Critical Reasoning

A recent research study of undergraduate students analyzed the effects of music on human emotions. Each of the 200 participants attended at least 1 two-hour concert of classical music per week over the course of 12 weeks of their spring semester. At the end of the experiment, all of the students filled out a questionnaire assessing their emotional state. Based on the results of the questionnaires, all of the 10 students who attended the greatest number of concerts reported lower stress levels and higher satisfaction with their lives. Also, most of the 20 students who attended the fewest number of concerts reported below-average levels of emotional comfort.

Which of the following must be true based on the evidence presented above?

a. Most of the 200 participants improved their emotional state and lowered their stress levels.

b. During each week of the experiment, the participants spent at least 2 hours less on their academic work as a result of concert attendance.

c. Listening to classical music for at least 2 hours per week improves the emotional well-being of the majority of young adults.

d. More than 6 participants attended at least 14 concerts during the course of the experiment.

e. At least some of the students participated in the study in order to gain free access to classical concerts.

IMO: C

sunnyjohn wrote:IMO: C

Hello okigbo and sunnyjohn,

In an inference question, we need to find a choice that must be true based on one or more of the statements in the passage. The four wrong answers are things that either could or must be false.

When reading the passage of an inference question, determine everything that must be true but also what is not necessarily true. Here, the students' are reporting how they feel....BUT this is not necessarily the same as what they actually feel (students can under- or over-report how they feel, or they can lie, etc).

Therefore, based on this study we actually don't know anything about the link between listening to music and emotion or stress...therefore, choices A and C could be false.

Choice E obviously could be false (we have no idea what the students' motivation was for participating in the study-maybe the study was mandatory for them).

Choice B could be false. Fine, because of going to the concert they have two hours removed from their schedule. But they can make up the two hours for studying elsewhere.

Choice D must be true on the numbers. We know that all 200 attended "at least one" concert per week. Then, the stimulus tells us that there are 20 participants who attended the "fewest number of concerts". So, maybe they attended just once per week for a total of 12. And, there are 10 who attended the "greatest number of concerts". But that leaves 200-(20+10) = 170 participants who attended some number of concerts that was intermediate between the "fewest" and the "greatest". If we minimize the number of concerts attended by this intermediate group, then they had have to attended at least 13 total concerts (to be more than the "fewest"). That means the group of ten who attended the greatest number had to have attended at least 14, and therefore choice D must be true.

But you didn't have to figure all of that out here. Instead, you could have made the deduction discussed above, and rapidly eliminated the four wrong answers.

ohh great explanation..testluv..
thanks a ton..!

I like the explanation on C