QUESTION 6

Assuming the premises in the following argument are true, do they support the causal conclusion? Explain your answer.

(10 marks)

Researchers claim to have shown that SuperBrain yoga increases intelligence. The researchers randomly selected Monash students by emailing people whose student number was selected by a random number generator. The researchers then took the final group of students that consented to participate and split them into two groups. Both groups did an IQ test at the beginning of the experiment. For the next week, the first group did SuperBrain yoga once a day. The second group was a control group, and did Vinyasa yoga once a day. Both groups recorded their sessions in an app. After the week of yoga, both groups repeated the IQ test, and their scores went up. The researchers suggest that SuperBrain yoga works by synchronising the two hemispheres of the brain in an alpha rhythm, thus preparing it for more complex cognitive tasks.

QUESTION 4

Read the passage below. Comment on whether you accept the claim for which the source, Dr Alejandro Junger, is cited as an authority. Specifically,

(a) identify the main claim(s) which the source is being used to support

(b) state whether you would accept the claim(s) on the source’s word and explain your answer

(10 marks)

Here at Goop, we’re no strangers to the power of sweat when it comes to detoxing, but were curious to learn more about why infrared saunas in particular are cited as being so effective. Curious, we asked Dr. Alejandro Junger a few questions about how they work, and where to find the best ones. He said,

"Sweating inside a heated space has transcended time and many cultures: From Roman times, to the Ancient Greeks and Russians, as well as the Native Americans who had sweat lodges, the benefits of sweating have been known to mankind. The skin is our largest organ, and sweat is one of the major elimination channels for toxins. The infrared band in the spectrum of light is the one that we perceive as heat. It makes the body sweat at lower temperatures than the ones needed for regular convection heated saunas, so people tolerate it better. Because infrared penetrates deeper—up to three inches—it mobilizes and burns fat, which not only helps with weight loss but with detoxification as well, since many of the toxins we absorb are surrounded and trapped by fat. Infrared saunas are also smaller and easier to install than regular saunas, and are more affordable. I try to get in the sauna every day until I break a sweat. This need be no longer that 15 minutes. Longer sessions of 30 minutes, 3-4 times a week are also a great plan. But in general, you should do it as often as you can."

Adapted from "The Power of Infrared Saunas", Goop.com, Accessed 2020

Background Information on Dr Alejandro Junger:

Dr Alejandro Junger is an LA-based cardiologist, MD, who graduated from medical school in Uraguay, where he was born.  He completed his training in internal medicine at NYU Downtown Hospital and a fellowship in cardiovascular diseases at Lenox Hill Hospital before studying Eastern medicine in India. An adrenal fatigue expert, Dr. Junger developed the Goop vitamin and supplement protocol Why Am I So Effing Tired?, designed to help rebalance an overtaxed system. His new book, Clean7, is out now.

QUESTION 3

Put the following argument into standard form and identify at least one unstated premise (assumption) that is required by the argument.

(7 marks)

Sweeping changes to the legal system are not necessary, for a simple reason. If the legal system is ensuring that violent criminals are kept off the streets then, at a fundamental level, it is working. And if it’s working at a fundamental level, then sweeping changes are not needed.

Any functionally extinct species is unable to reproduce enough to sustain its population. Koalas can reproduce enough to sustain their population. So koalas are not a functionally extinct species.

Living things need water. Plants need water. So, plants are living things.

QUESTION 7

Evaluate the following extended argument. Identify the main problem(s) with the argument, explain why they are problems, and clearly state whether you think the argument provides a compelling reason to accept the conclusion. You may find it useful to put the argument into standard form and to draw an argument map but you should only submit your written evaluation. You may use the following template as a guide to structuring your response.

 (25 marks)

We are told that global average temperature is supposed to increase by between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees by the year 2100. Australia produces about 2 per cent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, Australia’s contribution to global warming this century would amount to between 0.03 and 0.1 degrees. An ordinary thermometer used in meteorological observations can be read to 0.1 degree, so Australia’s contribution over the century would barely register on a thermometer. So, we should not delude ourselves that enacting greener policies here in Australia will be of any practical use in reducing global warming.

Adapted from a letter to The Age newspaper, 2006.

QUESTION 6

Assuming the premises in the following argument are true, do they support the causal conclusion? Explain your answer.

(10 marks)

Recent research suggests that air pollution may be a contributing cause of ADHD. Researchers compared rates of ADHD diagnosis and pollution in councils around Australia. They had each council building fitted with an airborne particulate detector and recorded the average particulates in the air each day during the year. They also got all health practitioners who were qualified to diagnose ADHD to send counts of these diagnoses to the council at the end of the year. Results showed that that the more pollution in a council's average day, the more diagnoses of ADHD there were per year in that council. The researchers imply that the relationship may be due to reduced oxygen available for uptake by the brain.

QUESTION 5

Read the passage below. Identify the sample, population and target property used in the study and comment on whether the evidence presented supports the conclusions drawn by the researchers.

(10 marks)

Student Flights, an Australian travel agent, wanted to know how much Australians were willing to spend on holidays. In January, they created a list of 100,000 customers who had booked a flight with them in the past two years. They then sent a survey to everyone on the list asking them to estimate for each of their holidays in that period how much they spent on food, accommodations, and flights. 5,000 people responded. From this data, Student Flights concluded that Australians are willing to spend approximately $2,000 AUD on an average holiday.

QUESTION 4

Read the passage below. Comment on whether you accept the claim for which the source, Robert Lanza, is cited as an authority. Specifically,

(a) identify the main claim(s) which the source is being used to support

(b) state whether you would accept the claim(s) on the source’s word and explain your answer

(10 marks)

Is there an afterlife? After the body dies, does life go on? Is there any proof to the afterlife? My honest answer to that question is yes. As a free thinker and someone who looks for that piece that fits in the mysteries of life, I have always wondered how the concept of the afterlife has fit into science. For many years, I have been so intrigued with quantum physics.

But don’t take my word for it! Robert Lanza, MD, claims that quantum physics proves there IS an afterlife. In his book Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys for Understanding the True Nature of The Universe, Lanza proposes a new perspective that our current theories of the physical world do not work and can never be made to work until we account for life and consciousness. One of his main theories is that Life creates the universe and not the other way around. [In] his theory of Biocentrism, Lanza claims that death is an illusion created by our consciousness, and space and time are tools of our mind. With these theories, we have revolutionized our concept of the afterlife and answer the question that life does go on after physical death and fades into the afterlife, where the journey continues.

Excerpt adapted from “Faded: The Circle of Life to the Soul” by Trish Avery

Background information on Robert Lanza:

Robert Lanza M.D. is currently Head of Astellas Global Regenerative Medicine, and is Chief Scientific Officer of the Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Adjunct Professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine. His research focuses on stem cells and regenerative medicine and their potential to provide therapies for some of the world's most deadly and debilitating conditions. He has been touted as one of the most respected scientists in the world—a US News & World Report cover story called him a "genius" and a "renegade thinker," even likening him to Einstein.

QUESTION 3

Put the following argument into standard form and identify at least one unstated premise (assumption) that is required by the argument.

(7 marks)

Contrary to what many people initially believed, if you’re vaccinated against COVID-19, there is still a significant chance that you will catch the disease. So, the government should not attempt to use vaccinations to control the COVID-19 pandemic.