MCAT (Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills ) 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage about urban planning argues that mixed-use zoning reduces car dependency. The author then cites a study showing that residents of mixed-use neighborhoods walk more. This study functions in the argument as:
- A concession that weakens the author's main claim
- An analogy drawn from a different policy context
- Empirical support for the causal link between zoning and behavior (Correct answer)
- A counterexample that the author must explain away
Correct answer: Empirical support for the causal link between zoning and behavior
The study provides data showing behavioral change (more walking) that supports the author's claim that mixed-use zoning reduces car dependency.
Question 2: An author writes: 'One could argue that technology isolates individuals, but this view ignores how social media sustains long-distance relationships.' The phrase 'one could argue' signals:
- The author's own position on technology
- A view the author will ultimately endorse
- A position the author introduces only to then rebut or qualify (Correct answer)
- A fact the author treats as settled
Correct answer: A position the author introduces only to then rebut or qualify
'One could argue' is a distancing phrase that typically introduces a view the author is about to counter or complicate rather than endorse.
Question 3: A CARS passage describes a philosopher who claims that free will is incompatible with determinism. Which of the following, if true, would most directly strengthen this philosopher's position?
- Many people report subjectively feeling that they make free choices
- Neuroscience shows that brain activity preceding a decision occurs before conscious awareness of the choice (Correct answer)
- Ancient philosophers also debated the nature of free will
- Determinism is accepted by most contemporary physicists
Correct answer: Neuroscience shows that brain activity preceding a decision occurs before conscious awareness of the choice
If unconscious brain activity precedes and drives decisions, conscious choice appears illusory, directly supporting the claim that determinism undermines free will.
Question 4: In a passage on medical ethics, the author distinguishes between 'therapeutic privilege'—withholding information from patients 'for their own good'—and patient autonomy. The author likely uses this distinction to argue that:
- Physicians should always disclose full medical information regardless of consequences
- Therapeutic privilege is a paternalistic practice that compromises informed consent (Correct answer)
- Patient autonomy is a philosophical ideal impractical in clinical settings
- Medical ethics has evolved to favor physician judgment over patient preferences
Correct answer: Therapeutic privilege is a paternalistic practice that compromises informed consent
Framing therapeutic privilege as withholding information while contrasting it with autonomy signals the author views the practice as paternalistic and ethically problematic.
Question 5: A CARS question asks what the author would most likely agree with. The passage argues that economic growth metrics ignore environmental costs. The best answer would be:
- GDP growth should be pursued even when it harms ecosystems
- Environmental protection always takes precedence over economic development
- Standard economic metrics are inadequate because they exclude ecological damage (Correct answer)
- International bodies should set binding emissions limits on all nations
Correct answer: Standard economic metrics are inadequate because they exclude ecological damage
The author's central point is about the inadequacy of existing growth metrics, not a sweeping prioritization of environment over economy or a specific policy mandate.
Question 6: A passage attributes the decline of print journalism primarily to the internet's disruption of advertising revenue. A critic argues that declining readership preceded internet adoption. This critique:
- Accepts the author's causal claim but proposes a different solution
- Challenges the author's timeline, suggesting the cause may precede the proposed cause (Correct answer)
- Introduces an irrelevant factor that the author already acknowledged
- Strengthens the author's argument by providing additional context
Correct answer: Challenges the author's timeline, suggesting the cause may precede the proposed cause
If readership fell before the internet became widespread, the internet cannot be the primary cause of print journalism's decline, undermining the author's causal sequence.
Question 7: In CARS, the primary purpose of re-reading the last sentence of a passage paragraph is typically to:
- Memorize specific data points for later retrieval
- Identify the transitional phrase that connects to the next paragraph
- Confirm the paragraph's main point and how it connects to the overall argument (Correct answer)
- Locate the topic sentence if it was missed on the first read
Correct answer: Confirm the paragraph's main point and how it connects to the overall argument
Concluding sentences often synthesize the paragraph's argument and signal its relationship to the passage's broader thesis, making them valuable for comprehension.
MCAT (Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills ) 3
A passage about urban planning argues that mixed-use zoning reduces car dependency.
The author then cites a study showing that residents of mixed-use neighborhoods walk more.
This study functions in the argument as: