ISAT Critical Reasoning 2

Question 1

A company's annual report states that revenue increased by 15% while employee satisfaction scores dropped by 20%. A union representative concludes that the company is prioritizing profits over employee well-being. Which of the following, if true, most weakens the union representative's conclusion?

Accepted Answer

The revenue increase was primarily driven by automated systems that reduced repetitive tasks

Answer

If automated systems drove revenue growth while reducing repetitive tasks, the company may actually be improving working conditions. The correlation between rising revenue and falling satisfaction would be coincidental.

Question 2

All students who passed the advanced mathematics module also passed the statistics module. Maria did not pass the statistics module. Which of the following must be true?

Accepted Answer

Maria did not pass the advanced mathematics module

Answer

Since all students who passed advanced mathematics also passed statistics, and Maria did not pass statistics, by contrapositive reasoning, Maria could not have passed advanced mathematics.

Question 3

A school principal argues that replacing paper textbooks with tablets will improve student learning outcomes because students in a pilot program using tablets scored 12% higher on standardized tests. What is the most significant flaw in this reasoning?

Accepted Answer

The pilot program may have selected above-average students or included additional support not available to all students

Answer

The most significant flaw is selection bias. If the pilot group was not representative of the general student population, or received additional resources, the 12% improvement cannot be attributed solely to the tablets.

Question 4

Consider the following statements: (1) No experienced researchers publish in predatory journals. (2) Some members of the faculty are not experienced researchers. Which conclusion can be validly drawn?

Accepted Answer

Some faculty members might publish in predatory journals

Answer

Since some faculty members are not experienced researchers, they are not covered by Statement 1's restriction. They might or might not publish in predatory journals.

Question 5

A study found that countries with higher chocolate consumption per capita have more Nobel Prize winners. A journalist reports this as evidence that chocolate consumption enhances cognitive ability. Which reasoning error does the journalist commit?

Accepted Answer

Confusing correlation with causation

Answer

The journalist assumes that because two variables are correlated, one causes the other. This ignores confounding variables such as wealth, education spending, and research infrastructure.

ISAT - International Student Admissions Test Practice Test

ISAT - International Student Admissions Test Practice Test

ISAT Critical Reasoning 2