Logical reasoning PrepTest 135 · Section 4 · Question 19

Question prompt

Consumer advocate: In some Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

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 / Weaken Questions

Stimulus Summary

Some produce is irradiated with gamma rays, but there are at least 3 good reasons to avoid these foods:
Exposed to radioactive substances Reduce vitamin content and leave harmful chemicals Radiolytic products that cause illness

Answer Anticipation

The argument discusses purchasing and consuming irradiated produce, providing 3 reasons why it’s a bad idea and concluding these are good reasons to skip it. Since we’re looking to eliminate 4 answers that weaken this argument, any answers that undermine these reasons will be incorrect.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Unique radiolytic products have Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    This answer undermines the third reason to avoid irradiated produce. If the radiolytic products that are generated by irradiation are rarely found in irradiated food, that removes a reason to avoid it.
  2. B
    Cancer and other serious Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    Just because you can get cancer from other places doesn’t mean that you should feel good about eating produce that’s causing cancer. This answer doesn’t undermine a reason to avoid irradiated foods, so it’s the correct answer.
  3. C
    A study showed that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    While it may be true that irradiation can decrease vitamin content, this answer tells us that that doesn’t happen in practice. This answer undermines the second reason to avoid irradiated produce by stating that the process doesn’t actually have an impact on the vitamin content.
  4. D
    The amount of harmful Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    By comparing irradiated food to regular food and showing that there are fewer harmful chemicals in the former, this answer undermines the second reason to avoid it.
  5. E
    A study showed that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    This answer undermines the third reason to avoid irradiated foods - if the radiolytic products generated in the process aren’t actually leading to a higher cancer rate, that danger appears to be overblown.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 16%
  2. B Credited 42%
  3. C 14%
  4. D 15%
  5. E 13%

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