Practice Test Geeks(CCTST) California Critical Thinking Skills Test Practice Test
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Inference Flashcards

7 cards from real CCTST practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Inference flashcards as text

  1. A poll shows 55% of respondents support a policy, with a margin of error of ±4%. What can be inferred about actual public support?

    Answer: Public support is likely between 51% and 59%.

    Applying the margin of error to the reported figure gives the plausible range of true population support.

  2. Premises: 'All squares are rectangles. Shape X is not a rectangle.' What can be inferred about Shape X?

    Answer: Shape X is not a square.

    If being a rectangle is required for being a square, then anything that is not a rectangle cannot be a square.

  3. A company's profits rose 10% after a new CEO was hired. An analyst infers the CEO caused the increase. Which fact would most weaken this inference?

    Answer: The entire industry experienced 12% profit growth over the same period.

    If the whole industry grew even more, the company's gains may reflect market trends rather than the CEO's leadership.

  4. Which statement is an inference rather than an observation?

    Answer: The patient is feverish and fighting an infection.

    Concluding the patient is feverish and fighting infection goes beyond direct measurement and involves interpretation.

  5. Sales of umbrellas in a city spiked last Tuesday. What is the most reasonable inference?

    Answer: It rained or was forecast to rain around that time.

    Increased umbrella sales most commonly occur when rain is expected or occurring, making weather the most parsimonious explanation.

  6. A study reports that students who eat breakfast perform better academically. A teacher concludes that serving breakfast at school will improve all students' grades. This conclusion:

    Answer: Overlooks possible confounds and overgeneralizes the study's scope.

    The study shows an association but does not prove that introducing breakfast will universally raise grades, especially without controlling for confounds.

  7. Premises: 'Either the meeting was canceled or the agenda was revised. The agenda was not revised.' What follows?

    Answer: The meeting was canceled.

    In an 'either/or' statement, if one disjunct is false, the other must be true.

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