PrepTest C2, Section 3, Question 3

Difficulty:

If Patricia eats a heavy, spicy meal tonight, she will get a bad case of heartburn later. If Patricia gets a bad case of heartburn later, she will be grouchy tomorrow morning. So if Patricia eats a heavy, spicy meal tonight, she will be grouchy tomorrow morning.

Question

Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its logical features to the argument above?

If Ruth plants only daffodils, the squirrels will eat the bulbs. If the squirrels eat the bulbs, then no flowers will bloom in Ruth's garden. Since no flowers are blooming in Ruth's garden, she must have planted only daffodils.

If Shawn starts gardening in early spring, he can plant tomatoes early. If Shawn can plant tomatoes early, he will have plenty of tomatoes for canning. But he does not have plenty of tomatoes for canning, so either he did not start gardening in early spring or he did not plant tomatoes early.

Maria plants either petunias or geraniums in her garden. If Maria plants petunias, she plants purple ones. If Maria plants geraniums, she plants red ones. Since both petunias and geraniums are flowers, Maria will have either purple or red flowers in her garden.

If Li plants old rose varieties, her garden will look beautiful. If Li's garden looks beautiful, Li's neighbors will be impressed. So if Li plants old rose varieties, her neighbors will be impressed.

If Bryan's fruit trees are to produce well, he must either prune them in the fall or fertilize them in the spring. Since Bryan wants his trees to produce well but forgot to prune them last fall, Bryan is sure to fertilize his trees this spring.

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