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Sweet potato

by dreamv » Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:21 pm
In parts of South America, vitamin A deficiency is a serious health problem, especially among children. In one region, agriculturists hope to improve nutrition by encouraging farmers to plant a new variety of sweet potato called SPK004 that is rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. The plan has good chances of success, since sweet potato is a staple of the region's diet and agriculture, and the varieties currently grown contain little beta-carotene.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the prediction that the plan will succeed?

A.There are other vegetables currently grown in the region that contain more beta-carotene than the currently cultivated varieties of sweet potato do.

B.The flesh of SPK004 differs from that of the currently cultivated sweet potatoes in color and texture, so traditional foods would look somewhat different when prepared from SPK004.

C.For successful cultivation of SPK004, a soil significantly richer in nitrogen is needed for the varieties of sweet potato currently cultivated in the region.

D.There are no other varieties of sweet potato that are significantly richer in beta-carotene than SPK004 is.

E.The currently cultivated varieties of sweet potato contain no important nutrients that SPK004 lacks.
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Source: — Critical Reasoning |
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by karthikgmat » Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:12 pm
IMO D. because if there are already some thing that has more beta -carotene than SPK004 , then no need to cultivate this. So, cultivation of SPK004 is must for beta - carotene.

please provide the OA
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by dreamv » Tue Feb 21, 2012 1:08 pm
OA is E. I also chose D. Could anybody help on this?
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by pemdas » Tue Feb 21, 2012 1:53 pm
karthikgmat wrote:IMO D. because if there are already some thing that has more beta -carotene than SPK004 , then no need to cultivate this. So, cultivation of SPK004 is must for beta - carotene.

please provide the OA
answer D is a typical trap related to the conclusion. In brief explanation, it does overstate the argument's conclusion, as we don't know if there are any varieties existing in the universe for SPK004 be named as exceptional. In LSAT Critical reasoning language your argumentation is called 'shifting the burden of proof' and if you ask any LSAT instructor whether he believes in GOD based on the following premise (BTW, it's similar with yours) - Since no one has been able to prove God's existence, there must not be a God. The instructor will answer No to the argument (that is LSAT buddy will not accept existence of GOD in the way presented, and probably will continue believing in GOD), because the burden of proof has been shifted. That no one can prove something doesn't mean the exactly same thing doesn't exist. This is one example of an overstatement usage in the verbal logic. Also, there are other ways to overstate conclusion or make fallacious arguments (at the end of my post I will list the most common types of argument fallacies)

You attempt to apply the same premise in this argument by selecting the choice d) and allowing this assumption to serve as suppressed premise.

Instead, you could look for the choice e) which is provocative because of its language only. All it says is 'SPK004 has everything (doesn't lack no important nutrients) the currently cultivated varieties of sweet potato contain.'

choice e is the correct answer here

The most common fallacies are
1. Contradiction
2. Equivocation
3. Circular Reasoning
4. Shifting the Burden of Proof
5. Unwarranted Assumptions
6. True but Irrelevant
7. Appeal to Authority
8. Personal Attack
Success doesn't come overnight!
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by dreamv » Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:15 pm
Thank you Pemdas!
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by mankey » Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:17 am
Still confused between D and E. Will appreciate if someone can give a more direct explanation as to how D and E differ?

Regards.
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by mohankiran.p » Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:46 pm
The conclusion is that the plan has a good chance of success. The 'plan' that it refers to is to 'improve nutrition'.

There are two important things to note here:
1) 'Improve' doesn't mean you have to get the best of something. It just has to be better than what is currently available.
2) 'Nutrition' refers not just to Vitamin A but also the presence of all other necessary nutrients that come with the staple food.

Keeping these two key aspects in mind, you can look at D and E again.

D says SPK004 has to be the best in providing beta-carotene. We don't need something that is best, better will do (the stimulus already has this information - SPK004 is rich in beta-carotene). More importantly, an overdose of Vitamin A doesn't mean a person is getting better 'nutrition'.

E attacks this possible flaw and closes the gap in the argument that switching potatoes doesn't take anything else away. It only gives something more (beta-carotene) keeping all other nutrient-levels same.
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