Logical reasoning PrepTest 106 · Section 2 · Question 21

Question prompt

Wirth: All efforts to Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

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

Argument or Facts

Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed/Valid

Question Type

Must Be True Questions / Point at Issue Questions

Stimulus Summary

W: All efforts have failed to ID a manic depression gene, and experts agree it doesn’t exist, so no one is genetically predisposed to manic depression. C: Your premises? Right. Your conclusion? Wrong. Many experts agree it’s a mix of genes that predispose people to manic depression.

Answer Anticipation

Chang straight up says that he finds Wirth’s conclusion wirthless (womp womp). When dealing with a Point at Issue question, listen when the second speaker points out something they disagree with! Here, Chang states that he agrees with Wirth’s evidence but disagrees with her conclusion. So we know that a point at issue between them is whether there are people genetically predisposed to manic depression. Additionally, Chang says that many of the researchers cited by Wirth actually disagree with her conclusion - they believe that a set of genes can predispose someone to manic depression. As such, we have two points at issue - the conclusion, and the opinion of the experts who Chang brings up. Let’s find either as an answer.

Answer choices

  1. A
    efforts to identify a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Wirth says that all efforts to identify a single gene have failed, and Chang agrees with that. However, Wirth doesn’t say anything about efforts to find a set of genes, so while Change brings that up, it’s out of scope of Wirth’s argument.
  2. B
    it is likely that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Wirth concludes that genes aren’t a factor in manic depression, and Chang believes that it’s a set of genes, so they agree that researchers won’t find a single manic depression gene.
  3. C
    nearly all researchers now Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Chang agrees with Wirth that nearly all researchers now agree there is no manic depression gene, so this is a point of agreement. Wirth brings up that “many” researchers think there are several genes involved, but that doesn’t contradict this statement.
  4. D
    current research supports the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    Wirth believes that this is true - it’s her conclusion, predicated on the current research. Chang believes, however, that researchers have found evidence there is a genetic basis for manic depression, even though it’s a set of genes instead of a single one. This answer is therefore the point at issue between them.
  5. E
    the efforts made to Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Neither individual speaks to the thoroughness of the efforts made to ID a manic depression gene. Even Wirth doesn’t even assume this, as his conclusion is conditioned on the researchers being right.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 14%
  2. B 4%
  3. C 5%
  4. D Credited 75%
  5. E 1%

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