imskpwr wrote:Preliminary tests show that the drug known as Mephaline is useful in treating people experiencing memory loss due to Alzheimer's disease. These same tests showed that Mephaline did not appear to slow or reverse memory loss in people who experienced memory loss due to a brain injury. There must be something qualitatively different about these two types of memory loss.

Which of the following most strengthens the conclusion in the argument above?

Mephaline works by acting on the medial temporal lobes of the brain.

Patients who took part in the tests had similar amounts of memory loss prior to the tests.

People with Alzheimer's disease usually have impaired powers of speech.

Some of the people tested were unaware that they were given a drug that was intended to reduce memory loss.

The average age of the people tested who had lost memory due to a brain injury was less than the average age of the people with Alzheimer's disease.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

imskpwr wrote:Preliminary tests show that the drug known as Mephaline is useful in treating people experiencing memory loss due to Alzheimer's disease. These same tests showed that Mephaline did not appear to slow or reverse memory loss in people who experienced memory loss due to a brain injury. There must be something qualitatively different about these two types of memory loss.

Which of the following most strengthens the conclusion in the argument above?

Mephaline works by acting on the medial temporal lobes of the brain.

Patients who took part in the tests had similar amounts of memory loss prior to the tests.

People with Alzheimer's disease usually have impaired powers of speech.

Some of the people tested were unaware that they were given a drug that was intended to reduce memory loss.

The average age of the people tested who had lost memory due to a brain injury was less than the average age of the people with Alzheimer's disease.

The study compares PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER'S to PEOPLE WITH A BRAIN INJURY.
The conclusion is that the two groups of people have DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEMORY LOSS.
One assumption: that there was NO OTHER DIFFERENCE between the two groups of people.
One way to strengthen the conclusion is to eliminate a possible difference between the two groups of people.
Answer choice B:
Patients who took part in the tests had similar amounts of memory loss prior to the tests.
By indicating that the people with Alzheimer's and those with a brain injury all had SIMILAR AMOUNTS of memory loss, B strengthens the study's conclusion: Mephaline was effective for the first group but not for the second because the two groups have DIFFERENT TYPES of memory loss.

The correct answer is B.

imskpwr wrote:Why E is not a contender?

My reasoning:
E shows one difference between the two types of memory loss. That can be considered a QUALITATIVE difference. so E leads to conclusion.

B shows SAME "amount of memory loss" is a QUANTITATIVE Similarity between two. but B will not lead to conclusion.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

imskpwr wrote:Preliminary tests show that the drug known as Mephaline is useful in treating people experiencing memory loss due to Alzheimer's disease. These same tests showed that Mephaline did not appear to slow or reverse memory loss in people who experienced memory loss due to a brain injury. There must be something qualitatively different about these two types of memory loss.

Which of the following most strengthens the conclusion in the argument above?

Mephaline works by acting on the medial temporal lobes of the brain.

Patients who took part in the tests had similar amounts of memory loss prior to the tests.

People with Alzheimer's disease usually have impaired powers of speech.

Some of the people tested were unaware that they were given a drug that was intended to reduce memory loss.

The average age of the people tested who had lost memory due to a brain injury was less than the average age of the people with Alzheimer's disease.

The study compares PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER'S to PEOPLE WITH A BRAIN INJURY.
The conclusion is that the two groups of people have DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEMORY LOSS.
One assumption: that there was NO OTHER DIFFERENCE between the two groups of people.
One way to strengthen the conclusion is to eliminate a possible difference between the two groups of people.
Answer choice B:
Patients who took part in the tests had similar amounts of memory loss prior to the tests.
By indicating that the people with Alzheimer's and those with a brain injury all had SIMILAR AMOUNTS of memory loss, B strengthens the study's conclusion: Mephaline was effective for the first group but not for the second because the two groups have DIFFERENT TYPES of memory loss.

The correct answer is B.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

imskpwr wrote:Preliminary tests show that the drug known as Mephaline is useful in treating people experiencing memory loss due to Alzheimer's disease. These same tests showed that Mephaline did not appear to slow or reverse memory loss in people who experienced memory loss due to a brain injury. There must be something qualitatively different about these two types of memory loss.

Which of the following most strengthens the conclusion in the argument above?

Mephaline works by acting on the medial temporal lobes of the brain.

Patients who took part in the tests had similar amounts of memory loss prior to the tests.

People with Alzheimer's disease usually have impaired powers of speech.

Some of the people tested were unaware that they were given a drug that was intended to reduce memory loss.

The average age of the people tested who had lost memory due to a brain injury was less than the average age of the people with Alzheimer's disease.

The study compares PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER'S to PEOPLE WITH A BRAIN INJURY.
The conclusion is that the two groups of people have DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEMORY LOSS.
One assumption: that there was NO OTHER DIFFERENCE between the two groups of people.
One way to strengthen the conclusion is to eliminate a possible difference between the two groups of people.
Answer choice B:
Patients who took part in the tests had similar amounts of memory loss prior to the tests.
By indicating that the people with Alzheimer's and those with a brain injury all had SIMILAR AMOUNTS of memory loss, B strengthens the study's conclusion: Mephaline was effective for the first group but not for the second because the two groups have DIFFERENT TYPES of memory loss.

The correct answer is B.