Critical Reasoning

El Cucu wrote:In the past, most children who went sledding in the winter snow in Verland used wooden sleds with runners and steering bars. Ten years ago, smooth plastic sleds became popular; they go faster than wooden sleds but are harder to steer and slow. The concern that plastic sleds are more dangerous is clearly borne out by the fact that the number of children injured while sledding was much higher last winter than it was ten years ago.

Which of the following, if true in Verland, most seriously undermines the force of the evidence cited?

A. A few children still use traditional wooden sleds.
B. Very few children wear any kind of protective gear, such as helmets, while sledding.
C. Plastic sleds can be used in a much wider variety of snow conditions than wooden sleds can.
D. Most sledding injuries occur when a sled collides with a tree, a rock, or another sled.
E. Because the traditional wooden sled can carry more than one rider, an accident involving a wooden sled can result in several children being injured.

S0laris wrote:C - if there are much wider variety conditions where sleds applicable, then there are more chances to get hurt, thus sleds are not responsible for injures.

you can't just make up facts at random and then use them in an argument!
you are assuming (for no particular reason) that the additional varieties of snow are more dangerous; you could just as well assume that they are less dangerous.

Sales of telephones have increased dramatically over the last year. In order to take advantage of this increase, Mammoth Industries (MI) plans to expand production of its own model of telephone, while continuing its already very extensive advertising of this product.

Which of the following, if true, provides most support for the view that Mammoth Industries cannot increase its sales of telephones by adopting the plan outlined above?

a) Although it sells all of the telephones that it produces, Mammoth Industries' share of all telephone sales has declined over the last year.
b) MI's average inventory of telephones awaiting shipment to retailers has declined slightly over the last year.
c) Advertising has made the brand name of MI's telephones widely known, but few consumers know that MI owns this brand.
d) MI's telephone is one of three brands of telephone that have together accounted for the bulk of the last year's increase in sales.
e) Despite a slight decline in the retail price, sale of MI's telephones have fallen in the last year