- Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. Since the study surveyed only college students, its claim about all adults rests on the _____ that students are typical.
Answer: assumption
The study never checked whether students resemble all adults. It simply takes this for granted, so the claim rests on an assumption. 'Observation' is tempting, but nothing in the study observed that students are typical.
- In "The economist posits that consumers act rationally, then builds her whole model on that claim," what does "posits" most nearly mean?
Answer: assumes as a starting point
She builds her model on the claim, so 'posits' means she takes it as a given starting point. 'Demonstrates with data' is tempting, but positing asserts a premise without proving it.
- Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. The critic's case rests on a _____ premise she never states: that box-office success proves artistic merit.
Answer: tacit
'Never states' signals a premise that is assumed but unspoken, which is what 'tacit' means. 'Explicit' is the reverse. A premise can be unstated without being disproven, so 'disproven' goes beyond what the sentence says.
