ISAT Analyzing and Extending Ideas 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A scientist proposes that a new drug reduces blood pressure. What would most strengthen this hypothesis?
- Testimonials from patients who used the drug
- A double-blind randomized controlled trial showing statistically significant results (Correct answer)
- A case study of one patient with improved blood pressure
- Expert opinion from a cardiologist who developed the drug
Correct answer: A double-blind randomized controlled trial showing statistically significant results
A double-blind RCT eliminates bias and provides the strongest causal evidence for the drug's effectiveness.
Question 2: Which statement best describes an inference rather than a directly stated fact?
- The temperature dropped to 2°C overnight
- The pipes likely froze because the temperature fell below freezing (Correct answer)
- The weather forecast predicted cold temperatures
- The heating system was turned off at midnight
Correct answer: The pipes likely froze because the temperature fell below freezing
An inference draws a logical conclusion from evidence rather than restating an observed fact.
Question 3: An author writes: 'We must either fund the space program or accept that human curiosity is dead.' What rhetorical technique is being used?
- Slippery slope
- False dilemma (Correct answer)
- Ad hominem
- Straw man
Correct answer: False dilemma
The false dilemma presents only two options when many other possibilities exist.
Question 4: A think tank publishes a report arguing for lower corporate taxes. Knowing the think tank is funded by large corporations, a reader should primarily be concerned about:
- The length of the report
- Potential bias due to conflicts of interest (Correct answer)
- Whether the report uses graphs
- The academic credentials of the authors
Correct answer: Potential bias due to conflicts of interest
Funding sources can create conflicts of interest that bias research conclusions and policy recommendations.
Question 5: Which extension of the idea 'music education improves mathematical reasoning' is best supported by that finding alone?
- All schools should eliminate non-music electives
- Music programs could be a valuable supplement to mathematics curricula (Correct answer)
- Students who study music will become mathematicians
- Mathematics should be taught through song exclusively
Correct answer: Music programs could be a valuable supplement to mathematics curricula
The finding supports music as a supplementary tool for math, not a replacement for existing curricula.
Question 6: A passage describes how forests near cities reduce air pollution. Which analogy best extends this idea to urban planning?
- Cities should relocate to forested regions
- Urban planners could incorporate tree-lined corridors as natural air filtration systems (Correct answer)
- Industrial zones should be moved inside forests
- Citizens should be required to plant one tree per household
Correct answer: Urban planners could incorporate tree-lined corridors as natural air filtration systems
Tree-lined corridors apply the forest-pollution principle at an urban scale in a practical, plannable way.
Question 7: Two studies reach opposite conclusions about whether homework improves grades. What is the most reasonable response to this conflicting evidence?
- Reject both studies as unreliable
- Examine the methodologies to identify why results differ before drawing conclusions (Correct answer)
- Accept the more recent study automatically
- Assume homework has no effect on grades
Correct answer: Examine the methodologies to identify why results differ before drawing conclusions
Conflicting studies often differ in methodology, sample, or context, and examining these differences clarifies the discrepancy.
ISAT Analyzing and Extending Ideas 3
A scientist proposes that a new drug reduces blood pressure.
What would most strengthen this hypothesis?