1. A business owner noticed that many of her employees exhibited signs of fatigue throughout the workday. To combat this, the business owner has partnered with a local gym to offer employees a discounted rate on annual memberships. The business owner is confident this program will help to lessen employee fatigue, as studies have shown that people who exercise regularly have higher energy levels than people who do not.

Which of the following, if true, would most seriously call into question the claim that the business owner’s plan will reduce fatigue?

2. Some scientists are researching how to manipulate viruses so as to be useful in nanotechnology applications, particularly in the human body. Since viruses do not engage in metabolic activity to survive and reproduce, they may be durable building blocks for composite materials. Viruses can be altered to serve human purposes through two approaches, chemical modification, and genetic engineering. To make a virus an effective nanotechnological structure, it is necessary to determine how to attach biological interfaces to the surface of the virus’s protein coat.

The discussion above most strongly supports which of the following statements?

3. Sofia runs a business delivering boxes of frequently used household supplies to monthly subscribers. Aer hiring a workflow manager, she delivered 20 percent more boxes per month while working 20 percent fewer hours herself each month. Hiring a workflow manager increased Sofia’s personal productivity per hour by what percent?

4. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a mandate to operate more efficiently. However, if taxpayers did not have a respectful fear of the IRS, the timely collection of taxes could not be maintained. For the last 10 years, polls have shown that most American taxpayers fear the fines and late fees that can follow an IRS audit. The statements above, if true, would best serve as an argument that

5. Earlier this year, our city’s three main reservoirs had unusually low water levels. As a result, city officials initiated a program that encouraged residents to reduce their water usage by 20 percent. Since the program was announced, the water level at all three reservoirs has returned to normal. Our city officials should be applauded for their role in preventing a crisis.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the efficacy of the officials’ program?

6. If a bicyclist in motion increases his speed by 30 percent and then increases this speed by 10 percent, what percent of the original speed is the total increase in speed?

7. Youssef lives x blocks from his office. It takes him 1 minute per block to walk to work and 20 seconds per block to ride his bicycle to work. If it takes him exactly 10 minutes more to walk to work than to ride his bicycle, then x equals

8. A driver delivered food from a restaurant to a customer’s home by way of a certain route. If the driver then completed 20 percent of the return trip by way of the same route before the delivery vehicle broke down, what percent of the round trip did the driver complete?

9.

10. A team won 50 percent of its first 60 games in a particular season and 80 percent of its remaining games. If the team won a total of 60 percent of its games that season, what was the total number of games that the team played?

11. A book club rented the party room of a local restaurant to meet and discuss its current novel over dinner. The total charge, including food and service, was $867.50. If each member of the club paid at least $42, then what is the greatest possible number of members in the club?

12. In recent years, many advertisements have won awards for their artistic quality. But since advertising must serve as a marketing tool, advertising executives must exercise their craft with an eye to the effectiveness of their advertisement. For this reason, advertising is not art.

The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?

13. Last month, a group of salespeople from a software firm attended a seminar on persuasive speaking. In the weeks following the seminar, the salespeople who attended the seminar made more sales, on average, than those who did not attend the seminar. To increase sales, the sales manager plans to send the remaining salespeople to the same seminar next month.

Which of the following, if true, would most support the prediction that the sales manager’s plan will achieve its goal?

14. A local restaurant recently renovated its dining space, purchasing new tables and chairs to use in addition to the original tables and chairs. The new tables each seat 6 customers, while the original tables each seat 4 customers. Altogether, the restaurant now has 40 tables and is capable of seating 220 customers. How many more new tables than the original tables does the restaurant have?

15. To protect the environment, paper towels in public restrooms should be banned and replaced with hot-air dryers. The use of such dryers would reduce the need to cut down trees to turn them into paper towels. Furthermore, since fewer paper towels would be needed, the environmental impact of the emissions from the papermanufacturing process would be lessened.

Which of the following is an assumption upon which the above proposal depends?

16. A machine manufactures notebooks in a series of 5 colors: red, blue, black, white, and yellow. After producing a notebook of color from that series, it produces a notebook of the next color. Once 5 are produced, the machine repeats the same pattern. If the machine began a day producing a red notebook and completed the day by producing a black notebook, how many notebooks could have been produced that day?

17. The integer a is less than −1, and the integer d is greater than 1. If −1 < b < 0 and 0 < c < 1, then which of the following must be the greatest negative number?

18. Residents of Cordoba County who receive unemployment benefits are allowed to attend courses on job search skills at the local community college at no charge. In addition, the unemployment benefits office offers free assistance with résumé writing. Many retail employees were recently laid off due to the closure of five Boxia Stores locations. Of the affected employees, those who live in Cordoba County will certainly not rely solely on their own resources as they look for new jobs.

Which of the following is an assumption that is required for the conclusion of the argument?

19. Hyperkalemia occurs when the body contains an excessive amount of potassium. In severe circumstances, hyperkalemia can lead to abnormal heart rhythms. Lowering potassium levels is essential to treating those who suffer from hyperkalemia. However, patients with severe hyperkalemia are initially given an injection of calcium, even though calcium does not lower the body’s potassium levels. Instead, the calcium protects the heart from the negative effects of excess potassium. Patients are then given doses of a medicine, such as insulin or albuterol, that help reduce potassium levels. The information given, if true, most strongly supports which of the following?

20. Public interest law focuses on the legal issues that affect the entire community or involve broad areas of public concern, such as illegal discrimination, environmental protection, child welfare, and domestic violence. A particular nonprofit agency focusing on public interest law is woefully understaffed; many lawyers are urgently needed to continue its important work providing low-cost legal services to residents who are unable to afford a private attorney. In order to fill these vacancies as efficiently as possible, the agency should advertise the jobs to students in this year’s graduating class at the local law school to encourage them to enter the field of public interest law.

Each of the following, if true, weakens the recommendation above EXCEPT: