Group 6 Question 27: Health Official: A new virus has made people...

(A) DNA analysis is crucial in determining an effective way to stop the spread of the new virus.
Correct. It clearly refers to the argument made by scientists

(B) Scientists can devise a way to return those who have been affected with the new virus to their former states of health.
Wrong. This statement does not give any reference to the DNA

(C) Preventing the spread of the new virus won’t involve a great deal of cooperation from government agencies in a dozen countries.
Wrong. This statement does not give any reference to the DNA and in general with scientist argument

(D) The new virus will be treatable only through the manufacturing of new medication.
Wrong. This statement does not give any reference to the DNA

(E) A majority of the scientists who take the DNA samples will agree on the correct method of preventing the spread of the new virus.
Wrong. Even if this statement makes a reference to the DNA, it is not an assumption

Health Official: A new virus has made people ill on three continents. To prevent further spread of the virus, scientists will need to take and analyze DNA samples from some of the people who have already gotten ill.

The health official’s argument depends on which of the following arguments?

(A) DNA analysis is crucial in determining an effective way to stop the spread of the new virus. Correct

scientist can find a way to stop spread by analyze DNA samples

(B) Scientists can devise a way to return those who have been affected with the new virus to their former states of health. Incorrect

cant explain why DNA samples prevent further spread of the virus?

(C) Preventing the spread of the new virus won’t involve a great deal of cooperation from government agencies in a dozen countries. Irrelevant

(D) The new virus will be treatable only through the manufacturing of new medication. Irrelevant

new information

(E) A majority of the scientists who take the DNA samples will agree on the correct method of preventing the spread of the new virus. Incorrect

not concern for correct method of preventing the spread
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Official Explanation:

Health Official: A new virus has made people ill on three continents. To prevent further spread of the virus, scientists will need to take and analyze DNA samples from some of the people who have already gotten ill.

The health official’s argument depends on which of the following arguments?

(A) DNA analysis is crucial in determining an effective way to stop the spread of the new virus.
(B) Scientists can devise a way to return those who have been affected with the new virus to their former states of health.
(C) Preventing the spread of the new virus won’t involve a great deal of cooperation from government agencies in a dozen countries.
(D) The new virus will be treatable only through the manufacturing of new medication.
(E) A majority of the scientists who take the DNA samples will agree on the correct method of preventing the spread of the new virus.

Question Type: Assumption
Boil It Down: Scientists need to analyze DNA samples from people who had the virus to prevent the spread of it to other places.
Goal: Find the option that explains why the Health Official would come to this conclusion.

Analysis:
The question asks for an assumption made by the Health Official.

Conclusion: To prevent the virus from spreading, scientists will need to take and analyze DNA samples of people who have been infected.

Evidence: None is given.

The official is assuming that DNA analysis is necessary (crucial) to stop the virus from spreading; if there were other ways, then there would be no “need” to get the samples. In any logical argument, it is important to identify any factors that are necessary (or sufficient) for an outcome. In this case, the DNA analysis is necessary (to stop the spread of the virus), though we are not told that it is sufficient (to stop the spread of the virus). Choice A states that DNA analysis is necessary.


(A) DNA analysis is crucial in determining an effective way to stop the spread of the new virus.
This is the correct choice. If it were NOT true – if DNA analysis were NOT crucial (necessary), then the conclusion falls apart; there would be no need to take the samples.

(B) Scientists can devise a way to return those who have been affected with the new virus to their former states of health.
It might be that people who have been infected do not completely recover their former health. This has no known effect on the virus’s spread. If denying a possible assumption does not harm the conclusion, it was not an actual assumption.

(C) Preventing the spread of the new virus won’t involve a great deal of cooperation from government agencies in a dozen countries.
Even if a great deal of cooperation is needed, this doesn’t mean that the DNA analysis won’t work. If denying a possible assumption does not harm the conclusion, it was not an actual assumption.

(D) The new virus will be treatable only through the manufacturing of new medication.
It’s possible that an existing medicine would be all that is needed. If denying a possible assumption does not harm the conclusion, it was not an actual assumption.

(E) A majority of the scientists who take the DNA samples will agree on the correct method of preventing the spread of the new virus.
There is no reason that the scientists have to agree; as long as the correct treatment arrived at through DNA analysis is eventually tried, then the argument holds. If denying a possible assumption does not harm the conclusion, it was not an actual assumption.


Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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Health Official: A new virus has made people ill on three continents. To prevent further spread of the virus, scientists will need to take and analyze DNA samples from some of the people who have already gotten ill.

prevent further spread ----> scientists need dna samples

Pre-thinking - DNA samples are essential // DNA samples of healthy wont have any impact.

(A) DNA analysis is crucial in determining an effective way to stop the spread of the new virus. -- Correct. Matches our pre-thinking.

(B) Scientists can devise a way to return those who have been affected with the new virus to their former states of health. -- Eliminate. Negating it (cannot devise a way) and the argument will still stand. The argument is about preventing further spread.

(C) Preventing the spread of the new virus won’t involve a great deal of cooperation from government agencies in a dozen countries. -- Incorrect. Not related to DNA samples. Negating this wont break down the conclusion.

(D) The new virus will be treatable only through the manufacturing of new medication. -- same as C.

(E) A majority of the scientists who take the DNA samples will agree on the correct method of preventing the spread of the new virus. -- Incorrect. Even if they don't agree, DNA sample collection is necessary to prevent further spread. Negating (not agree on the correct method) won't break down the conclusion.

To prevent the spread, DNA analysis is crucial in determining an effective way to stop the spread of the new virus. Therefore, scientists will need to take and analyze DNA samples from some of the people who have already gotten ill.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal Hi,

In the question is the word "arguments" replaceable with "assumptions"?

The health official’s argument depends on which of the following arguments?

Thanks for your question!

Yes, if it is easier for you to replace "arguments" with "assumptions" there, you can absolutely do that. Not all GMAT questions outright say "assumptions" in Assumption questions, though - so just because a question uses a different word, it doesn't mean that it can't be an assumption question.

We hope that helps!
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EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Thanks, that helps.
I was identifying a list of some key words for easy identification of question types. (to save some time on question stem understanding).