Logical Reasoning MCQ Set 1

Question: In Los Angeles, a political candidate who buys saturation radio advertising will get maximum name recognition.
The statement above logically conveys which of the following?

1. Radio advertising is the most important factor in political campaigns in Los Angeles.
2. Maximum name recognition in Los Angeles will help a candidate to win a higher percentage of votes cast in the city.
3. Saturation radio advertising reaches every demographically distinct sector of the voting population of Los Angeles.
4. For maximum name recognition a candidate need not spend on media channels other than radio advertising.
5. A candidate's record of achievement in the Los Angeles area will do little to affect his or her name recognition there.

Question: The rate of violent crime in this state is up 30 percent from last year. The fault lies entirely in our court system: Recently our judges' sentences have been so lenient that criminals can now do almost anything without fear of a long prison term.
The argument above would be weakened if it were true that

1. 85 percent of the other states in the nation have lower crime rates than does this state.
2. white collar crime in this state has also increased by over 25 percent in the last year.
3. 35 percent of the police in this state have been laid off in the last year due to budget cuts.
4. polls show that 65 percent of the population in this state oppose capital punishment.
5. the state has hired 25 new judges in the last year to compensate for deaths and retirements.

Question: The increase in the number of newspaper articles exposed as fabrications serves to bolster the contention that publishers are more interested in boosting circulation than in printing the truth. Even minor publications have staffs to check such obvious fraud.
The argument above assumes that

1. newspaper stories exposed as fabrications are a recent phenomenon.
2. everything a newspaper prints must be factually verifiable.
3. fact checking is more comprehensive for minor publications than for major ones.
4. only recently have newspapers admitted to publishing intentionally fraudulent stories.
5. the publishers of newspapers are the people who decide what to print in their newspapers.

Question: Time and again it has been shown that students who attend colleges with low faculty/student ratios get the most well-rounded education. As a result, when my children are ready to attend college, I'll be sure they attend a school with a very small student population.
Which of the following, if true, identifies the greatest flaw in the reasoning above?

1. A low faculty/student ratio is the effect of a well-rounded education, not its source.
2. Intelligence should be considered the result of childhood environment, not advanced education.
3. A very small student population does not by itself, ensure a low faculty/student ratio.
4. Parental desires and preferences rarely determines a child's choice of a college or university.
5. Students must take advantage of the low faculty/student ratio by intentionally choosing small classes.

Question: All German philosphers, except for Marx, are idealists.
From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

1. Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.
2. Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
3. If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx.
4. Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
5. Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German, then he or she is an idealist.

Question: Bill earns more commission than does Sandra. But since Andrew earns more commission than does Lisa, it follows that Bill earns more commission than does Lisa.
Any of the following, if introduced into the argument as an additional premise, makes the argument above logically correct EXCEPT:

1. Andrew earns more commission than Bill
2. Sandra earns more commission than Lisa
3. Sandra earns more commission than Andrew
4. Sandra and Andrew earn the same amount of commission
5. Bill and Andrew earn the same amount of commission