Logical reasoning PrepTest 147 · Section 1 · Question 12

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen (Argument Completion)

Stimulus Summary:
New antibiotics Ð Stronger and more profitable than penicillin
Problem Ð Companies shifting to the new stuff might make penicillin hard to get, forcing doctors to prescribe unnecessarily strong drugs
(Missing piece)
Conclusion Ð The newer antibiotics will cause drug-resistant bacteria outbreaks

Answer Anticipation:
For these Argument Completion questions that ask us to fill in a premise instead of the conclusion, it can be helpful to start with the conclusion and see what concepts it brings up that haven't been established in a premise. That concept is likely to be in the correct answer.

Here, the conclusion talks about newer antibiotics, which have been discussed at length in the premises. However, it also talks about drug-resistant disease outbreaks, which hasn't been discussed. The correct answer, then, will likely connect something we know about the new antibiotics to these outbreaks.

What do we know about the newer drugs? Well, they're stronger and more profitable. The profitability probably doesn't have anything to do with the outbreaks, but the strength might—especially since the stimulus identifies prescribing unnecessarily strong drugs as a problem. The correct answer, then, will likely link these ideas—prescribing unnecessarily strong antibiotics can lead to the development of drug-resistant bacteria that can cause an outbreak of disease.

Answer Explanation:
Not exactly what we were anticipating, but it definitely deals with the concepts in the stimulus. If drug-resistant bacteria flourish without competition, then stronger antibiotics that wipe out a "wider variety" of bacteria would create that condition, thus resulting in the drug-resistant bacteria disease outbreaks. This answer connects something we know about the stronger, newer drugs to the disease outbreaks, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
For Argument Completion questions that ask you to fill in a premise, start by identifying any new concepts in the conclusion—the correct answer will have to address them!

Incorrect. This answer doesn't connect the newer drugs to the outbreaks, so it doesn't support the conclusion.

Incorrect. If anything, this answer suggests that any shortage of penicillin would be short lived, weakening the argument.

Incorrect. While this answer might align with the companies making more money off of the new drugs, that was already established in the stimulus and thus this doesn't add anything.

Incorrect. While this answer isn't strong enough to affect the argument since it only deals with a subset of bacteria (most of the some that are penicillin-resistant), if anything, it suggests that the new drugs will wipe out some drug-resistant strains of bacteria, thus undercutting the argument.