Lesson 8 HW-Passage Set #1: Question 3

[Zarie Blackburn]

We recently received the following question from a student. An instructor will respond below. Thanks!

Hi, I just need help on a question for the comparative reading passage in lesson 8 HW. The one about three major competing hypotheses exist to explain the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Question #3: I chose C. I feel like passage b does not discuss the cause. Can you please help?

[Adam Tyson]

Passage B in that first set does mention something about the cause of the disease, although it doesn't say anything about what that cause may be. Check lines 75-78:

"While there is no denying the necessity for continued finance dedicated to finding an as yet discovered cause of, and cure for, Alzheimer's..."

For the purposes of Question 3, we can eliminate answer C because Passage B does mention the cause of the disease. It doesn't identify that cause, but it does mention "cause", if only in very general terms (we need to keep funding the search for the cause). That's enough to make it a loser here. But answer E, the major genetic risk factor, doesn't even a cursory mention in Passage B, which makes it much, much better.

I can see keeping answer C as a contender, but once you review it in comparison to answer E, E has to win out. Remember to pick the best answer, even if you don't completely love it!