Logical reasoning PrepTest 157 · Section 2 · Question 11

This is irrelevant to the paradox. We're not trying to explain why wounds cleaned but not treated heal faster than wounds cleaned and treated with antibiotic ointment. We're trying to explain why wounds treated with honey heal faster than wounds cleaned but not treated and wounds cleaned and treated with antibiotic ointment. This answer choice doesn't suggest why honey would heal faster than either method described, so we can cross off (A).

This doesn't resolve the paradox. This just says the amount of bacteria in honey is low and that applying antibiotic ointment doesn't kill all the bacteria in a wound. Even with this information, honey still adds bacteria to the wound, while the antibiotic ointment reduces the bacteria in the wound. If we know that bacteria slows the healing process, it would still seem strange that honey heals wounds faster than ointment.

This shows how honey helps wounds heal faster, even if that honey contains bacteria that could infect the wound and slow the healing process. As expected, this answer choice describes a benefit of honey that helps speed up the healing process. What's more, it further tips the scales in favor of honey by showing the downside of antibiotic ointments. If we know that honey slows the growth of bacteria while antibiotic ointments damage wound tissue and slow healing, it makes sense that wounds treated with honey heal faster than wounds treated with antibiotic ointments and wounds not treated with anything. Honey helps remove bacteria, while the other two methods either further damage the wound or have no effect on the bacteria in the wound.

Because this answer choice resolves this paradox exactly as we expected, we'd be justified in selecting (C) and giving the remaining answer choices an at-most cursory reading.

This answer choice is very tempting! Like (C), this answer choice describes why the bacteria in honey may not be as harmful as we expected. However, unlike (C), this answer choice does not explain how honey can heal wounds faster than antibiotic ointment. Honey might inhibit the growth of bacteria, but it still adds bacteria to the wound. If antibiotic ointment subtracts the bacteria from the wound, we'd still expect antibiotic ointment to heal the wound faster. While (D) isn't a bad answer choice in a vacuum, it resolves the paradox much less than (C).

This is another tempting answer choice! It describes why antibiotic ointment can slow the healing process. However, unlike (C), this answer choice does not definitely explain why honey can heal wounds faster than antibiotic ointment. Even if antibiotic ointment damages tissue and slows healing, it's still subtracting the amount of bacteria in a wound. Because honey adds bacteria to the wound, we'd still expect antibiotic ointment to heal wounds about as fast or faster than honey. While (E) isn't a bad answer choice in a vacuum, it resolves the paradox much less than (C).