- PowerScore Staff
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- Fri Jan 21, 2011 12:00 am
#26423
Complete Question Explanation
Must Be True. The correct answer choice is (C)
This is a slightly unusual presentation for a Must Be True question for a few reasons. For one, the stimulus (the advertisement) contains a clear conclusion, and you generally will not see much argumentation in Must be True stimuli. Secondly, the question stem provides some additional information as opposed to simply providing you with a task (the question itself). Regardless, the methodology that you have learned to attack these types of questions still applies.
The advertisement makes the claim that Danaxil is the headache pill one should take because “no headache pill stops pain more quickly.” What is interesting about this wording is that it is not saying that Danaxil is the fastest or most effective headache pill available. Instead, the ad indicates that no other pill is faster. Of course, this phrasing leaves the possibility of a tie between Danaxil and other pills completely open, meaning that Evelyn and Jane (the headache sufferers in the question stem who take Danaxil and a competitor, respectively) could potentially experience relief at the same time, despite taking different pills. Thus you must account for this possibility when selecting an answer choice (and in predictable fashion the difference between the correct and incorrect answers often hinges on this very notion).
A final note for questions like this: when you see a stimulus presented as an “Advertisement” always be on the lookout for some type of questionable or flawed reasoning, as there is almost always some dubious logic involved in the argument. In fact, it is worthwhile to be wary of the reasoning given any time you encounter someone or something that seems likely to have an inherent agenda (like “Politician” or “Corporate Spokesman,” for instance). The test makers love to riddle these arguments with weak/faulty reasoning, so it helps to be aware of this tendency when you attempt questions of this sort.
Answer choice (A): The stimulus is not addressing which headache pills work and which ones do not (in fact, it states that all headache pills can stop a headache), but rather it discusses the relative speed with which different pills relieve pain. So to conclude that Jane’s headache will not be relieved simply because she did not take Danaxil would be incorrect.
Answer choice (B): This answer choice plays on the mistaken assumption that just because nothing is faster than Danaxil then Danaxil must be the fastest. But as we discussed above it is entirely possible that other pills are equally as fast as Danaxil, so it is possible that Evelyn and Jane will experience relief at the same time.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. Because no pill is faster than Danaxil, either Evelyn’s headache will be relieved faster than Jane’s, or they will be relieved at the same time. Either way, Evelyn’s headache will be relieved at least as quickly as Jane’s.
Answer choice (D): While it is certainly possible that the two pills work at the exact same rate, you cannot know with certainty that they will. Thus you cannot conclude that Evelyn and Jane will be relieved at the same time.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice introduces information that is clearly impossible to know. Even if Evelyn experiences better results taking Danaxil than Jane experiences with a competing pill, there is still no way that you could conclude with certainty that Jane will be taking Danaxil for future headaches.
Must Be True. The correct answer choice is (C)
This is a slightly unusual presentation for a Must Be True question for a few reasons. For one, the stimulus (the advertisement) contains a clear conclusion, and you generally will not see much argumentation in Must be True stimuli. Secondly, the question stem provides some additional information as opposed to simply providing you with a task (the question itself). Regardless, the methodology that you have learned to attack these types of questions still applies.
The advertisement makes the claim that Danaxil is the headache pill one should take because “no headache pill stops pain more quickly.” What is interesting about this wording is that it is not saying that Danaxil is the fastest or most effective headache pill available. Instead, the ad indicates that no other pill is faster. Of course, this phrasing leaves the possibility of a tie between Danaxil and other pills completely open, meaning that Evelyn and Jane (the headache sufferers in the question stem who take Danaxil and a competitor, respectively) could potentially experience relief at the same time, despite taking different pills. Thus you must account for this possibility when selecting an answer choice (and in predictable fashion the difference between the correct and incorrect answers often hinges on this very notion).
A final note for questions like this: when you see a stimulus presented as an “Advertisement” always be on the lookout for some type of questionable or flawed reasoning, as there is almost always some dubious logic involved in the argument. In fact, it is worthwhile to be wary of the reasoning given any time you encounter someone or something that seems likely to have an inherent agenda (like “Politician” or “Corporate Spokesman,” for instance). The test makers love to riddle these arguments with weak/faulty reasoning, so it helps to be aware of this tendency when you attempt questions of this sort.
Answer choice (A): The stimulus is not addressing which headache pills work and which ones do not (in fact, it states that all headache pills can stop a headache), but rather it discusses the relative speed with which different pills relieve pain. So to conclude that Jane’s headache will not be relieved simply because she did not take Danaxil would be incorrect.
Answer choice (B): This answer choice plays on the mistaken assumption that just because nothing is faster than Danaxil then Danaxil must be the fastest. But as we discussed above it is entirely possible that other pills are equally as fast as Danaxil, so it is possible that Evelyn and Jane will experience relief at the same time.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. Because no pill is faster than Danaxil, either Evelyn’s headache will be relieved faster than Jane’s, or they will be relieved at the same time. Either way, Evelyn’s headache will be relieved at least as quickly as Jane’s.
Answer choice (D): While it is certainly possible that the two pills work at the exact same rate, you cannot know with certainty that they will. Thus you cannot conclude that Evelyn and Jane will be relieved at the same time.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice introduces information that is clearly impossible to know. Even if Evelyn experiences better results taking Danaxil than Jane experiences with a competing pill, there is still no way that you could conclude with certainty that Jane will be taking Danaxil for future headaches.