Logical reasoning PrepTest 119 · Section 4 · Question 6

Incorrect. This is a very tempting trap answer! It seems to connect diet and dental problems. However, there are two primary issues here. First, there's no indication that early humans ate a healthier diet than we do! It's possible their diets were not as healthy, lacking key nutrients. In that case, this answer weakens the argument. Second, the stimulus talks about dental problems, not just healthy teeth. It could be that the dental problems discussed are gum or jaw issues.

Incorrect. First, that significant number could be lower than the modern number of cavities, and thus they still could have had fewer dental problems than we do. Second, this answer is about "some" early humans, which is too small an amount to affect an argument about the populations overall.

Incorrect. This answer brings up a similarity between the diets of early humans and modern humans, which wouldn't strengthen an argument about them being very different.

Incorrect. This answer raises an alternative explanation for the phenomenon, so it weakens the argument.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen

Stimulus Summary:
Phenomenon - Early humans had fewer dental problems than we do
Explanation - They had different diets than we do

Answer Anticipation:
This answer falls into a common pattern—Phenomenon/Explanation. When an argument follows this pattern, it's usually flawed in that it fails to consider alternative explanations.

Here, the phenomenon that needs an explanation is that early humans had fewer dental problems than we do. What's the explanation? That they had different diets than we do.

Well, there's no premise that establishes diet is related to dental problems, let alone the only or even the most important factor in those problems. As such, any answer that connects dental problems to diet, or that rules out something else that could explain the different number of dental problems, will strengthen this argument.

Answer Explanation:
This answer establishes that the purported explanation for the phenomenon is directly related to the phenomenon—or, in other words, the supposed cause is the most significant in determining the observed effect. That strengthens the argument, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
Phenomenon/Explanation arguments almost always have a causal element about them—with the explanation serving as the cause of the phenomenon. As such, the same ideas that we can anticipate for a Correlation/Causation flaw can be used in arguments that fall into this pattern.