List of top Verbal Reasoning Questions

Centuries ago, the Maya of Central America produced elaborate, deeply cut carvings in stone. The carvings would have required a cutting tool of hard stone or metal. Iron-ore deposits exist throughout Central America, but apparently the Maya never developed the technology to use them and the metals the Maya are known to have used, copper and gold, would not have been hard enough. Therefore, the Maya must have used stone tools to make these carvings.

``Economic recessions are often seen as negative events that disrupt national economies. However, some economists argue that recessions can be beneficial in the long term. They can encourage businesses to become more efficient and help reduce inflation." Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?

A factory was trying out a new process for producing one of its products, with the goal of reducing production costs. A trial production run using the new process showed a fifteen percent reduction in costs compared with past performance using the standard process. The production managers therefore concluded that the new process did produce a cost savings. Which of the following, if true, casts most doubt on the production managers' conclusion?

Although migraine headaches are believed to be caused by food allergies, putting patients on diets that eliminate those foods to which the patients have been demonstrated to have allergic migraine reactions frequently does not stop headaches. Obviously, some other cause of migraine headaches besides food allergies must exist. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion above?

This passage was written in 1984.
It is now possible to hear a recording of Caruso’s singing that is far superior to any made during his lifetime. A decades-old wax-cylinder recording of this great operatic tenor has been digitized, and the digitized signal has been processed by computer to remove the extraneous sound, or ”noise,” introduced by the now ”ancient” wax-cylinder recording process. Although this digital technique needs improvement, it represents a new and superior way of recording and processing sound which overcomes many of the limitations of analog recording. In analog recording systems, the original sound is represented as a continuous waveform created by variations in the sound’s amplitude over time. When analog playback systems reproduce this waveform, however, they invariably introduce distortions. First, the waveform produced during playback differs somewhat from the original waveform. Second, the medium that stores the analog recording creates noise during playback which gets added to the recorded sounds. ... as long as the numbers remain recognizable, the original waveform will be reconstructed with little loss in quality. However, because the waveform is continuous, while its digital representation is composed of discrete numbers, it is impossible for digital systems to avoid some distortion. One kind of distortion, called ”sampling error,” occurs if the sound is sampled (i.e., its amplitude is measured) too infrequently, so that the amplitude changes more than one quantum (the smallest change in amplitude measured by the digital system) between samplings. In effect, the sound is changing too quickly for the system to record it accurately. A second form of distortion is ”quantizing error,” which arises when the amplitude being measured is not a whole number of quanta, forcing the digital recorder to round off. Over the long term, these errors are random, and the noise produced (a background buzzing) is similar to analog noise except that it only occurs when recorded sounds are being reproduced.

Astronomer: In 2022, Observatory Z discovered 12 comets within a two-month span, an unusually high figure compared to their typical average of 3-4 comet discoveries per year. Strikingly, most of these 12 comets were discovered using a decade-old telescope, while a recently acquired state-of-the-art telescope, capable of scanning larger portions of the sky and detecting fainter objects, identified only one comet in the same period. This discrepancy is puzzling, given that the new telescope was designed to vastly outperform the older model. Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the discrepancy described by the astronomer?

In 2018, a medium-sized company implemented a remote work policy allowing employees to work from home two days a week. A study before the policy was introduced showed average employee productivity scores. A follow-up study conducted two years later showed that productivity among employees had increased by 25%. The company concluded that remote work boosts employee productivity. Meanwhile, a separate study of two similar companies that had allowed remote work for over a decade showed no significant change in productivity during the same two-year period. The results of the final study mentioned above:

Principle: An investment strategy is prudent only if it does not expose the investor to an unacceptable level of financial risk. Application: Noah has recently begun using a strategy that includes investing in early-stage tech startups. Although the strategy diversifies his portfolio, it increases his exposure to assets that are less stable than traditional blue-chip stocks. Therefore, his strategy is not prudent. The application of the principle is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?

The prestigious Larchmont High School recently introduced a new magnet program for advanced STEM students. Over the past few months, the school has seen a sharp rise in enrollment, and several teachers have noted that classroom resources are becoming stretched. They argue that if the magnet program were relocated to a separate campus, both the STEM students and the general student body would have a better educational experience. Which of the following is an assumption that supports drawing the conclusion above from the reasons given for that conclusion?

For many years, biologists thought a certain frog species had gone extinct in a region because no individuals were found after a fungal outbreak. This belief was based on surveys conducted after the outbreak, which failed to detect any frogs. However, researchers recently found the species' remains buried in soil layers that appear to have been deposited after the time of the outbreak, suggesting the species might have survived longer than previously believed. This finding does not necessarily disprove the original belief, because \underline{\hspace{1cm}.}

A study of professional chess players revealed that those who began formal coaching before the age of 10 were far more likely to become grandmasters than those who began coaching at an older age or not at all. Researchers concluded that early coaching significantly increases the likelihood of attaining elite status in chess. However, this conclusion is not entirely correct. Early achievers are typically individuals who show exceptional interest and aptitude for chess from a young age. It is this early talent and motivation-not the timing of coaching-that primarily accounts for their success. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the objection to the researchers' conclusion?

A regional airline plans to replace complimentary meals on short flights with meals for purchase. Critics argue that eliminating free meals will lead to a decline in customer satisfaction. This concern is supported by recent surveys. Nevertheless, implementing the change is unlikely to reduce overall satisfaction. The airline also plans to lower ticket prices, and \textit{this is likely to attract more price-sensitive travelers who are less concerned about free meals and more focused on overall affordability.
In the argument above, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?

During a year-long cybersecurity breach, about 1,000 remote employees at Firm Z reported their accounts had been compromised. Around the same number of on-site employees also reported compromised accounts. Based on these figures, it can be hypothesized that working remotely was no more vulnerable to security breaches than working on-site.
Which of the following, if it could be carried out, would be most useful in an evaluation of the above hypothesis?

Nadia: Leaders in tech companies should have some background in software development. That kind of experience helps them understand the practical challenges their teams face and leads to better decision-making.
Omar: But just having a software background doesn't mean someone will be a good leader. Many engineers struggle with communication and team management.
Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in Omar's reasoning?

Although the hormone adrenaline is known to regulate memory storage, its effects on retrieval are debated. Adrenaline’s modulation of retrieval is difficult to interpret because retrieval pro- tocols usually involve new learning, which is known to be affected by adrenaline. Say, for example, that researchers test the effect of adrenaline on participants’ ability to remember a story. If participants are injected with adrenaline before being asked to recall the story, the adrenaline might enhance or impair their recall performance not by affecting retrieval directly, but rather by affecting their ability to learn the information presented in the retrieval protocol (i.e., the researcher’s questions). To evaluate the hormone’s effect on retrieval without the confounding effects of new learning, McGaugh and colleagues tested the effects of adrenaline on memory for intentionally forgotten information. Research has shown that when participants are asked to memorize two lists (list 1 and list 2) and are then instructed to forget list 1, they exhibit poorer recall of list 1 than do participants who are not instructed to forget it-a phenomenon known as intentional forgetting. This phenomenon is attributed to retrieval inhi- bition, a mechanism that makes the unwanted information less likely to be retrieved, whether intentionally or unintentionally. McGaugh and colleagues reasoned that if adrenaline enhances retrieval, it should reduce intentional forgetting. They hypothesized that participants given adrenaline after being instructed to forget list 1 would recall more words from that list than participants given a placebo. After participants memorized list 1, they were told to forget it and memorize list 2. Immediately afterwards, they received an injection of either adrenaline or a placebo and then completed a distractor task. Finally, they were asked to recall as many words as possible from list 1. Adrenaline-treated participants did indeed recall significantly more words from list 1 than placebo-treated participants, suggesting that adrenaline enhances the retrieval of intentionally forgotten memories.

Archaeological discoveries of Pacific Islander settlements on the historically uninhabited islands of the Gal´apagos Archipelago have led researchers to speculate about the nature and extent of pre-Columbian travel in the Pacific. When Thor Heyerdahl wrongly claimed that the Gal´apagos had been colonized by South Americans before the arrival of the Spanish, he revived the more general question of the technical feasibility and extent of pre-Columbian transoceanic travel. Could Pacific Islanders have traveled to the Gal´apagos, which lie 600 miles off the coast of South America? Could they, furthermore, have traveled between the Gal´apagos and South America? One factor against such travel is the wind pattern in this region of the Pacific. Because the prevailing winds generally blow from the east, Gal´apagos-bound vessels sailing from the Pacific Islands would have had to beat windward. Only the most sophisticated vessels with triangular sails are capable of this, and there is no evidence of such sails in the Pacific Islands during the period in question. A second, related point is that the winds would have consistently blown Gal´apagos-bound vessels from South America off course. A third point is the lack of archaeological evidence that Pacific Islanders reached South America. While the sweet potato, a crop of South American origin, was grown in the Pacific Islands in pre-Columbian times, the evidence suggests that it arrived via drifting plant matter rather than human transport.

What causes a helix in nature to appear with either a dextral (”right-handed,” or clockwise) twist or a sinistral (”left-handed,” or counterclockwise) twist is one of the most intriguing ques- tions in the science of form. Most scientists have maintained that the preferential handedness of objects such as DNA molecules, protein amino acids, and the shells of snails is due to chance. For example, Jacques Monod, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, attributed the twist (or ”chirality”) in molecules to the chance selection between two structurally equal molecules, one dextral and one sinistral. He proposed that the choice of twist occurred when the first molecule was formed and that this initial choice set the precedent for all subsequent molecules of that type. However, a new theory challenges the notion that chance is responsible for the predominance of one type of twist. According to this theory, the chirality found in molecules, crystals, and shells has its origins in the fundamental chirality of elementary par- ticles of matter. This theory holds that the universe is fundamentally asymmetric, or chiral, in that the weak force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature, has a handedness of its own. The effects of this force are normally observable only at the subatomic level, but they can be amplified in molecules, crystals, and shells. While the connection between the chirality of elementary particles and that of macroscopic structures, such as snail shells, is not yet fully understood, the new theory provides a potential explanation for the prevalence of specific twists in nature.

In recent years, scholars have begun to use social science tools to analyze court opinions. These scholars have justifiably criticized traditional legal research for its focus on a few cases chosen for their perceived doctrinal importance, arguing that such research may distort our understanding of the law. Social scientists endeavor to study court opinions systematically, analyzing samples of cases that are selected randomly or that constitute the entire universe of cases within certain bounds. However, social science approaches themselves have limitations. By focusing primarily on the influence of factors such as the identity of the judge or the ideological orientation of the court, social scientists may overlook the influence of legal doctrine itself. Their research designs, which usually involve analyzing the quantitative relationship between characteristics of cases and their outcomes, are good at detecting the influence of factors that can be easily quantified but not as good at assessing the influence of factors such as the reasoning of the judge. Social science approaches have also been criticized for ignoring the distinction between the holding of a case (the part of the opinion that is legally binding) and the dicta (nonbinding statements). Finally, these approaches are better suited to analyzing the decisions of appellate courts, which generally issue written opinions, than the decisions of trial courts, which often do not.

In the field of Native American history, scholars have increasingly recognized the need to un- derstand indigenous cultures and perspectives. However, achieving this goal is difficult, partly because Native American oral traditions are rarely accorded the same legitimacy as written accounts. Historian Joanne Rappaport observes that written sources are privileged in histori- cal scholarship, and she argues that this privileging reflects a view that literacy is superior to orality. Rappaport suggests that the link between writing and truth is historically contingent, arising from the encounter between Native Americans and Spanish colonizers. She points out that while the Spanish privileged written documents as records of events, the Native Americans of the Andes regarded oral traditions and ritual performances as the principal means of record- ing the past. When Andean societies were forced to adopt alphabetic writing, they adapted it to meet their needs. For example, indigenous authors used alphabetic writing not only to record events but also to express Andean understandings of the cosmos. Moreover, Andean communities continued to rely on oral traditions and ritual performances to transmit historical knowledge. Rappaport argues that scholars should recognize the parity of oral and written modes of transmitting knowledge and strive to incorporate both into their historical accounts.

Although economic analysis of collective bargaining has traditionally focused on wages, recent studies have increasingly focused on the effects of unionization on fringe benefits such as pen- sions and health insurance. Because the costs of providing fringe benefits are tax deductible for employers, fringe benefits are effectively subsidized by the government. This tax treatment creates an incentive for employers to increase the proportion of employee compensation that is paid in the form of fringe benefits. However, not all workers value fringe benefits equally. Since the value that workers place on fringe benefits is likely to rise with their income (because the tax savings associated with fringe benefits increase with income), higher-income workers are likely to prefer a greater proportion of their compensation in the form of fringe benefits than are lower-income workers. Unions, which typically represent lower-income workers, should therefore be expected to oppose the substitution of fringe benefits for wages. However, unions often support such substitutions. One explanation for this puzzling behavior is that unions take into account the preferences not just of current members but also of potential members, who are typically younger and higher-income than current members. Another explanation is that unions are willing to accept lower wages in exchange for fringe benefits because fringe benefits help to retain workers and reduce labor turnover, thereby increasing the union’s bargaining power.

Recent studies of the gender gap in entrepreneurship have produced somewhat conflicting re- sults. Some studies suggest that the gender gap is narrowing, while others suggest that it is widening. One difficulty in interpreting these results is that the studies often measure en- trepreneurship in different ways. Some studies define entrepreneurs as those who start their own businesses, while others define them as those who own or manage businesses. Moreover, studies vary in their focus, with some examining the proportion of entrepreneurs who are women and others examining the proportion of women who are entrepreneurs. Despite these differ- ences, however, the studies generally agree that women are less likely than men to become entrepreneurs. Several factors have been proposed to explain this gender gap. Some scholars point to differences in access to financial capital, arguing that women are less likely than men to be able to obtain the funding needed to start or grow a business. Others point to differences in human capital, suggesting that women are less likely than men to have the education, expe- rience, and skills needed for entrepreneurship. Still others point to differences in social capital, arguing that women are less likely than men to have access to the networks and connections that can facilitate entrepreneurial success.

In studying the evolution of vertebrae, biologists have often focused on the notochord, a flexible rod found in the embryos of all vertebrates. The notochord appears early in development and is later replaced by the vertebral column, or spine. Because the notochord is essential for the formation of the spine, it has been argued that the evolution of the spine must have followed the evolution of the notochord. However, recent research on the lancelet, a small invertebrate chordate, challenges this view. Lancelets are thought to resemble the ancestors of vertebrates, and they possess a notochord but lack vertebrae. This suggests that the notochord evolved before the spine. Moreover, studies of lancelet development have shown that the notochord is not required for the formation of the tissues that give rise to the spine in vertebrates. Instead, the notochord appears to play a role in organizing the development of other structures, such as the nerve cord and the muscles. These findings suggest that the notochord and the spine evolved independently, with the notochord arising first to serve functions other than spinal development. The spine may have evolved later as a means of providing support and protection for the body.

According to the passage [from question 32], which of the following best describes most ozone-depleting chemicals in 1996 as compared to those in 1987?

``Over the past century, human civilization has seen dramatic shifts in urbanization.Cities have grown larger, and more people have moved to urban areas for better access to education, jobs, and healthcare. However, this rapid growth has created challenges such as overcrowding, pollution, and strain on infrastructure." Based on the passage, which of the following statements is most supported by the author's argument?"

The director of a museum claims that visitors will be more likely to attend an exhibition if it is promoted through social media. Which of the following assumptions is necessary for the director's claim to be valid?