Prompt
You are in a study group of five for an introductory economics course. Two days before the final exam, one member shares a file that she says is last year's final, which she got from an older student. The professor has said that he writes a new exam every year, but older students say he reuses most of his questions. The course is graded on a curve, so if your group scores higher, other students' grades go down. The other four members have already opened the file and are working through it together. You have not opened it yet. What would you do?
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What this question tests
- Ethical reasoning
- Professionalism and integrity
- Critical thinking
How to approach this question
This academic integrity station tests whether you'll act on your own standards when everyone around you has already decided, and when the curve means their advantage costs other students. Name the facts that matter: the professor says he writes a new exam each year, the file may still overlap with it, and classmates outside the group would be harmed. Ask aloud whether using a past exam counts as cheating, and whether it could be shared with the whole class or raised with the professor. Weigh refusing to use it, speaking to the group, and telling the professor, then decide. When the station shows you the consequences for one classmate, explain what responsibility you now carry and what you'd do.
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