Logic Breakdown

Passage Summary: An office worker has two tasks. One is already overdue. If they work on the overdue one, the other will definitely be late. If they work on the second one, it might be on time. They decide to focus on the second one.

Conclusion: The worker should prioritize the second project over the first.

Reasoning: The first project is already late, and working on it guarantees the second will be late too, whereas working on the second at least offers a chance of meeting its deadline.

Analysis: The worker is making a choice between a guaranteed failure (two late projects) and a potential success (one late, one maybe on time). To justify this, we need a principle that says if you can't finish everything, prioritize the one that still has a chance of being on time. Look for a rule that favors potential success over certain failure. It's a classic case of 'don't throw good time after bad.'

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18.

Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the office worker's reasoning?

Correct Answer
E
E states that it’s better to attempt to finish a project on time than to attempt to finish a late project that doesn’t have higher priority. That perfectly matches the worker’s case: the projects are equally important, the first is already late, and the second still has a chance to be on time, justifying the choice to focus on the second.
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