Prep2012-Pack1-CR-043 VCR004534 Medium
Two centuries ago, Tufe Peninsula became separated from the mainland, isolating on the newly formed Tufe Island a population of sunflowers.
This population's descendants grow to be, on average, 40 centimeters shorter than sunflowers found on the mainland. Tufe Island is significantly drier than Tufe Peninsula was. So the current average height of sunflowers is undoubtedly at least partially attributable to changes in Tufe’s environmental conditions.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. There are no types of vegetation on Tufe Island that are known to benefit from dry conditions.
B. There were about as many sunflowers on Tufe Peninsula two centuries ago as there are on Tufe Island today.
C. The mainland‘s environment has not changed in ways that have resulted in sunflowers on the mainland growing to be 40 centimeters taller than they did two centuries ago.
D. The soil on Tufe Island, unlike that on the mainland, lacks important nutrients that help sunflowers survive and grow tall in a dry environment.
E. The 40-centimeter height difference between the sunflowers on Tufe Island and those on the mainland is the only difference between the two populations.
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-044 VCR005074 Medium
The Nile Delta of Egypt was invaded and ruled from 1650 to 1550 B.C. by a people called the Hyksos. Their origin is uncertain, but archaeologists hypothesize that they were Canaanites. In support of this hypothesis, the archaeologists point out that excavations of Avaris, the Hyksos capital in Egypt, have uncovered large numbers of artifacts virtually identical to artifacts produced in Ashkelon, a major city of Canaan at the time of the Hyksos invasion.
In order to evaluate the force of the archaeologists’ evidence, it would be most useful to determine which of the following?
A. Whether there were some artifacts found at Avaris that were unlike those produced in Ashkelon but that date to before 1700 B.C.
B. Whether the Hyksos ruled any other part of Egypt besides the Delta in the period from 1650 to 1550 B.C.
C. Whether Avaris was the nearest Hyksos city in Egypt to Canaan
D. Whether Ashkelon after 1550 B.C. continued to produce artifacts similar to those found at Avaris
E. Whether many of the artifacts found at Avaris that are similar to artifacts produced in Ashkelon date to well before the Hyksos invasion
Prep2012-Pack1-CR-045 VCR005479 Medium
Three large companies and seven small companies currently manufacture a product with potential military applications. If the government regulates the industry, it will institute a single set of manufacturing specifications to which all ten companies will have to adhere. In this case, therefore, since none of the seven small companies can
afford to convert their production lines to a new set of manufacturing specifications, only the three large companies will be able to remain in business.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the author's argument relies?
A. None of the three large companies will go out of business if the government does not regulate the manufacture of the product.
B. It would cost more to convert the production lines of the small companies to a new set of manufacturing specifications than it would to convert the production fines of the large companies.
C. Industry lobbyists will be unable to dissuade the government from regulating the industry.
D. Assembly of the product produced according to government manufacturing specifications would be more complex than current assembly procedures.
E. None of the seven small companies currently manufactures the product to a set of specifications that would match those the government would institute if the industry were to be regulated.
