MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 12: Answer and Explanation

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Test Information

Question: 12

1. Which of the following statements is assumed without support in paragraph 3?

  • A. Hume says that the necessary connection between cause and effect is simply a mental custom.
  • B. Momentum is transferred if an object in motion collides with an object at rest.
  • C. The mind infers a necessary connection after experiencing one instance of a cause and its effect.
  • D. The truth of a claim is not logically determined if it can be imagined otherwise.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

Start with choice (A), "Hume says that the necessary connection between cause and effect is simply a mental custom." The relevant text is the following:

"Hume argues that this necessary connection that makes one entity the cause of another is purely a creation of the mind: 'necessity is nothing but that determination of the thought to pass from causes to effects and from effects to causes, according to their experienc'd union.' Such behavior is the product of custom, a mental habit established after we repeatedly perceive similar sequences of cause and effect . . ."

Clearly the language in this choice is cobbled together from the sentence that surrounds the quotation, so it must be something the author would endorse. However, this is ultimately a claim about what Hume says, and the best way to strengthen claims that offer interpretations of a writer is to quote the writer directly. Because the author does quote Hume directly, this is not "assumed without support," and so can be eliminated.

For choice (B), "Momentum is transferred if an object in motion collides with an object at rest," look to this part of the paragraph:

"Logic does not dictate that momentum should be transferred in a collision, for we could easily imagine one ball colliding into another and producing any number of other results; only experience shows us it is so."

Though the first part of this sentence states that the claim cannot be supported logically, the clause following the semicolon notes that this claim is demonstrated by experience. That reference to support rules out this choice as well.

With choice (C), "The mind infers a necessary connection after experiencing one instance of a cause and its effect," there is actually an inconsistency with the passage. This is found when the author notes that custom is "a mental habit established after we repeatedly perceive similar sequences of cause and effect" (emphasis added). There's no reason to believe that the mind does this after only one experience, so cross off this option too.

At this point, process of elimination shows that the correct response is choice (D), "The truth of a claim is not logically determined if it can be imagined otherwise."

Executing the plan led to the elimination of (A), (B), and (C), indicating that choice (D) is correct. This is confirmed with the first part of the last sentence in P3: "Logic does not dictate that momentum should be transferred in a collision, for we could easily imagine one ball colliding into another and producing any number of other results." The Evidence keyword for suggests the author takes the ability to imagine something to be otherwise as evidence that it is not dictated, or determined, by logic. But why should the imagination be any guide about what is logically determined? The author offers no reasons, so this assumption is unsupported.

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