Logical reasoning PrepTest 150 · Section 3 · Question 10

Incorrect. This answer justifies feeling comfortable about the hospital staff's safety, but not that of the patients.

Incorrect. While this answer makes it possible to avoid an outbreak, it still doesn't protect the poor patient who ends up getting the dangerous bacteria first.

Incorrect. If anything, this makes the officials' belief worse, since it seems the staff was very much having the bacteria on their clothing killed.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen

Stimulus Summary:
British hospitals no longer wash their employees' clothes. Industrial cleaners like the ones at hospitals get hot enough to kill a dangerous bacteria; residential cleaners don't. But this change won't put patients at risk, according to hospital officials.

Answer Anticipation:
No premise is offered for the conclusion, so the correct answer will directly support it. In fact, this question, in practice, ends up being much closer to a Paradox question, in that something weird is going on that we need to justify. We're not sure what is leading the officials to feel okay about this change, but the answer will have to give a reason to believe that this switch won't endanger patients.

Answer Explanation:
Tricky! While this answer choice doesn't tell us anything about the washing machines that would lead us to believe the patients will be safe, it does bring up the other part of washing clothes—drying them. If the dryers hit temperatures high enough to kill the bacteria, then it's not necessary for the washing machine to do the same.

Key Takeaway:
For Strengthen questions, the correct answer can, and frequently will, bring in alternatives that weren't mentioned in the argument. Be sure that you don't eliminate answers for being out of scope, when they're actually in scope but unmentioned.

Incorrect. While it's good to know that other bacteria has been killed, this specific bacteria is still dangerous, and if the washers aren't killing it, the patients appear to still be at risk.