historian

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clar: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 53; Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:51 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by clar » Tue Sep 01, 2009 2:07 am

. Historian: We can learn about the medical history of individuals through chemical analysis of their hair. It is likely, for example, that Isaac Newton's psychological problems were due to mercury poisoning; traces of mercury were found in his hair. Analysis is now being done on a lock of Beethoven's hair. Although no convincing argument has shown that Beethoven ever had a venereal disease, some people hypothesize that venereal disease caused his deafness. Since mercury was commonly ingested in Beethoven's time to treat venereal disease, if researchers find a trace of mercury in his hair, we can conclude that this hypothesis is correct.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the historian's argument depends?

(A) None of the mercury introduced into the body can be eliminated.
(B) Some people in Beethoven's time did not ingest mercury.
(C) Mercury is an effective treatment for venereal disease.
(D) Mercury poisoning can cause deafness in people with venereal disease.
(E) Beethoven suffered from psychological problems of the same severity as Newton's.

Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Tue Sep 01, 2009 2:07 am

rohan_vus: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 189; Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:03 pm; Location: USA; Thanked: 21 times

by rohan_vus » Tue Sep 01, 2009 2:21 am

IMO A

nitya34: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 179; Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 7:23 pm; Thanked: 11 times; GMAT Score:590

by nitya34 » Tue Sep 01, 2009 6:02 am

via negation also
only A makes sense

Since mercury was commonly ingested in Beethoven's time to treat venereal disease, if researchers find a trace of mercury in his hair, we can conclude that this hypothesis is correct.

Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.

aim.gmat: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 8; Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:57 am; Thanked: 1 times

by aim.gmat » Tue Sep 01, 2009 6:54 am

IMO A=negation rule

crackgmat007: Legendary Member; Posts: 882; Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:57 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 15 times; GMAT Score:690

Re: historian

by crackgmat007 » Tue Sep 01, 2009 3:09 pm

clar wrote:.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the historian's argument depends?

(A) None of the mercury introduced into the body can be eliminated.

Negating this choice weakens the argument.

(B) Some people in Beethoven's time did not ingest mercury.

OOS as it talks about some people

(C) Mercury is an effective treatment for venereal disease.

Not relevant as the argument is not about effectiveness of mercury in treating veneral disease. May be it is effective or may be not. But the usage of mercury is the point.

(D) Mercury poisoning can cause deafness in people with venereal disease.

Weakens the argument by showing an alternative cause that it is not veneral disease that causes deafness but rather mercury

(E) Beethoven suffered from psychological problems of the same severity as Newton's.
Severity is out of scope.

ssmiles08: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 472; Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:54 pm; Thanked: 56 times

by ssmiles08 » Tue Sep 01, 2009 3:27 pm

IMO A as well. the assumption relies on the conclusion that medical history can be learnt from chemical analysis. If mercury is never eliminated, then it confirms the the chemical analysis conclusion is correct.

You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period.

heshamelaziry: Legendary Member; Posts: 869; Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:49 pmFollowed by: 3 members; Location: California; Thanked: 13 times

by heshamelaziry » Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:49 pm

I was thinking conclusion was at the end. If conclusion is the first clause then answer is "A"

crackgmat007: Legendary Member; Posts: 882; Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:57 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 15 times; GMAT Score:690

by crackgmat007 » Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:58 pm

heshamelaziry wrote:I was thinking conclusion was at the end. If conclusion is the first clause then answer is "A"

Actually, conclusion is : 'we can conclude that this hypothesis is correct.'

This boil downs to what the hypothesis is...

'Hypothesize that venereal disease caused his deafness.'

heshamelaziry: Legendary Member; Posts: 869; Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:49 pmFollowed by: 3 members; Location: California; Thanked: 13 times

by heshamelaziry » Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:09 pm

crackgmat007 wrote:
heshamelaziry wrote:I was thinking conclusion was at the end. If conclusion is the first clause then answer is "A"
Actually, conclusion is : 'we can conclude that this hypothesis is correct.'

This boil downs to what the hypothesis is...

'Hypothesize that venereal disease caused his deafness.'

Then the answer is D

gmatmachoman: Legendary Member; Posts: 2326; Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:54 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 173 times; GMAT Score:710

by gmatmachoman » Wed Sep 02, 2009 10:16 am

one more for A!!!

heshamelaziry: Legendary Member; Posts: 869; Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:49 pmFollowed by: 3 members; Location: California; Thanked: 13 times

by heshamelaziry » Wed Sep 02, 2009 10:25 am

This is one of two kinds of assumption question, the less common one. This is a supporter question where there is a missing info in the evidence that needs to be added to make the conclusion valid.

The hypotheses is that Vanerial disease is resposible for this deafness.

Now if mercury is used to treat that disease, then mercury led to his deafness.

joseph32: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 303; Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:23 am

by joseph32 » Sun May 15, 2016 9:24 pm

Answer A seems to be logical one out of other answer choices

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