UMAT Question explanation (1 Viewer)

[Sy123]

So I was doing some sample questions for the UMAT, from this page: http://www.umat.net.au/free-umat-sample-questions/

For the first section I got all but 1 right, and that one was:

UMAT Sample Question 4

The presence together of carbon, water, and temperature at which water is ordinarily a liquid are essential to life on earth. Which of the following can be deduced from the passage?

A Life on the moon seems impossible since the moon has no water.
B Living things must be made up of elements that are known to us.
C All living things on earth use carbon.
D The conditions given in the statements are the only ones essential to life on earth.



Their Answer was:

UMAT Sample Question 4

Answer: A

We can eliminate option ‘B’ immediately because they are clearly not mentioned in the passage. Even though the presence of carbon is essential to life on earth, it does not mean that all living things on earth use carbon, so ‘C’ is incorrect. We are told that these conditions are essential to life on earth, but there is a possibility that it may also be the same on other planets. Therefore, option ‘A’ is the most appropriate. Note the importance of the word “seems”

==========

Ok I put in D, I see no reason why that is incorrect, it is very logical that given our information the only thing we can logically deduce is that the conditions in the statement are essential for life on Earth, to assume otherwise would be to make an assumption. Something that I don't think we can do in a logic test....

Why is D wrong?

 

[Kurosaki]

it doesnt mention oxygen? completely random guess here lol, but oxygen is essential for life too

 

[effylove]

because it says "are essential to life on earth"
thinking that these are the "only" things essential to life on earth is making an assumption, no?

question a is a hypothetical scenario hence the "seems" (which they also noted in the answer) and it wants you to utilise the information from the passage,which would logically give you the correct answer of A


idk man it makes sense to me

 

[Sy123]

because it says "are essential to life on earth"
thinking that these are the "only" things essential to life on earth is making an assumption, no?

question a is a hypothetical scenario hence the "seems" (which they also noted in the answer) and it wants you to utilise the information from the passage,which would logically give you the correct answer of A


idk man it makes sense to me

True, I guess I didn't really take notice of the 'only' there.

Thanks for the help

 

[Aysce]

because it says "are essential to life on earth"
thinking that these are the "only" things essential to life on earth is making an assumption, no?

question a is a hypothetical scenario hence the "seems" (which they also noted in the answer) and it wants you to utilise the information from the passage,which would logically give you the correct answer of A


idk man it makes sense to me

I agree with the first part. It says they're essential but it doesn't actually specify that they are the ONLY essential elements to life on earth

 

[effylove]

it doesnt mention oxygen? completely random guess here lol, but oxygen is essential for life too

that's not the point

this is a specific type of question
in these types of questions it wants you to pretend you know nothing about anything in the world, that your mind is a blank canvas, and that the information they've given you is the only info you've ever heard/known of on the subject
and it wants you to logically conclude something using only the info you've been given

 

[Kurosaki]

that's not the point

this is a specific type of question
in these types of questions it wants you to pretend you know nothing about anything in the world, that your mind is a blank canvas, and that the information they've given you is the only info you've ever heard/known of on the subject
and it wants you to logically conclude something using only the info you've been given

Ah ok thanks for the advice , hopefully they'll help when its my turn to do the UMAT

 

[Bec Johnston]

Oh the UMAT, I remember those 3 hours of hell!

 

[enoilgam]

I think the key word in this question is deduce. The answer D assumes facts which arent specifically stated in the question. Answer A on the other hand, uses the evidence stated in the question (i.e. the premise) to form a conclusion.

 

[Sy123]

I think the key word in this question is deduce. The answer D assumes facts which arent specifically stated in the question. Answer A on the other hand, uses the evidence stated in the question (i.e. the premise) to form a conclusion.

Without the word seems, A is making a very big assumption that life is impossible without the given conditions in the question. Which is why I didn't like the answer. It also seems very redundant to base a question off of 'seems', everything can 'seem' to be true if we look at it from a different stance....

But I accept that D is wrong though

 

[teabag]

Without the word seems, A is making a very big assumption that life is impossible without the given conditions in the question. Which is why I didn't like the answer. It also seems very redundant to base a question off of 'seems', everything can 'seem' to be true if we look at it from a different stance....

But I accept that D is wrong though

but the word seems is there. the point of the test is to not only assess general knowledge but how you think and how you process, attention to detail etc.
it doesn't matter if taking out the word seems completely changes the answer because the word seems is there. read every word as the questions have been intricately worded and designed and every letter, symbol, dot is intentional

the umat is seperating the wheat from the chaff so to say

 

[Sy123]

but the word seems is there. the point of the test is to not only assess general knowledge but how you think and how you process, attention to detail etc.
it doesn't matter if taking out the word seems completely changes the answer because the word seems is there. read every word as the questions have been intricately worded and designed and every letter, symbol, dot is intentional

the umat is seperating the wheat from the chaff so to say

Alright thanks for the advice.

 

[Dr_Fresh]

The presence together of carbon, water, and temperature at which water is ordinarily a liquid are essential to life on earth. Which of the following can be deduced from the passage?

A Life on the moon seems impossible since the moon has no water.
B Living things must be made up of elements that are known to us.
C All living things on earth use carbon.
D The conditions given in the statements are the only ones essential to life on earth.

you can get the correct answer for a lot of these questions simply by reading the answers. although, not 100% the case, answers with absolutes (bold) are wrong.

 

[OH1995]

it doesnt mention oxygen? completely random guess here lol, but oxygen is essential for life too

There are heaps of bacteria that can survive perfectly well within anoxic environments, I know you were guessing though, it seemed like a good idea.

 

[louielouiee]

Some advice for the umat; be EXTREMELY careful when reading the passage. Always be sure to pick up on high modality language such as 'only' and 'must' and 'is' as they are often there to trip you up and move you away from the most correct answer.

When you have two answers which are both correct, you must pick the one that is MOST correct. This happens a lot.

In this case between A & D, D uses high modality language in stating that these are the ONLY items essential to life on earth. In A, saying that life on the moon 'seems' impossible is highly probable, so that is the best answer.