TSA 2010 S1

Explanation

The correct answer is E.

The text speaks about the recycling risks of plastic drinking bottles as they are mostly made of PET, in the US. The passage goes on to talk about how if added to landfill sites there is little to the environment. It is important to note that it is not claimed in the arguement that PET could not be recycled safely, rather that it is potentially dangerous. Looking at the answer options now we can say that answer option A and B are not plausible answers. C is also incorrect, as the carcinogenic claims are only about the recycling process, not about general use of the plastic. Option D is not explored at all in the text, therefore meaning the only possible answer option is E.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

To calculate the charge if they payed per session, first calculate the cost of the family to swim for a single session: (2 adults x £2) + (4 children x £1)= 4+4=£8 per session for the whole family. They swam 40 times so this would have cost: 40 x 8 =£320. When using the swimcard, the family must also pay half the price for a single child each time (as they have 4 kids and the swimcard only pays for 3). Therefore the total cost for the year would be: 50+(1/2 x 40)= 50+20=£70. So the total amount saved using the swimcard instead of paying per session is: 320-70=£250.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

The argument is that if more golfers took out the appropriate insurance then the number of golfing accidents would decrease. The support given in the passage for this argument is a correlation between a high number of accidents and low number of insured golfers. However, this correlation does not necessarily mean that the lack of insurance causes accidents, which is highlighted by C.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

The passage talks about how despite the banning of handguns in the UK in 1997, there has been an increase in the number of crimes involving handguns. This includes both overall firearm crimes and also those involving legally owned firearms. Based on this although answer A does agree with the text, the use of the word simply makes this a less reliable conclusion. Answer options B and C are incorrect, and answer E has not been explored in the text. Therefore, answer D is the only possible option that offers an overall conclusion for the text.

Explanation

The correct answer is A.

The argument is that we should not introduce payment schemes that charge drivers according to the amount of time they spend on the roads because this would encourage dangerous driving. The support given for this in the passage is that when people were charged for road usage in driving simulators, they often drove dangerously. For this argument to be valid from the support given, the driving simulators must be a good representation of real driving, which may not necessarily be the case, which is highlighted by answer A.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

Find the lowest common multiple of 6, 8 and 18 (the number of months each company pays its shareholders) which is 72 months. Convert this to years: 72/12=6 years. 6 years from January 1990 is January 1996.

Explanation

The correct answer is E.

Work backwards from the answers given, starting with E as it is the greatest amount of time. 2hrs and 59min after 7am is 09:59am. This can be shown on the image of the clock given by adding more lines but not omitting any of the existing lines, therefore E is possible and must be the answer as it is the greatest amount of time out of all of the answer options given.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

The argument is that alcohol is a one of the major causes of the increase in breast cancer cases. The support gi8ven for this in the passage is the positive correlation between the amount of alcohol women drank and the number of women with breast cancer over a certain time period. However, it a causation cannot be drawn directly from a correlation without a scientific explanation, which is highlighted by answer B.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

The passage discusses how that the perception of 18th century properties with smooth lawns was impossible to actually achieve, as there was no way of killing wild plants and weeds, plus the lawnmower hadn’t been invented so lawns had to be cut by hand scythes. Answer A, although plausible from the text is not an accurate conclusion to the argument in the text. Answer B is true, however is a point in the text rather than the main conclusion. Answer D is an unknown as this was not addressed in the text, while answer E is irrelevant and unknown. Answer C provides an accurate overview of the argument in the text and is therefore the only possible main conclusion.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

Spending £96 would give a 33% reduction which means they would have to pay for 67% or approximately 2/3 of £96: 96 x 2/3 =£64. Spending an additional £6 means they would spend 96+6=£102, which would have a 50% reduction, which would be: 102 x 1/2 =£51 payed. The difference between these is: 64-51= £13..

Explanation

The correct answer is E.

Half the cost of the standard consumption: 168.15×0.5~170×0.5=85. Increase cost of off-peak consumption by ten times: 10.06×10~10×10=100. Add approximate values of the fixed charges (12.30 and 5.45) to the new standard consumption and off-peak consumption: 12+6+85+100=203, which is close to 200, which is answer E.

Explanation

The correct answer is A.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

The data provided looks at the thoughts of young smokers and parents perceptions of attitudes of eachother around smoking. Answer A is unknown from the information provided, as this is not something asked. Answer C is incorrect. Answer D is not covered in the data. Answer E is subjective and therefore not something that can be concluded from the data provided. Answer B can be concluded as true, and is the only viable answer option.

Explanation

The correct answer is E.

The argument is that mobile phone masts are safe and therefore can be situated anywhere. The support given for this argument relates to low radio frequency radiation emissions, signalling that they are safe. However, fro this argument to be valid, one must assume that the only possible harm mobile phone masts could cause is via radiation, which is highlighted by point E.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

The argument is that advertising disadvantages the consumer because the cost of advertising increases production costs and hence the prices of the goods the consumers are purchasing. A does not really weaken the argument as it states what manufacturers may ‘believe’ rather than an actual fact. C gives neither an advantage nor disadvantage of advertising therefore has little impact on the argument as it does not directly oppose or support it. D does give an advantage of advertising, but does not contradict the statement that advertising disadvantages the consumer, so is unlikely to weaken the argument the most. E actually may strengthen the argument by giving another disadvantage of advertising. B most weakens the argument because the improvement in the quality of goods is a benefit for the consumer, therefore B is directly opposing the argument that advertising disadvantages the consumer.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

For this question we can see that once we take away the weight for the person from the maximum load, we can transport 320kg worth of boxes in each trip. In order to take the minimum number of journeys, we will have to ensure that we take the maximum load in each trip. Since 25kg boxes alone cannot make 320kg on their own, we can start off with transporting 300kg worth of the 25kg boxes with an additional 20kg box for each trip until we finish the 25kg boxes. Since 300/25 = 12, this means that we’ll be transporting 12 units of the 25kg boxes and 1 of the 20kg boxes for each trip initially. Since 120/12=10, this means that it will take us 10 trips to finish off the 25kg boxes (during which time we will have transported 10 of the 20kg boxes). For the remaining trips we will only transport the remaining 80 units of the 20kg boxes. Since 320/20= 16 we can transport 16 of the 20kg boxes per trip and 80/16 = 5 so this will take 5 trips. Overall, we therefore need a minimum of 10+5 = 15 trips and the answer is D

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

The data provided looks at the thoughts of young smokers and parents perceptions of attitudes of eachother around smoking. Answer A is unknown from the information provided, as this is not something asked. Answer C is incorrect. Answer D is not covered in the data. Answer E is subjective and therefore not something that can be concluded from the data provided. Answer B can be concluded as true, and is the only viable answer option.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

For this question it is easiest if we calculate the actual cost per person for different numbers of passengers. For 1 passenger we can see that it is £70. For 2 passengers it will cost £70+£10=£80 which can be split between the 2 passengers, giving £40 per person. Carefully observing the graphs using the ruler shows that the only graph where the cost for two passengers actually lines up perfectly with £40 (rather than being slightly above or slightly below) is graph D, which is the correct answer.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

The argument favours the idea of banning private healthcare because its increased use is lowering NHS standards. But the passage has not given evidence to show that the increased use of private healthcare has been negatively affecting the NHS and has not given any indication that the consverse could not be true: that decreased NHS standards has resulted in increased private healthcare use. This flaw is highlighted by C.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

Amrik cannot do X (buy the advanced software) because of Y(it is too expensive). Z(the professional version) is even more Y than X, so he cannot do that either. C parallels this when X=sleep at night, Y=drinks cup of tea after 9pm, Z=coffee.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

If we consider the three recipients to be persons A, B and C, and the corresponding letters that they were meant to receive as letters a, b and c, we can easily and quickly work out the possible combinations. Since each of the recipients can only receive a letter intended for the other two, this means that A can only receive letters b or c. If we start of with A receiving b, we can see that the only combination where this will work is if B then receives c and C receives a, as C cannot receive letter c. The only other letter A can receive is letter c, and again we can see that the only combination in which this would work is if B receives a and C receives b because B cannot receive letter b. Therefore, there are only 2 possible combinations and the answer is B.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

The fastest way to approach this question is to work through the answer options and therefore only compare the months stated within the answers as opposed to working through the table in order to calculate the month with the highest claims costs. If we first compare the months January and March, we can see that the number of claims increase in all categories so we can instantly exclude January. We can then compare March and June and here we can see that the number of claims is higher in March in both the Write-off and Serious categories. While June has a higher number of Slight accident claims, this minor difference is easily made up by the difference in the higher costing categories. For example, March has 7 more Write-off claims. Since Write-off claims cost 10 times more than Serious claims which in turn cost 10 times more than Slight claims, this means that 7 Write-offs are equivalent to 7x10x10= 700 Slight claims – which is easily greater than the increase of less than 300 Slight claims from March to June. Hence, we can exclude June. The same situation arises when comparing October with March so we can exclude October as well. When we compare March with November, we can see that while March has a greater number of Write-off claims, November has a slight increase in Serious claims. As before we can see that the increase in the higher costing Write-off category easily outweighs the increase in the lower costing Serious category. While the number of Serious claims increase by 28, the number of Write off claims decrease by 10 from March to November, which is the equivalent of a loss of 10×10=100 Serious claims. Therefore, the right answer is B. March.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

An important factor to remember about this question is that while the initial graph shows the balance at the end of the month, the answer options show the change during the month. This means that the initial bar in the answer option graphs is not meaningful to us since we have no information on the previous December’s bank balance so we cannot determine whether the bank balance increased or decreased during January. So we can simply ignore the first bar. However, we can see that the bank balance at the end of February is lower that that at the end of January, so clearly the bank balance must have decreased during February. This alone allows us to exclude answer options B and E. We can then scan the remaining answer options (A, C and D) to check where the graphs next differ, which is during July. We can see that the bank balance at the end of July is the same as at the end of June, hence there must have been no change during July, so we can exclude A. C and D next differ during December. Since the bank balance at the end of December is greater than that at the end of November, the balance must have increased during December hence the correct answer is graph D.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

The text discusses how loyalty schemes at supermarkets were originally created to encourage customers to use just that one supermarket, but as all have these schemes and customers use them for multiple different supermarkets they have become obscelete and are only expensive for the company, while now no longer achieving their aim. Looking at the answers, A, B, D and E are just points made in the text not conclusions. Leaving the only viable option as C, which concludes accurately the overall message of the passage.

Explanation

The correct answer is E.

The passage speaks as to how there is an increased demand for blood donors worldwide, but especially in Western countries. The passage also talks about some reasons for this short fall, and how that in medical uses, there is no substitute for human blood. Looking at the answers, although answer A and C are viable they are not conclusions, but points to be raised in the text. Answer B is incorrect, while answer D is not spoken about in the text. This leaves answer E, which covers the main point that the text focuses around, and with use of the therefore test can be shown to be the only possible conclusion from the answer options.

Explanation

The correct answer is A.

The argument concludes that rhinoceros horn is not an aphrodisiac because when compared with rice in a study, consuming rice lead to a greater increase in sexual arousal. However, the argument has not considered that rhinocerous horn may still be an aphrodisiac but just to a lesser extent than rice. Therefore, the argument must be assuming that rice lacks aphrodisiac properties, which is highlighted by answer A.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

Working in order of how it is given in the passage and using F, J and B to represent Fred, Joe and Bill respectively, we can write ‘-‘ for when someone owes a another person money and ‘+’ when someone is owed money. E.g. B is owed 300 from F and 200 from J, so this can be written as B=+200+300, J=-200, F=-300. Doing this for all of the statements given leaves: B=+200+300-250-200=+50, J=-200+100+250-150=0, F=-300-100+150+200=-50. Therefore overall Bill is owed £50 and Fred owes £50, and this can be settled by Fred giving Bill £50.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

Needs 1 aftershave, 1 talc, 1 bodyspray and 2 shower gel. Cheapest possible combination: aftershave & shower gel + shower gel & body spray + talc = 3.49+2.99+1.99=8.47.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

It is evident that in:

1990: 40% of the adult population smoked

1991: 30% of the adult population smoked

With this information, we can conclude that between the years of 1990 and 1991, 10% of the population quit smoking. There has been a 25% reduction in the number of adults that smoked (since 10% is 25% of 40%) if we express this as ‘a percentage of the number of smokers in 1990’. The answer is C. because this is how the campaign organisers have conveyed the reduction in percentage of adult smokers within the population.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

The argument is that demand for illegal drugs need to be reduced by treating drug-dependent criminals for their addiction. A is irrelevant as there argument does not refer to the price of drugs. B may actually weaken the argument by suggesting that the problem is already being tackled in a different way. C may also weaken the argument by implying that drug-user could refuse treatment for their addiction, which would mean that the method of reducing drug-related problems given in the argument would not be effective. D most strengthens the argument because if heavy drug-users are most responsible for drug-related crime, treating their addictions should help reduce this crime, which is the argument given in the passage E may strengthen the argument but only slightly as it is only an opinion.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

The argument is that strenuous exercise should not be advised for those wishing to increase their chances of living a long life. Part of the support given in the passage for this argument is that many sports people develop cancer at an early age. But, the argument does not consider the possibility of strenuous exercise prolonging more lives than the number lost to early-stage cancer, which is highlighted by D.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

The passage talks about the use of road bumps to reduce the number of patients being killed in road accidents in residential areas. However, the passage talks about the impact of this on the London Ambulance Service and how in turn, while saving pedestrians, road bumps cause delays for critically ill patients from getting to hospital in time, resulting in around 500 deaths per year from heat failure alone in London. The argument goes on to suggest that electronic speed signs would more effective. Looking at the answer options, A was a point raised in the text, B was not mentioned, C, although true from the text is not the conclusion, and E is also a point raised in the text. This leaves answer option D, which does reflect main conclusion of the argument.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

First, calculate the total consumption. 20km at 90km/h: 6/5litres (divide by 5 because the consumption is given per 100km, and 20km is 1 fifth of 100km). 40km at 110km/h: 6.5×4/10=13/5litres. 20km at 50km/h: 7.5/5litresm (leave as fraction over 5 to make next calculation easier). Total consumption: 6/5+13/5+7.5/5=26.5/5 OR 5.3litres. Cost:5.3X0.80=$4.24

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

First, calculate how many sides of A4 are needed for a single pack. The number of sides of A4 would be: 2 for the basic info sheet, 1 for booking and prices (as each use half of a side of A4), 1 for details of some local amenities and 2 for the brochure (but this is free so must be ignored in the following calculations). Altogether this would be: 2+1+1+=4 sides of A4 that need to be paid for to make a single pack. 300 packs are needed so this would be: 300×4=1200 sides of A4 that need to be paid for in total. At 2p per side, this would cost: 1200×0.02=£24.

Explanation

The correct answer is E.

Let the 3 cubes shown in the diagram be cube 1, 2 and 3 from left to right. A is cube 1 rotated 180 degrees so that the arrow is pointing down, is cube 2 when the top face is rotated so it is the front facing face and cube 3 when it is rotated to the right so the face with the arrow is on the right-facing face. Similarly, cubes B, C and D can be rotated to give each of the 3 cubes. Whereas, E can be rotated to give cube 1 and 3, but not cube 2 because if the face with the moon was in the same position as in cube 2, the front-facing face would have the arrow on it rather than the two horizontal lines showed on cube 2.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

The passage argues that speed cameras should not be painted bright yellow for various reasons discussed. Arguing that reduced visibility of cameras will make drivers keep within the speed limits. Looking at the answer options, A, although true, is not a conclusion. Option C, isn’t mentioned in the text, option D does follow the conclusions, but is also a point raised in the text. This leaves options B and E, option E, requires you to assume that drives care if they are caught speeding, and therefore doesn’t necessarily follow the conclusion of the passage. Therefore, the viable conclusion is B.

Explanation

The correct answer is E.

The argument is that people with few material possessions therefore must feel a strong sense of failure because success is measured by the quantity of material possessions one has. However, for this to be valid it must follow that those with few material possessions have a desire for success, otherwise they would not have this sense of failure; this is highlighted by point E. A and B are not alluded to in the passage. C and D may be inferred from the passage, but do not need to be assumed for the argument to be valid.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

The argument is that the result of the Eurovision Song Contest is now determined by geo-politics and not by music, and uses the ‘blatant’ political voting seen as support for this. A may actually strengthen the argument as it gives an example of political voting. B has little relevance to the argument. D does not affect the argument because it refers to the past whereas the passage states that it ‘is now determined by geo-politics’ and so it is now that Western European countries have little hope of winning. E has little effect on the argument because it only refers to one Eastern European country and also refers to the past rather than the present. Therefore C is the answer, and weakens the argument by giving an alternative explanation for Eastern European countries voting for each other: because they like each other’s music rather than due to political reasons.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

The choices can be split into 3 categories: caffination, colour (milk) and sweetening. There are 2 options for caffination (regular or decaf), 4 options for colour (no milk, skimmed, semi-skimmed or full) and 5 options fro sweetening (no sweetening, 1 sugar, 2 sugars, 1 sweetner, 2 sweetners). Therefore the calculation would be 2x4x5=40.

Explanation

The correct answer is A.

II : 82 115 118

OO: 76 130 128

The Indigo Iguanas carried 82/2 = 41 points to the Quarter-final

They then carried (125 – 41)/2 = 42 points to the semi-final.

They then carried (118 – 42)/2 = 38 points to the final.

The Orange Ocelots carried  76/2 = 38 points to the quarter-final.

They then carried (130 – 38)/2 = 46 points to the semi-final.

They then carried (128 – 46)/2 = 41 points to the final.

41 – 38 = 3 The Indigo Iguanas must score at least 4 more than the Orange Ocelots in order to win in the finals.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

The argument talks about how a new plastic card style passport would have many advantages, however the passage also talks about the disadvantages of something so small and easy to loose. Looking at the answer options, A is incorrect as not truly a conclusion you could draw from the passage, answer C is untrue, D is untrue, E is something that although may be your opinion, isn’t discussed in the text, while answer B is correct. This is because the passage starts by saying this change to passports should be rejected, and goes on to discuss why, therefore being the accurate conclusion of this passage.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

Explanation

The correct answer is C.

Explanation

The correct answer is B.

Start from answer A as this is earliest time given. At 9:45 (1hr and 45mins after first leaving Harport), the ferry just leaving Selmer as it has spent 1hr and 15 minutes at sea and 30 minutes at Selmer. The hovercraft will be just returning to Harport as it has spent 45 minutes at sea, 15 minutes at Selmer and another 45 minutes at sea. Therefore at 9:45 they are at different ports, so A is not the answer. Now check answer B. At 12:45 (4hrs and 45mins after first leaving Harport), the ferry is just arriving at Selmer as it has spent 1hr 15mins at sea, 30mins at Selmer, a second 1hr and 15mins at sea, 30mins at Harport and a third 1hr 45mins at sea. The hovercraft will also be just arriving at Selmer as it has spent 45mins at sea, 15mins at Selmer, a second 45mins at sea, 15mins at Harport, a third 45mins at sea, a second 15mins at Selmer, a fourth 45mins at sea, a second 15mins at Harport and a fifth 45mins at sea. Therefore, as both are arriving at Selmer, the answer is B, 12:45.

Explanation

The correct answer is D.

Possible combinations: 588011 (adding the scrap to the initial 58), 581108 (doing the same again but first the scrap is rotated 180 degrees – it gives the same digits but in the reverse order). The ‘8’ on the scrap of paper could be included in the starting ’58’, which would give: 58011_. The final digit here could be any of ten digits 0-9, giving 10 possible combinations starting with 58011. Therefore, the total number of combinations is 1+1+10=12.

Explanation

The correct answer is A.