incorrectly interpreted Borsha’s statement to mean that: (A) All Union Parishad members are selected in the Upazila Committee. (B) Mr. Ananta works in the Upazila Committee, (C) Mr. Ananta is not a Union Parishad Chairman. (D) All Upazila Committee members are included in the Union Parishad. (E) No Union Parishad member is selected on the Upazila Committee. ‘Copyiighl® MENTORS” MBA Anal Page 14 Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www.mentors.com.bd6. The average normal infant born in Dhaka City weighs between twelve and fourteen pounds at the age of three months. Therefore, if a three-month-old child weighs only ten pounds, its weight gain has been below the Dhaka City average. Which of the following indicates a flaw in the reasoning above? (A) Weight is only one measure of normal infant development. (B) Some three-month-old children weigh as much as seventeen pounds. (C) Itis possible for a normal child to weigh ten pounds at birth. (D) The phrase "below average" does not necessarily mean insufficient, (E) Average weight gain is not the same as average weight. 7. Ina swimming team, all Free-Style swimmers are Olympic winners. No blue eyed swimmer is an Olympic winner. All Olympic winners go on to lucrative professional careers. If all the above statements are considered true, which of the following must also be true? (A) All those who go to professional careers are Free-Style swimmers (B) Only Free-Style swimmers go on to professional careers. (C) Some blue-eyed swimmers go on to lucrative professional careers. (D) No blue-eyed swimmer is a Free-Style swimmer. (E) Only blue-eyed swimmers don’t go on to lucrative careers. 8. Ina study on job applicants /two-fifths admitted to'being/at leastlittle dishonest. However, the study may underestimate'the proportiof of job applicants who are dishonest, because: ‘A. some dishonest people /participating) this) study, might have claimed on the study to be honest. B. some generally honest people participating the study might have claimed dishonest C. some people who claimed on the study to be at least a ttle dishonest are actually dishonest, D. some people who claimed on the study to be dishonest may have been answering honestly. E. some people who are not job applicants are probably at least a litte-dishonest. 9. Its important to teach students to use computers effectively. Therefore students should be taught programming in school. ‘Which of the following if true most weakens the argument above? (A) Only people who use computer effectively are skilled at computer programming (B) Only people skilled at computer programming use computers effectively. (C) Some people who use computers effectively cannot write computer programs. (D) Some schools teach computers programs more effectively (E) None of the above. ‘Copyiighl® MENTORS” MBA Anal Page 15. Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www.mentors.combdBangladesh's annual food production slightly exceeds the amount of food required to provide a minimally adequate diet for its population. To predict that insufficient food production will cause a hunger crisis in the future is nonsense. Any hunger crisis will result from a distribution problem rather than production problem, The statement above assumes which of the following? A. Bangladesh's food requirements are greater than they will be in the future. B. A shortfall in Bangladesh's food production can be prevented by a better distribution system. C. Bangladesh's food production will continue to be sufficient to meet or exceed needs. D. The distribution of Bangladesh's existing food supply will be improved in the future. E. Bangladesh hunger crisis will not exist in the future. Kona is shorter than Jui, but she is taller than Enam, Sonia is shorter than Jui, and she is, shorter than Enam. Wasif is taller than Sonia, but shorter than Jui, If the statements above are true, one can validly conclude that Bulu is shorter than Kona if it is true that: A. Kona is equal in height to Wasif B. Wasif is equal in height to Bulu. C. Bulu is taller than Sonia, but shorter than Wasif. D. Bulu is shorter than Jui, but taller than Enam. E. Wasif is taller than Bulu but shorter than Enam This year’s flood may-cause. famin statement above? ‘A. Flood has caused huge loss of ¢rop. B. Government has“alreadysigned=several-rice-andgrairimport deals with different countries. C. Bangladesh is actively considering to impose economic embargo on Myanmar, a major rice exporting country. D. India has already hiked price of rice artificially. E. None of these ‘Which; of-thesfollowing statements weakens the ‘Copyiighl® MENTORS” MBA Anal Page 16 Dial: 9131828, 9348059, 8959796 www.mentors.com.bd