Tent caterpillars’ routes between their nests and potential food sources are marked with chemical traces called pheromones that the caterpillars leave behind. Moreover, routes from food sources back to the nest are marked more heavily than are merely exploratory routes that have failed to turn up a food source. Thus, tent caterpillars are apparently among the insect species that engage in communal foraging, which consists in the conveying of information concerning the location of food to other members of the colony, nest, or hive.

Which one of the following, if true, adds the most support to the argument?

Historian: The standard “QWERTY” configuration of the keys on typewriters and computer keyboards was originally designed to be awkward and limit typing speed. This was because early typewriters would jam frequently if adjacent keys were struck in quick succession. Experiments have shown that keyboard configurations more efficient than QWERTY can double typing speed while tremendously reducing typing effort. However, the expense and inconvenience of switching to a new keyboard configuration prevent any configuration other than QWERTY from attaining widespread use.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the historian’s statements?

The television show Henry was not widely watched until it was scheduled for Tuesday evenings immediately after That’s Life, the most popular show on television. During the year after the move, Henry was consistently one of the ten most-watched shows on television. Since Henry’s recent move to Wednesday evenings, however, it has been watched by far fewer people. We must conclude that Henry was widely watched before the move to Wednesday evenings because it followed That’s Life and not because people especially liked it.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

Unquestionably, inventors of useful devices deserve credit for their ingenuity, but the engineers who help develop an invention get too little recognition. Although inventors sometimes serve as their own engineers, more often, engineers must translate an inventor’s insight into something workable and useful. Therefore, engineers also deserve credit for their contribution.

The claim that inventors sometimes serve as their own engineers plays which one of the following roles in the argument?

Historian: One traditional childrearing practice in the nineteenth century was to make a child who misbehaved sit alone outside. Anyone passing by would conclude that the child had misbehaved. Nowadays, many child psychologists would disapprove of this practice because they believe that such practices damage the child’s self-esteem and that damage to children’s self-esteem makes them less confident as adults. However, no one disagrees that adults raised under that traditional practice were, on average, as confident as adults not so raised.

Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the historian’s statements?

Human intelligence is not possible without human emotions. A computer is something that can never have emotions, so for that reason alone a computer will never be able to display intelligence.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Manager: I recommend that our company reconsider the decision to completely abandon our allegedly difficult-to-use computer software and replace it companywide with a new software package advertised as more flexible and easier to use. Several other companies in our region officially replaced the software we currently use with the new package, and while their employees can all use the new software, unofficially many continue to use their former software as much as possible.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the manager’s statements?

Fishing columnist: When an independent research firm compared the five best-selling baits, it found that Benton baits work best for catching trout. It asked a dozen top anglers to try out the five best-selling baits as they fished for speckled trout in a pristine northern stream, and every angler had the most success with a Benton bait. These results show that Benton is the best bait for anyone who is fishing for trout.

Each of the following describes a flaw in the reasoning in the fishing columnist’s argument EXCEPT:

Investment banker: Democracies require free-market capitalist economies, because a more controlled economy is incompatible with complete democracy. But history shows that repressive measures against certain capitalistic developments are required during the transition from a totalitarian regime to a democracy. Thus, people who bemoan the seemingly anti capitalist measures certain governments are currently taking are being hasty.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the investment banker’s argument?

Administrator: Because revenue fell by 15 percent this year, the university needs to reduce next year’s budget. This could be accomplished by eliminating faculty positions. It could also be accomplished by reducing faculty salaries. Since we will not eliminate any faculty positions, we must reduce faculty salaries.

The administrator’s reasoning is flawed because the administrator

Repressors – people who unconsciously inhibit their display of emotion – exhibit significant increases in heart rate when they encounter emotion-provoking situations. Non-repressors have similar physiological responses when they encounter such situations and consciously inhibit their display of emotion. Thus the very act of inhibiting displays of emotion, whether done consciously or unconsciously, causes a sharp rise in heart rate.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

A television manufacturing plant has a total of 1,000 workers, though an average of 10 are absent on any given day for various reasons. On days when exactly 10 workers are absent, the plant produces televisions at its normal rate. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the plant could fire 10 workers without any loss in production.

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it