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Bevex, an artificial sweetener used only in soft drinks, is carcinogenic for mice, but only when it is consumed in very large quantities. To ingest an amount of Bevex equivalent to the amount fed to the mice in the relevant studies, a person would have to drink 25 cans of Bevex-sweetened soft drinks per day. For that reason, Bevex is in fact safe for people. In order for the conclusion that Bevex is safe for people to be properly drawn, which one of the following must be true? (A) Cancer from carcinogenic substances develops more slowly in mice than it does in people. (B) If all food additives that are currently used in foods were tested, some would be found to be carcinogenic for mice. (C) People drink fewer than 25 cans of Bevexsweetened soda per day. (D) People can obtain important health benefits by controlling their weight through the use of artificially sweetened soft drinks. (E) Some of the studies done on Bevex were not relevant to the question of whether or not Bevex is carcinogenic for people.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Option (C) is necessary to ensure Bevex is safe for humans.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the Argument

The argument states that Bevex is carcinogenic to mice only in large quantities. To match the mice's exposure, a human would need to consume 25 cans of Bevex-sweetened drink daily. Hence, it's safe for humans.
02

Identifying the Assumption

The conclusion that Bevex is safe for people relies on the assumption that humans will not consume it in quantities that are carcinogenic to mice. This means that humans consume fewer than 25 cans daily.
03

Evaluating the Answer Choices

Check which option ensures Bevex is safe by preventing the conditions under which it is harmful in mice. Analyze each option to see which aligns with the assumption.
04

Analyzing Each Option

Option (C) indicates that people drink fewer than 25 cans daily, directly supporting the crucial assumption needed for the conclusion. Other options do not address consumer behavior or exposure differences between mice and humans concerning the 25-can threshold.
05

Concluding the Correct Choice

Option (C) is necessary to affirm the argument's conclusion because it ensures humans won't consume Bevex in the harmful quantities observed in mice studies.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Logical Reasoning Practice
Sharpening logical reasoning abilities is essential for tackling complex arguments. In the scenario where Bevex, a sweetener, is considered safe for humans because it is carcinogenic only in large quantities for mice, logical reasoning helps us understand the underlying structure.
Logical reasoning involves:
  • Identifying the premises, which here include the known effects of Bevex on mice.
  • Understanding the conclusion, which is the claim about human safety.
  • Evaluating the logical flow from premises to conclusion.
For any logical reasoning exercise, it's crucial to ensure that the conclusion follows inevitably from the premises.
Practice by consistently looking for gaps or unwritten assumptions that must be true for the argument to hold.
Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking is a core skill in dissecting arguments like the one about Bevex. It allows us to assess each element of the argument.
Engaging in critical thinking involves:
  • Questioning the validity of the premises. For instance, are the studies on mice truly reflective of potential risks to humans?
  • Reflecting on assumptions. Are there underlying assumptions that the argument takes for granted?
  • Considering alternative perspectives. Could there be other explanations or additional data that might affect the conclusion?
By honing critical thinking skills, students can navigate through complex arguments and evaluate their worth accurately. Each claim should be examined based on evidence, logic, and potential gaps.
Assumption Identification
Assumption identification is a pivotal skill in logical reasoning tasks. In our Bevex scenario, the conclusion—that it is safe for humans—relies heavily on an implicit assumption.
An assumption is a statement presumed true for the argument, but not outright stated. Here, the assumption is that people do not commonly drink 25 or more cans of Bevex daily. This assumption fills a critical gap between the evidence and the conclusion.
Key steps in assumption identification include:
  • Identifying any gaps between premises and conclusions.
  • Determining what must be true for the argument to remain valid.
  • Verifying whether the identified assumption is truly necessary for the argument.
Spotting assumptions helps clarify the argument’s foundation and reveals its potential weaknesses.
Argument Analysis
Analyzing arguments requires a thoughtful examination of how various parts of an argument come together. In the Bevex argument, for example, analyzing involves evaluating how evidence about mice is applied to humans.
  • Examine comparative analysis: Evaluate whether comparisons, such as between mice and humans, are justified and sound.
  • Scrutinize evidence strength: Consider the robustness and relevance of the scientific studies cited.
  • Connect evidence to conclusion: Assess whether the provided evidence sufficiently supports the stated conclusion.
Argument analysis requires us to think critically about each claim’s legitimacy and how well the parts of the argument align. Through this process, we can determine the argument's strength and whether its conclusion is reasonably supported.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Advertisement: Anyone who exercises knows from firsthand experience that exercise leads to better performance of such physical organs as the heart and the lungs, as well as to improvement in muscle tone. And since your brain is a physical organ, your actions can improve its performance, too. Act now. Subscribe to Stimulus: read the magazine that exercises your brain. The advertisement employs which one of the following argumentative strategies? (A) It cites experimental evidence that subscribing to the product being advertised has desirable consequences. (B) It ridicules people who do not subscribe to Stimulus by suggesting that they do not believe that exercise will improve brain capacity. (C) It explains the process by which the product being advertised brings about the result claimed for its use. (D) It supports its recommendation by a careful analysis of the concept of exercise. (E) It implies that brains and muscle are similar in one respect because they are similar in another respect.

Eight years ago hunting was banned in Greenfield County on the grounds that hunting endangers public safety. Now the deer population in the county is six times what it was before the ban. Deer are invading residential areas, damaging property and causing motor vehicle accidents that result in serious injury to motorists. Since there were never any hunting-related injuries in the county, clearly the ban was not only unnecessary but has created a danger to public safety that would not otherwise exist. Which one of the following, if true, provides the strongest additional support for the conclusion above? (A) In surrounding counties, where hunting is permitted, the size of the deer population has not increased in the last eight years. (B) Motor vehicle accidents involving deer often result in damage to the vehicle, injury to the motorist, or both. (C) When deer populations increase beyond optimal size, disease and malnutrition become more widespread among the deer herds. (D) In residential areas in the county, many residents provide food and salt for deer. (E) Deer can cause extensive damage to ornamental shrubs and trees by chewing on twigs and saplings.

According to sources who can be expected to know, Dr. Maria Esposito is going to run in the mayoral election. But if Dr. Esposito runs, Jerome Krasman will certainly not run against her. Therefore Dr. Esposito will be the only candidate in the election. The flawed reasoning in the argument above most closely parallels that in which one of the following? (A) According to its management, Brown's Stores will move next year. Without Brown's being present, no new large store can be attracted to the downtown area. Therefore the downtown area will no longer be viable as a shopping district. (B) The press release says that the rock group Rollercoaster is playing a concert on Saturday. It won't be playing on Friday_if it plays on Saturday. So Saturday will be the only day this week on which Rollercoaster will perform. (C) Joshua says the interviewing panel was impressed by Marilyn. But if they were impressed by Marilyn, they probably thought less of Sven. Joshua is probably right, and so Sven will probably not get the job. (D) An informant says that Rustimann was involved in the bank robbery. If Rustimann was involved, Jones was certainly not involved. Since these two are the only people who could have been involved, Rustimann is the only person the police need to arrest. (E) The review said that this book is the best one for beginners at programming. If this book is the best, that other one can't be as good. So this one is the book we should buy.

Many major scientific discoveries of the past were the product of serendipity, the chance discovery of valuable findings that investigators had not purposely sought. Now, however, scientific research tends to be so costly that investigators are heavily dependent on large grants to fund their research. Because such grants require investigators to provide the grant sponsors with clear projections of the outcome of the proposed research, investigators ignore anything that does not directly bear on the funded research. Therefore, under the prevailing circumstances, serendipity can no longer play a role in scientific discovery. Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? (A) Only findings that an investigator purposely seeks can directly bear on that investigator's research. (B) In the past few scientific investigators attempted to make clear predictions of the outcome of their research. (C) Dependence on large grants is preventing investigators from conducting the type of scientific research that those investigators would personally prefer. (D) All scientific investigators who provide grant sponsors with clear projections of the outcome of their research receive at least some of the grants for which they apply. (E) In general the most valuable scientific discoveries are the product of serendipity.

Certain items-those with that hard-to-define quality called exclusivity-have the odd property, when they become available for sale, of selling rapidly even though they are extremely expensive. In fact, trying to sell such an item fast by asking too low a price is a serious error, since it calls into question the very thing-exclusivity - that is supposed to be the item's chief appeal. Therefore, given that a price that will prove to be right is virtually impossible for the seller to gauge in advance, the seller should make sure that any error in the initial asking price is in the direction of setting the price too high. The argument recommends a certain pricing strategy on the grounds that (A) this strategy lacks a counterproductive feature of the rejected alternative (B) this strategy has all of the advantages of the rejected alternative, but fewer of its disadvantages (C) experience has proven this strategy to be superior, even though the reasons for this superiority elude analysis (D) this strategy does not rely on prospective buyers \(^*\) estimates of value (E) the error associated with this strategy, unlike the error associated with the rejected alternative, is likely to go unnoticed

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