Critical Reasoning -- Assumption Argument:
"Flexible working hours will increase employee productivity because people perform best during the hours when they feel most energetic."
Which of the following is a necessary assumption?
Step 1: Identify the core reasoning. The argument claims flexible hours increase productivity because employees work best when they feel energetic.
Step 2: Determine what must be true for this logic to hold. For employees to work during their most energetic hours, they must be able to *identify* when those hours are.
The given sentence is missing in the paragraph below. Decide where it best fits among the options 1, 2, 3, or 4 indicated in the paragraph.
Sentence: Productivity gains, once expected to feed through to broader living standards, now primarily serve to enhance returns to wealth.
Paragraph: Economists now argue that inequality is no longer a by-product of growth but a condition of it. ____ (1)____. Unlike wages, wealth reflects not just income but also access to assets, favourable institutional conditions—such as low interest rates—and public policies like low taxes and housing shortages. ____ (2)____. In other words, wealth depends on political choices in ways that income currently does not. It’s not just the inequality itself that is the issue but the erosion of mechanisms that once constrained it. ____ (3)____. Wealth and income inequality are linked, but where wages have stagnated and collective bargaining has weakened, capital income—derived from profits, rents and interest—has been boosted by design. ____ (4)____.
Para-Jumble Arrange the sentences in a coherent order:
Critical Reasoning -- Strengthen Argument:
"Cities with higher public-transport usage typically experience lower air pollution levels."
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
Argument:
"Introducing mandatory coding courses in schools will significantly improve students' problem-solving abilities."
Question:
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?