SAEE Reasoning Flashcards

A student notices that every time the school cafeteria serves pizza, the recycling bins are fuller than usual. Which reasoning error would occur if the student concluded that pizza causes more recycling?

Answer: Confusing correlation with causation

Correlation between two events does not establish that one causes the other; a third factor such as increased napkin or plate usage may explain the fuller bins.

If all members of the debate team are honor students, and Marcus is an honor student, which conclusion is logically valid?

Answer: Marcus might or might not be on the debate team

Being an honor student is necessary but not sufficient for debate team membership, so Marcus may or may not be a member.

A pattern shows: 3, 7, 15, 31, 63. What is the next number in the sequence?

Answer: 127

Each term is found by doubling the previous term and adding 1, so 63 × 2 + 1 = 127.

Four friends finished a race. Amy finished before Ben but after Carlos. Dana finished after Ben. Who finished second?

Answer: Amy

The order is Carlos first, then Amy, then Ben, then Dana, making Amy the second-place finisher.

Which of the following best strengthens the argument: 'Students who eat breakfast perform better on morning exams, so schools should provide free breakfast programs'?

Answer: A study shows breakfast-eating students score 15% higher on standardized tests

Concrete data showing a measurable performance gap directly supports the claim that breakfast improves exam performance.

A researcher surveys 10 students at one school and finds that 8 prefer online learning. She concludes that 80% of all students nationwide prefer online learning. What is the primary flaw in this reasoning?

Answer: The sample size is too small and not representative

A sample of 10 students from a single school cannot reliably represent the preferences of all students nationwide.