ISAT Analyzing and Extending Ideas 5

Question 1

An environmentalist argues that banning plastic straws will solve ocean pollution. A critic responds that straws account for less than 1% of ocean plastic. What type of response is this?

Accepted Answer

Evidence that challenges the proportionality of the proposed solution

Answer

The critic uses data to show that the solution is disproportionate to the scale of the problem it targets.

Question 2

Which scenario best demonstrates deductive reasoning?

Accepted Answer

Knowing all mammals breathe air and that whales are mammals, so concluding whales breathe air

Answer

Deductive reasoning applies a general rule to a specific case to reach a guaranteed conclusion.

Question 3

A writer claims that the rise of streaming services is responsible for declining cinema attendance. To make the strongest case, the writer should additionally provide:

Accepted Answer

Controlled data showing attendance fell specifically after streaming expanded, with other factors held constant

Answer

Controlled data that isolates streaming's effect from other variables most directly establishes a causal link.

Question 4

A passage proposes that because violent video games and violent crime both increased in the 1990s, video games cause violence. A student correctly identifies this as:

Accepted Answer

A spurious correlation that ignores other social factors from the same period

Answer

Many social changes occurred simultaneously in the 1990s, making a direct causal link between the two trends unwarranted.

Question 5

When extending a scientific finding to a new context, which practice best maintains intellectual honesty?

Accepted Answer

Clearly identify the assumptions required for the extension to hold

Answer

Identifying assumptions makes the limits of the extension transparent and allows others to evaluate its validity.

ISAT - International Student Admissions Test Practice Test

ISAT - International Student Admissions Test Practice Test

ISAT Analyzing and Extending Ideas 5