#12 - It is clear that none of the volleyball players

[Nikki Siclunov]

To parallel the reasoning in the stimulus, we need to understand exactly how the reasoning proceeds. The question we're asking about contains an argument using conditional reasoning, which can be diagrammed as follows:

• Premise: Volleyball Sunburned
  Premise: At work today NOT Sunburned
  ------------------------------------------------------------
  Conclusion: At work today NOT volleyball

The reasoning is logically valid. After taking the contrapositive of the first premise, we arrive at the following chain relationship, which justifies the conclusion reached:

• At work today NOT Sunburned NOT volleyball

So, we are looking for an argument in which the conclusion is deductively valid and provable as a transitive inference from a conditional chain relationship.

Answer choice (A) is incorrect, because the premise talks about TRF workers who were given the opportunity to purchase dental insurance, whereas the conclusion refers to everyone who is employed at TRF. The conclusion expands the scope of the argument beyond what is warranted by the premises.

Answer choice (B) - you should keep this as a contender, as it exhibits at least some of the elements we're looking for. Upon a second look, you should realize that this answer choice contains a Mistaken Negation:

• Premise: Promoted Attend
  Premise: Manager NOT Promoted
  ------------------------------------------------------------
  Conclusion: Manager NOT Attend

Answer choice (C) is incorrect right off the bat. Having a reputation for getting assignments in on time has no bearing on the conclusion.

Answer choice (D) is the correct answer choice, and can be diagrammed as follows:

• Premise: 2nd floor office Work for Pres
  Premise: Work for Pres NO time off
  ------------------------------------------------------------
  Conclusion: 2nd floor office NO time off/list]
  
  Since the conclusion is a logically valid transitive inference from the chain relationship established by the premises, it is correct.
  
  Answer choice (E) can be eliminated relatively quickly, because the language used in the conclusion ("likely") does not match the certainty of the conclusion in the original argument. Furthermore, there is only one premise here, not two.

[PositiveThinker]

Whats tough about these sometimes is how the rearrange the premises and the conclusions. Thats what slows me down. Gotta get better! i got it right but this question took me a smooth 2 and a half minutes.

[avengingangel]

so, D is only correct bc it's the only other valid argument (w/ the same certainties) out of the choices? they diagram differently, so that's why i thought it to be wrong (as the typical strategy w parallel questions)

[JaredBeats]

I feel like they totally do this to confuse you. The following two arguments are the same, even though they "look" different:

• Argument 1
  A B
  B not C
  
  Therefore, A not C

Compare to:

• Argument 2
  A B
  C not B
  
  Therefore, C not A

They look different, right? But in the second argument, all you need to do is use the contrapositives of the second premise and the conclusion in order to see that, actually, the logic is the same. I'm sure the experts have a better explanation, but seriously - if it swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck (even if it doesn't look like a duck).

[skmcox]

Hi! I got this answer right, but I want to make sure that the way I figured it out is correct. I paid attention to the relationships used in the premise and the conclusion.

P: All, None
C: None


And then looked for the answer that used the same type of relationships and in the same order (which was D). Is this a good way to answer questions like this, or did I just luck out? Thanks!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi skmcox!

In general, yes, the technique you're using can be a great test taking tool. To understand how it can be a powerful tool and how to use it appropriately, I'd suggest looking at lesson 8 if you have PowerScore's course materials. That lesson discusses the Double the Conclusion test and Premise Test. Parallel the reasoning questions can otherwise be quite time consuming, so using those techniques can end up saving you lots of time.

Just because words like that match up, though, isn't a guarantee that it's the correct answer. It's good to still read though and understand the answer choice to make sure it indeed matches up with the stimulus. For example, an incorrect answer choice might use the same words but involve flawed reasoning when the stimulus employs valid reasoning. In addition, it's worth noting that a correct answer choice might use the same words but not necessarily in the same order.