Critical Reasoning

The number of new cases of tuberculosis diagnosed in Country X increased dramatically this year. The country's news media have speculated that the sharp increase in new cases is the result of the tuberculosis outbreak that occurred in neighboring Country Y last year. Health officials in Country X have therefore proposed that all visitors from Country Y must submit to a medical examination before entering Country X.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly suggests that the proposed medical examinations will NOT help curb the spread of tuberculosis in Country X?

A. Country Z, which also neighbors Country Y, has not experienced an increase in cases of tuberculosis.

B Current medical technology is not capable of detecting all carriers of tuberculosis.

C. Country X does not have the resources to examine all visitors from Country Y.

D. Tuberculosis is not spread through human contact.

E. Citizens of Country Y will not travel to Country X if the proposal is implemented.

IMO B

I will go with B. If country x does not posses the technology to detect all possible carriers of T.B. then it is very likely that their goal of curbing the spread of T.B. will fail

D may look tempting but the purpose of the examination is to see whether the individual is a carrier or not. We are not interested in how it spreads

With the premise that medical check of visitors ( presuming they carry virus ) is stated.

D will weaken the argument completely. No use in doing such tests.

B - The % of people that can handled is not clear . B though it weakens, D i guess weakens the most.

I think the answer is B.

It doesn't matter how it is spread so D cannot be right

B Current medical technology is not capable of detecting all carriers of tuberculosis.
not capable of detecting all --> can detect some --> so using this we can examine atleast some ppl
from country Y. so medical examinations might help to some extent .

D. Tuberculosis is not spread through human contact.
if TB is not spread through human contact , there is no use of the medical examinations.

786 wrote:B Current medical technology is not capable of detecting all carriers of tuberculosis.
not capable of detecting all --> can detect some --> so using this we can examine atleast some ppl
from country Y. so medical examinations might help to some extent .

D. Tuberculosis is not spread through human contact.
if TB is not spread through human contact , there is no use of the medical examinations.

+1.. AS mentioned, Option B will be partially helpful, though not completely. But option D makes the assumption of Country Y spreading the virus completely void.

B

IMO : D

IMO B

D is not right since virus can find other ways to spread than Human touch.

I recently got this questions on a practice CAT from MGMAT. I selected B as most of you did, however the answer is apparently D. Can an expert chime in on why it is?

I still think the answer is B given that the question is

Which of the following, if true, most strongly suggests that the proposed medical examinations will NOT help curb the spread of tuberculosis in Country X?

vishnuchaithanya wrote:The number of new cases of tuberculosis diagnosed in Country X increased dramatically this year. The country's news media have speculated that the sharp increase in new cases is the result of the tuberculosis outbreak that occurred in neighboring Country Y last year. Health officials in Country X have therefore proposed that all visitors from Country Y must submit to a medical examination before entering Country X.

Fresh cases of TB in Country X on rise.

Sharp Increase due to outbreak of the disease in a neighboring country , country Y.

All visitors from country Y must go through a medical examination before entering country X.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly suggests that the proposed medical examinations will NOT help curb the spread of tuberculosis in Country X?

A. Country Z, which also neighbors Country Y, has not experienced an increase in cases of tuberculosis.

Out of scope.

B Current medical technology is not capable of detecting all carriers of tuberculosis.

Looks promising , keep it for further analysis.

C. Country X does not have the resources to examine all visitors from Country Y.

Not at all true.

D. Tuberculosis is not spread through human contact.

Looks promising , keep it for further analysis.

E. Citizens of Country Y will not travel to Country X if the proposal is implemented.

Out of scope.



Left with Options (B) and (D)

Now try to arrange these one after the other...

(B) - Talks about detection of problem , carrier of the disease.

(D) - Talks that Humans are not the carrier of the disease.


Logically detection of the disease (B) comes into play only if Humans are the carrier of the disease (E).


(B) forces us into assuming that Humans are the carriers of the disease ( This leads us into assuming something extra)

(D) opens a new door for refuting the conclusion reached at...


SO IMO (D) is the OA... [/b]

Now try to arrange these one after the other...

(B) - Talks about detection of problem , carrier of the disease.

(D) - Talks that Humans are not the carrier of the disease.

D doesn't state that humans are not the carrier. It simply states that the disease is not spread via human contact. Humans can still be the carrier of the disease through other means (airborne).

I still believe choice B is best weakens the statement based on that possibility.

Choice B doesn't weaken because you don't need to catch ALL of the cases to help curb the spread. What if you catch 99% of cases? Or 90%? That's still going to help you slow down the disease.

Choice D weakens because it explains why testing is ineffective. If human contact does not spread TB, then it must be spread in some other way. This means that testing Country Y citizens before they enter X won't stop the disease because they weren't actually causing it to spread in the first place.

My answer is D.