Analytical Ability

A study of female college students living in dormitories found that 35 percent of the students
gained at least 8 pounds between their freshman year and their junior year. In contrast, young
women who lived at home and went directly from high school to the workplace averaged a 1
pound weight gain in their first year of work.

If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusions can most logically be
drawn?

A. College dorms and cafeterias provide a wide array of choices to students, ranging from
healthy meals of vegetables, fruit, and protein to high-calorie snacks such as pizzas and shakes.
B. Living away at college is more stressful than living at home, and stress leads to overeating.
C. With no parental controls and nutritional guidance, freshman women are free to
make unhealthy choices and indulge in more alcohol and high-calorie fast food.
D. Studies have shown that more male freshman students than female freshman students gain
weight in their first year of college.
E. Young women who worry about weight gain in college are more likely to suffer from such
eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia.

With Proposition 13, if you bought your house 11 years ago for $75,000, your property tax would
be approximately $914 a year (1 percent of $75,000 increased by 2 percent each year for 11
years); and if your neighbor bought an identical house next door to you for $200,000 this year,
his tax would be $2,000 (1 percent of $200,000). Without Proposition 13, both you and your
neighbor would pay $6,000 a year in property taxes (3 percent of $200,000).

Which of the following is the conclusion for which the author most likely is arguing in the
passage above?

(A) Proposition 13 is unconstitutional because it imposes an unequal tax on properties of equal

value.

(B) If Proposition 13 is repealed, every homeowner is likely to experience a

substantial increase in property taxes.

(C) By preventing inflation from driving up property values, Proposition 13 has saved
homeowners thousands of dollars in property taxes.

(D) If Proposition 13 is not repealed, identical properties will continue to be taxed at different
rates.

(E) Proposition 13 has benefited some homeowners more than others.

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Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest have risen steadily since 1981, averaging 2.07 degrees
Fahrenheit warmer north of the 46th parallel than in the previous decade. Precipitation and
water-table levels, which have historically maintained a measurable relationship to each other
(within a scaled range of two to four points), have varied drastically from 1987 to 1991,

sometimes deviating as much as six points in fewer than eight months. Reports from Canada
indicate a similar median temperature increase, estimated at 2.02 degrees Fahrenheit; research

from a 1992 study measures the relational swing in moisture levels at no more than three points.

Of the following, which conclusion is best supported by the evidence above?

A. The higher the temperature of a given area, the more likely it is that the water levels will
vary.

B. The variation in temperature in the last decade has been less than the fluctuation of moisture.

C. When temperatures rise north of the 46th parallel, natural water exchange between land and
atmosphere must change in the same proportion.

D. Within the last ten years, water table and precipitation levels have varied more in
the Pacific Northwest than they have in Canada.

E. Canada will have more stability in weather than will the area of the United States above the
46th parallel.

A car’s antitheft alarm tat sounds in the middle of the night in a crowded city neighborhood may
stop an attempted car theft. On the other hand, the alarm might signal only a fault in the device,
or a response to some harmless contact, such as a tree branch brushing the car. But whatever
the cause, the sleep of many people in the neighborhood is disturbed. Out of consideration for
others, people who have these antitheft alarms on their cars should deactivate them when they
park in crowded city neighborhoods at night.

Which one of the following, if assumed by the author of the passage, would allow her properly to
draw her conclusion that the owners of alarm-equipped cars should deactivate the alarms when
parking in crowded city neighborhoods at night?

(A) The inconvenience of false alarms is small price to pay for the security of a neighborhood.

(B) In most cases when a car alarm sounds at night, it is a false alarm.

(C) Allowing the residents of a crowded city neighborhood to sleep undisturbed is

more important than preventing car theft.

(D) People who equip their cars with antitheft alarms are generally inconsiderate of others.
(E) The sounding of car antitheft alarms during the daytime does not disturb the residents of
crowded city neighborhoods.
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Recent studies show that people between the ages of 13 and 55 produce 65 pounds more
garbage per year than they did in 1995. This increase has led to a higher percentage of the total
garbage produced by all the age groups. This age group constitutes a growing percentage of the
population, so it partially explains this rise.

Which of the following can be concluded from passage?

A. People over the age of 55 produce more garbage than people less than the age of 13.

B. Population has risen since 1995.

C. People between the age of 13 and 55 are more than half of current population.

D. Before 1995, people below age 13 and above age 55 produced higher percentage
of total garbage than they do now.

E. People between the age of 13 and 55 produce more garbage than those below 13 or older
than 55.

Companies O and P each have the same number of employees who work the same number of
hours per week. According to records maintained by each company, the employees of Company
O had fewer job-related accidents last year than did the employees of Company P. Therefore,
employees of Company O are less likely to have job-related accidents than are employees of
Company P.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion?

(A) The employees of Company P lost more time at work due to job-related accidents than did
the employees of Company O.

(B) Company P considered more types of accidents to be job-related than did

Company O.

(C) The employees of Company P were sick more often than were the employees of Company O.

(D) Several employees of Company O each had more than one job-related accident.

(E) The majority of job-related accidents at Company O involved a single machine.

The following letter was sent to a candidate applying for entrance to Nathford University.

Thank you for your interest in Nathford University. We regret to say that your application for
entrance has been rejected. Unfortunately, because of the unusually high number of candidates
this year, we were not even able to accept all those with SAT scores of 1000 or above, as has
been our practice in the past. We have only a limited number of openings and must accept
entering students accordingly.

Which of the following can be validly concluded from the letter?

A. The student receiving the letter had SAT scores of 1000 or above.
B. The student receiving the letter did not have SAT scores of 1000 or above.
C. Nathford University accepted only those students with SAT scores of 1000 or above.
D. Nathford University rejected many students with SAT scores of 1000 or above.
E. Nathford University had constraints other than SAT scores that affected selection
of candidates.

Which of the following best completes the passage below?

The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake destroyed over half the city and changed the development
of the California economy, but much of the damage was actually caused by fire. It has been
estimated that as much as 90% of the total destruction was a result of fire damage rather than
movement of the earth. This figure is likely exaggerated, however, because the nearly universal
practice of insuring San Francisco properties against fire but not earthquake damage all but
guaranteed that ………..

A) most damage to the city was blamed on fire

B) the city would eventually be rebuilt
C) insurance companies were forced to offer earthquake coverage
D) residents subsequently moved to other cities where earthquake coverage was available
E) buildings not damaged by fire were never repaired