EA Critical Reasoning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A company claims that installing ergonomic chairs reduced employee sick days by 20%. Which of the following, if true, most weakens this conclusion?
- The company also introduced a wellness program at the same time. (Correct answer)
- Ergonomic chairs are more expensive than standard chairs.
- Sick days increased at a competitor company last year.
- Employees reported higher job satisfaction after the chair installation.
Correct answer: The company also introduced a wellness program at the same time.
An alternative cause (the wellness program) weakens the causal claim that chairs alone reduced sick days.
Question 2: Study: Cities that ban plastic bags report 15% less plastic litter. Conclusion: banning plastic bags reduces plastic litter. Which assumption underlies this argument?
- All plastic litter comes from plastic bags.
- The reduction is not due to other concurrent cleanup programs. (Correct answer)
- Plastic bags are the most common form of litter.
- Citizens in these cities are more environmentally conscious.
Correct answer: The reduction is not due to other concurrent cleanup programs.
The argument assumes the bag ban caused the reduction, not other simultaneous factors — this is the unstated assumption.
Question 3: A business argues: 'Our customer satisfaction score rose from 70% to 80%, proving our new training program works.' What is the flaw in this reasoning?
- A 10-point increase is too small to be meaningful.
- The increase could be due to factors other than the training program. (Correct answer)
- Customer satisfaction scores are unreliable metrics.
- The training program cost more than the benefit.
Correct answer: The increase could be due to factors other than the training program.
The argument commits the post hoc fallacy — assuming the training caused the improvement without ruling out other causes.
Question 4: All A-rated suppliers meet delivery deadlines. Supplier X does not meet delivery deadlines. What can be concluded?
- Supplier X is a B-rated supplier.
- Supplier X is not an A-rated supplier. (Correct answer)
- A-rated suppliers never have delays.
- Supplier X has poor quality products.
Correct answer: Supplier X is not an A-rated supplier.
By contrapositive: if a supplier doesn't meet deadlines, it is not A-rated; nothing else can be deduced.
Question 5: A manager argues against a new policy by saying, 'We've never had a data breach, so we don't need enhanced cybersecurity.' This is an example of which reasoning error?
- False analogy
- Circular reasoning
- Appeal to ignorance (Correct answer)
- Slippery slope
Correct answer: Appeal to ignorance
Concluding safety from the absence of past incidents is an appeal to ignorance — past absence of evidence is not evidence of safety.
Question 6: A survey shows 75% of customers prefer Brand A. The conclusion is that Brand A is the market leader. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen this conclusion?
- The survey sampled 10,000 randomly selected customers nationwide. (Correct answer)
- Brand A spends the most on advertising.
- Brand A has the lowest price in the market.
- The survey was conducted by Brand A's marketing department.
Correct answer: The survey sampled 10,000 randomly selected customers nationwide.
A large, random, nationally representative sample increases the validity and generalizability of the survey finding.
EA Critical Reasoning 1
A company claims that installing ergonomic chairs reduced employee sick days by 20%.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens this conclusion?