ASVAB CampSequence, Cause and Effect flashcards
8 cards with the formulas, rules and traps from this lesson. Answer in your head, then flip to check.
Rule · 1/8
Does the order sentences appear in a passage show the order events happened?
Not necessarily. Writers may open with a result or use flashbacks. Rebuild the real timeline from time words, dates and verb tenses rather than sentence position.
Rule · 2/8
A question asks what happened 'immediately before' an event. Which step do you choose?
Only the step directly adjacent to it on the timeline. If a cook chops onions, heats oil, then adds onions, heating the oil came immediately before adding them.
Term · 3/8
What does 'had already' (past perfect) tell you about order?
The action finished before another past moment. 'By the time the bus arrived, Omar had already left' means Omar left first and the bus came second.
Term · 4/8
Cause versus purpose: how do they differ?
A cause explains why something happened (because, since, due to). A purpose is what someone intended (to, in order to, so that) and says nothing about whether it worked.
Rule · 5/8
What does 'Q only if P' mean?
P is a necessary condition: without P, Q cannot happen. It does not guarantee Q when P is present, since other requirements may be missing.
Term · 6/8
Necessary versus sufficient condition
Necessary: must be present but may not be enough (a ticket to board a train). Sufficient: enough by itself to produce the result. A requirement is not a guarantee.
Common trap · 7/8
'After the new manager arrived, two employees quit.' Did the manager cause it?
The passage does not say so. 'After' shows order only; treat it as cause only if the text adds because, as a result or similar. Correlation also does not prove causation.
Common trap · 8/8
A passage names one of several causes, but a choice calls it the only cause. Why is that wrong?
Words like only, solely or entirely overstate partial evidence. If the passage lists factors such as frost and also a worker shortage, each merely contributed.