Good assumption question

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Good assumption question

by thestartupguy » Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:04 am
The higher the level of certain vitamins and minerals in the bloodstream, the better a person's lung function, as measured by the amount of air the person can expel in one second. The lung function of smokers is significantly worse, on average, than that of nonsmokers. Clearly, therefore, one way for smokers to improve their lung function is for them to increase their intake of foods that are rich in these helpful vitamins and minerals.

Which of the following is an assumption on which this argument depends?

A. Smokers are less likely than nonsmokers to have diets that are rich in vitamins and minerals.
B. The lung function of smokers whose diets are rich in those vitamins and minerals is generally better than that of
nonsmokers with comparable diets.
C. People whose diets are deficient in those vitamins and minerals do not typically have other health problems in
addition to diminished lung function.
D. Stopping smoking will not typically improve lung function more than any diet changes can.
E. Smoking does not introduce into the body chemicals that prevent the helpful vitamins and minerals from entering the bloodstream.
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by ArunangsuSahu » Sat Nov 12, 2011 12:56 pm
(C)

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by balram » Sat Nov 12, 2011 1:10 pm
(E)

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by smackmartine » Sat Nov 12, 2011 2:44 pm
IMO E
A. Smokers are less likely than nonsmokers to have diets that are rich in vitamins and minerals. (weakening the conclusion)
B. The lung function of smokers whose diets are rich in those vitamins and minerals is generally better than that of nonsmokers with comparable diets. (Distortion of details- argument does n't support this answer)
C. People whose diets are deficient in those vitamins and minerals do not typically have other health problems in addition to diminished lung function. (over generalization- we are only concerned about smokers)
D. Stopping smoking will not typically improve lung function more than any diet changes can. (two actions are not compared in the argument)
E. Smoking does not introduce into the body chemicals that prevent the helpful vitamins and minerals from entering the bloodstream.(An example of Defender type answer.)

Let's apply negation test on E : Smoking introduce into the body chemicals that prevent the helpful vitamins and minerals from entering the bloodstream.

If above were true , by increasing the intake of vitamins, smokers would not improve their lung function.
As negation weakens the conclusion, E must be true.
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by k.pankaj.r » Sun Nov 13, 2011 8:01 am
IMO E

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by vaibhavgupta » Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:14 am
+1 for E

POE . Only statement capable of negating the conclusion!

Looking for OA! :)
If OA is A, IMO B
If OA is B, IMO C
If OA is C, IMO D
If OA is D, IMO E
If OA is E, IMO A

FML!! :/

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by tuanquang269 » Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:05 pm
After eliminating, my remain choices are D and E. I choose E.

Let's negate them

D. Stopping smoking will typically improve lung function more than any diet changes can. => Ok, now smoking can improve lung function. The smoker can combine eating healthy food as well as stop smoking. Not weaken. Right?

E. Smoking introduces into the body chemicals that prevent the helpful vitamins and minerals from entering the bloodstream. => If smoking can prevent helpful vitamins and minerals, smokers' eating healthy food is ineffective. Weaken. This is a assumption.

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by thestartupguy » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:09 pm
OA E