Logical reasoning PrepTest 105 · Section 2 · Question 20

Question prompt

Some people have been Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Bizarro / Strengthen with Necessary Premise Questions

Stimulus Summary

Of a new herbal remedy - Skeptical cold sufferer: People don’t want to feel sick, so if the remedy worked, people would take it. But they’re not, so it can’t be effective.

Answer Anticipation

This is a rare beast - a Bizarro Strengthen with Necessary Premise question. That means there are a lot of assumptions in the argument here, and it might be too time-consuming to try to point all of them out. So let’s focus on the argument. The cold sufferer claims that a new remedy can’t be effective. Why not? Because if it were effective, then most people would be taking it, since people don’t like feeling sick. So the argument is assuming that there’s nothing else stopping them from taking the herbal remedy, and we should look for answers that rule out other explanations for why it’s not being taken. Additionally, there’s a Perception vs. Reality element here, since we don’t know that most people know about the remedy (it’s new), or they may be skeptical, too (and thus not taking it even if it works since they don’t believe it does). In short, let’s head to the answers and see which ones support the Cold Sufferer’s explanation that people aren’t taking it because it doesn’t work, and then dig in to see if it’s necessary.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Enough of the mixture Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    This answer rules out a potential reason not everyone would take it despite it working - there’s not enough of it. This answer is therefore a necessary premise for the argument - if people aren’t taking it because there’s not enough of it, then they’re not not taking it because it doesn’t work (sorry for the double negative!).
  2. B
    The mixture does not Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    This answer rules out another reason people might avoid it other than it not working - it cures a cold, but it has worse side effects - making it another necessary premise.
  3. C
    The mixture is powerful Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    This answer more or less straight up says that it works and it works so well that you’ll never be sick again. If that’s the case, then the conclusion is just straight up wrong, so this isn’t a necessary premise and is therefore the correct answer.
  4. D
    The mixture is widely Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This answer deals with one part of our anticipation - the Perception vs. Reality issue. The remedy might work, but if people don’t know about it, then they’re not going to take it. That not being the case is therefore a necessary premise.
  5. E
    There are no effective Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    This answer rules out an alternative possibility - that another cure works just as well, and people prefer it. In ruling out an alternative, this answer is thus a necessary premise.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 8%
  2. B 9%
  3. C Credited 67%
  4. D 6%
  5. E 11%

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Discussion

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    Started by nsran

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