ashutosh_73 wrote:
Absolute, or perfect, pitch - the ability to identify the pitch of an isolated musical note - is rare in the general population, but relatively common among trained musicians. A survey of fifteen- year-old music students showed that absolute pitch was more common among those who had been studying music since a very early age than among those who started studying a few years later. Thus very early musical training aids in the development of absolute pitch.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
A) Young children with absolute pitch might not realize that they have it until they become adolescents.
B) Possession of absolute pitch can hamper a person's enjoyment of musical performances.
C) Most musicians who have absolute pitch started their training before age seven.
D) It is never the goal of early musical training to develop absolute pitch.
E) Children with absolute pitch are more likely to persist in their musical training than are children without absolute pitch.
Conclusion of the passage: Thus very early musical training aids in the development of absolute pitch.
The conclusion of the passage outlines a causal relation.
- Cause: Very early musical training
- Effect: Aids in the development of absolute pitch
Hence, in concluding the passage the author assumes that the cause leads to the effect. In this context, the author assumes early training causes absolute pitch. Any answer choice that can challenge this assumption would weaken the argument.
Answer Choice EliminationA) Young children with absolute pitch might not realize that they have it until they become adolescents.This doesn't affect the argument. The author of the passage is not concerned with the timing when young children with absolute pitch realize that they have it. Hence, Option A doesn't weaken the argument.
B) Possession of absolute pitch can hamper a person's enjoyment of musical performances.This option is irrelevant to the argument. Eliminate B
C) Most musicians who have absolute pitch started their training before age seven.This statement strengthens the argument by providing additional evidence that early musical training is associated with the development of absolute pitch. We can eliminate C.
D) It is never the goal of early musical training to develop absolute pitch.This option is irrelevant to the argument. Whether absolute pitch is the goal of early musical training or not is not what the conclusion of the passage is all about. We can eliminate Option D.
E) Children with absolute pitch are more likely to persist in their musical training than are children without absolute pitch.The argument assumes early training causes absolute pitch. If children with the ability are more likely to continue training in the first place, regardless of when they started the children would likely to persist their training. This casts doubt on the claim that the author has made based on the survey results. This option weakens the conclusion.
Option E