NUMS — Medical & Dental Entry Test

NUMS Logical Reasoning — Critical Thinking: Assumptions, Cause and Effect (Set 3)

Take the NUMS Logical Reasoning — Critical Thinking: Assumptions, Cause and Effect (Set 3): 30 multiple-choice questions (40 minutes) with instant scoring…

What this test covers

30 NUMS Logical Reasoning

Sample questions with answers

The first 5 questions of this test, with the correct answer and explanation.

Q1. Statement: A teacher says, "Wear a helmet while riding a bike; it protects your head in a crash." Assumptions: I. A helmet reduces the risk of head injury in a crash. II. Everyone who rides without a helmet will be injured. Which assumption(s) is/are implicit in the statement?
- A. Only assumption I is implicit ✓
- B. Only assumption II is implicit
- C. Both assumptions I and II are implicit
- D. Neither assumption is implicit
Answer: A. Only assumption I is implicit
Explanation: The advice rests on the helmet protecting the head (I). The statement does not claim that every rider without a helmet is injured, so II is not implicit.
Q2. Statement: The hospital has put up signs asking visitors to sanitise their hands at the entrance. Assumptions: I. Everyone who enters the hospital is sick. II. Visitors are likely to follow the signs. Which assumption(s) is/are implicit in the statement?
- A. Only assumption I is implicit
- B. Only assumption II is implicit ✓
- C. Both assumptions I and II are implicit
- D. Neither assumption is implicit
Answer: B. Only assumption II is implicit
Explanation: Putting up signs only makes sense if visitors will pay attention to them (II). The signs do not imply that every entrant is sick, so I is not implicit.
Q3. Statement: A teacher tells the class, "Revise Chapter 5 tonight, because tomorrow's quiz will be based on it." Assumptions: I. Students who revise the chapter are likely to answer questions on it better. II. The teacher believes every student will fail without revision. Which assumption(s) is/are implicit in the statement?
- A. Only assumption I is implicit ✓
- B. Only assumption II is implicit
- C. Both assumptions I and II are implicit
- D. Neither assumption is implicit
Answer: A. Only assumption I is implicit
Explanation: Advising revision assumes that revision improves answers (I). The statement does not say the teacher expects everyone to fail (II).
Q4. Statement: An advertisement reads: "Buy a tablet today at half price; the offer ends tonight." Assumptions: I. Tablets are sold at half price every day. II. Customers are attracted by lower prices. Which assumption(s) is/are implicit in the statement?
- A. Only assumption I is implicit
- B. Only assumption II is implicit ✓
- C. Both assumptions I and II are implicit
- D. Neither assumption is implicit
Answer: B. Only assumption II is implicit
Explanation: The urgency of the ad assumes that customers like discounts (II). If tablets were always half price there would be nothing special about the offer, so I is not implicit.
Q5. Statement: A health body says, "Parents should limit the screen time of children below five years to one hour a day." Assumptions: I. Excessive screen time can harm young children. II. Children above five years never use screens. Which assumption(s) is/are implicit in the statement?
- A. Only assumption I is implicit ✓
- B. Only assumption II is implicit
- C. Both assumptions I and II are implicit
- D. Neither assumption is implicit
Answer: A. Only assumption I is implicit
Explanation: The advice assumes excessive screen time is harmful to young children (I). Nothing in the statement concerns older children's screen use, so II is not implicit.

The other 25 questions

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Q6. Statement: The mayor said the new bridge will be completed before the monsoon begins. Assumptions: I. All bridges in the country are built before the monsoon. II. The monsoon will arrive earlier than usual this year. Which assumption(s) is/are implicit in the statement?
- A. Only assumption I is implicit
- B. Only assumption II is implicit
- C. Both assumptions I and II are implicit
- D. Neither assumption is implicit
Q7. Statement: The college has made 75% attendance compulsory for sitting the annual examination. Assumptions: I. The college is able to record each student's attendance. II. Every student currently has more than 75% attendance. Which assumption(s) is/are implicit in the statement?
- A. Only assumption I is implicit
- B. Only assumption II is implicit
- C. Both assumptions I and II are implicit
- D. Neither assumption is implicit
Q8. Statement: A pharmacy announces: "Delivery is free for all orders above Rs 1,000." Assumptions: I. Every order above Rs 1,000 is delivered by motorbike. II. Customers have no other pharmacy from which to buy medicines. Which assumption(s) is/are implicit in the statement?
- A. Only assumption I is implicit
- B. Only assumption II is implicit
- C. Both assumptions I and II are implicit
- D. Neither assumption is implicit
Q9. Read the two statements. A: Last week the number of dengue cases in the city rose sharply. B: Two weeks earlier, heavy rain had left pools of stagnant water all over the city. Which option best describes the relationship between them?
- A. Statement A is the cause and statement B is its effect
- B. Statement B is the cause and statement A is its effect
- C. Both statements are effects of a common cause
- D. Both statements are independent and unrelated events
Q10. Read the two statements. A: Cholera cases rose in the flooded district. B: Typhoid cases rose in the same district. Both increases occurred after floodwater contaminated the district's drinking water. Which option best describes the relationship between them?
- A. Statement A is the cause and statement B is its effect
- B. Statement B is the cause and statement A is its effect
- C. Both statements are effects of a common cause
- D. Both statements are independent and unrelated events
Q11. Read the two statements. A: In January a hospital began giving free vitamin D tablets to schoolchildren. B: By June the number of schoolchildren with vitamin D deficiency at its clinic had fallen sharply. Which option best describes the relationship between them?
- A. Statement A is the cause and statement B is its effect
- B. Statement B is the cause and statement A is its effect
- C. Both statements are effects of a common cause
- D. Both statements are independent and unrelated events
Q12. Read the two statements. A: A cricket team won the national tournament on Sunday. B: On Monday, the price of wheat flour fell in the local market because a bumper harvest arrived. Which option best describes the relationship between them?
- A. Statement A is the cause and statement B is its effect
- B. Statement B is the cause and statement A is its effect
- C. Both statements are effects of a common cause
- D. Both statements are independent and unrelated events
Q13. Read the two statements. A: From 1 September the school started classes 30 minutes earlier. B: In September, late arrivals rose from 5 to 40 a day, and most late students said the earlier start left them too little time to reach school. Which option best describes the relationship between them?
- A. Statement A is the cause and statement B is its effect
- B. Statement B is the cause and statement A is its effect
- C. Both statements are effects of a common cause
- D. Both statements are independent and unrelated events
Q14. Read the two statements. A: At noon, passengers at the bus stop were seen running for shelter. B: At 11:58 a.m. a sudden hailstorm began. Which option best describes the relationship between them?
- A. Statement A is the cause and statement B is its effect
- B. Statement B is the cause and statement A is its effect
- C. Both statements are effects of a common cause
- D. Both statements are independent and unrelated events
Q15. A town's accident figures fell sharply after a new bypass road opened, and a councillor concludes that the bypass has made the town safer. Which of the following, if true, most weakens this conclusion?
- A. In the same month, the police introduced speed cameras and stricter checks on all roads in the town.
- B. Most of the town's accidents used to happen at weekends.
- C. The bypass is longer than the old main road.
- D. The bypass cost more to build than the council had planned.
Q16. A company claims that its herbal tea cures colds because 90% of customers who drank it recovered within a week. Which of the following, if true, most weakens the claim?
- A. The tea costs more than ordinary tea.
- B. The tea is sold in attractive packaging.
- C. Some customers did not like the taste of the tea.
- D. Most colds clear up within a week even if the person takes nothing.
Q17. A principal argues that giving every student a laptop raised the school pass rate from 70% to 80%. Which of the following, if true, most weakens her argument?
- A. The school is the largest in the district.
- B. In the same year the exam board made the paper easier, and pass rates also rose in schools that gave out no laptops.
- C. Some teachers were unfamiliar with the new software.
- D. The laptops were bought with donated funds.
Q18. Students who eat breakfast score higher marks than those who skip it, so a teacher concludes that eating breakfast improves performance. Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the conclusion?
- A. Some students who eat breakfast still score poorly.
- B. Breakfast habits differ from region to region.
- C. Breakfast is usually the cheapest meal of the day.
- D. A group of students who normally skipped breakfast was given breakfast for a term, and their marks rose compared with similar students who were not given it.
Q19. A council says its tree-planting drive lowered summer temperatures in one district. Which of the following, if true, most strengthens this claim?
- A. The trees came from a local nursery.
- B. Many residents enjoyed the tree-planting campaign.
- C. The district is smaller than most others.
- D. Neighbouring districts that did not plant trees recorded no fall in summer temperature over the same period.
Q20. A doctor argues that a new exercise programme reduces chronic back pain. Which of the following, if true, most strengthens her argument?
- A. The programme can be done at home without equipment.
- B. Many patients said they enjoyed the exercise sessions.
- C. Patients randomly assigned to the programme reported less pain after three months than patients randomly assigned to no programme.
- D. Back pain is one of the most common reasons for a clinic visit.
Q21. "Every time Sana washes her car, it rains the next day. So washing her car causes rain." What is the flaw in this reasoning?
- A. It attacks Sana instead of her claim.
- B. It assumes that because one event followed another, the first caused the second.
- C. It assumes that the conclusion has already been proved.
- D. It generalises from a sample that is far too large.
Q22. "Most of the doctors I know are vegetarian, so most doctors in the country must be vegetarian." What is the flaw in this reasoning?
- A. It uses a term with two different meanings.
- B. It relies on an authority who is not an expert.
- C. It assumes that all vegetarians are doctors.
- D. It generalises from a small and possibly unrepresentative sample.
Q23. In a survey, every student who joined the coaching academy passed the entry test, while some students who did not join also passed. Which conclusion is definitely supported?
- A. Joining the academy is the only way to pass the test.
- B. Students who joined the academy studied harder than the others.
- C. Most students joined the academy.
- D. Joining the academy was not necessary for passing the test.
Q24. Clinic X saw 80 patients, 60% of whom were female. Clinic Y saw 50 patients, 80% of whom were female. Which statement is correct?
- A. Clinic Y saw more female patients because its percentage is higher.
- B. Clinic X saw 8 more female patients than Clinic Y.
- C. Both clinics saw the same number of female patients.
- D. Clinic Y saw 8 more female patients than Clinic X.
Q25. The laboratory is closed on all Sundays and public holidays. 14 August is a public holiday. Which statement must be true?
- A. The laboratory is open on 14 August.
- B. The laboratory is closed on all other days of August.
- C. The laboratory is closed on 14 August.
- D. 14 August falls on a Sunday.
Q26. Statement: A sudden outbreak of diarrhoea has been reported in a village whose only well has been found contaminated. Courses of action: I. The health department should send medical teams and supply clean drinking water. II. The villagers should be punished for contaminating the well. Which course(s) of action follow(s)?
- A. Only course of action I follows
- B. Only course of action II follows
- C. Both courses of action follow
- D. Neither course of action follows
Q27. Statement: A newspaper reports that the town's only pharmacy ran out of insulin for a week. Courses of action: I. The pharmacy owner should be jailed. II. All other medicines should be banned from sale. Which course(s) of action follow(s)?
- A. Only course of action I follows
- B. Only course of action II follows
- C. Both courses of action follow
- D. Neither course of action follows
Q28. Statement: In a test, 40 of 50 students passed, and every student who passed had attended the revision classes. Conclusions: I. All students who attended the revision classes passed. II. Fewer than 40 students attended the revision classes. Which conclusion(s) follow(s)?
- A. Only conclusion I follows
- B. Only conclusion II follows
- C. Both conclusions I and II follow
- D. Neither conclusion follows
Q29. Statement: Drug X was given to 100 patients and 70 improved. A sugar pill was given to 100 similar patients and 20 improved. Conclusions: I. Drug X appears to be more effective than the sugar pill. II. Drug X will cure every patient who takes it. Which conclusion(s) follow(s)?
- A. Only conclusion I follows
- B. Only conclusion II follows
- C. Both conclusions I and II follow
- D. Neither conclusion follows
Q30. Statement: All the lights in the laboratory are LED lights. Some of the lights in the laboratory are switched on. Conclusions: I. Some LED lights are switched on. II. At least one light in the laboratory is an LED light. Which conclusion(s) follow(s)?
- A. Only conclusion I follows
- B. Only conclusion II follows
- C. Both conclusions I and II follow
- D. Neither conclusion follows