Section: Verbal

41) The average normal infant born in the United States weighs between twelve and fourteen pounds at the age of three months. Therefore, if a three-month-old child weighs only ten pounds, its weight gain has been below the United States average.

Which of the following indicates a flaw in the reasoning above?

1. The phrase "below average" does not necessarily mean insufficient.
2. Average weight gain is not the same as average weight.
3. Some three-month old children weigh as much as seventeen pounds.
4. It is possible for a normal child to weigh ten pounds at birth.
5. Weight is only one measure of normal infant development.

The evidence on which the conclusion is based concerns only average weight, but the conclusion concerns average weight gain. Because there is not necessarily a connection between an absolute measurement - such as weight - and a rate of increase - such as weight gain - this argument is flawed. The relevant reasoning error is described in the second choice, which is the best answer.