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13 Jun 2020, 20:02
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Type: Find the assumption
Conclusion: if the tropical rain forests are not preserved, important types of medicine will never be developed.
(A) There are substances of medicinal value contained in tropical rain forest plants not yet studied by scientists that differ from those substances already discovered in tropical rain forest plants. - if the yet-to-be-studied plants do not have any medicinal value, then preserving the forests will not lead to the development of new medicines. this would therefore weaken the conclusion cited. Hence, (A) is the assumption that is required to support the conclusion drawn. Therefore, (A) is the right answer choice.
(B) Most of the tropical rain forest plants that contain substances of medicinal value can also be found growing in other types of environment.
(C) The majority of plant species that are unique to tropical rain forests and that have been studied by scientists have been discovered to contain substances of medicinal value.
(D) Any substance of medicinal value contained in plant species indigenous to tropical rain forests will eventually be discovered if those species are studied by scientists.
(E) The tropical rain forests should be preserved to make it possible for important medicines to be developed from plant species that have not yet been studied by scientists.
Conclusion: if the tropical rain forests are not preserved, important types of medicine will never be developed.
(A) There are substances of medicinal value contained in tropical rain forest plants not yet studied by scientists that differ from those substances already discovered in tropical rain forest plants. - if the yet-to-be-studied plants do not have any medicinal value, then preserving the forests will not lead to the development of new medicines. this would therefore weaken the conclusion cited. Hence, (A) is the assumption that is required to support the conclusion drawn. Therefore, (A) is the right answer choice.
(B) Most of the tropical rain forest plants that contain substances of medicinal value can also be found growing in other types of environment.
(C) The majority of plant species that are unique to tropical rain forests and that have been studied by scientists have been discovered to contain substances of medicinal value.
(D) Any substance of medicinal value contained in plant species indigenous to tropical rain forests will eventually be discovered if those species are studied by scientists.
(E) The tropical rain forests should be preserved to make it possible for important medicines to be developed from plant species that have not yet been studied by scientists.
jayarora
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16 Jun 2020, 02:39
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Akela
Why are other choices wrong?
B) Weakener. (The argument says that if important types of medicines are developed, tropical rain forests MUST be preserved. This choice says that there are other sources)
C) Strengthener. Not a Must have. Do we NEED that more than 50 percent of such plant species were found to contain substances of medicinal value?
D) Strengthener. Extreme version of choice C. Do we NEED that more than 100 percent of such plant species will yield medicinal value?
E) No impact. It is almost the conclusion. Why do I say almost? Because the statement uses the word 'should' that has an aspect of moral obligation assigned to it. However, the conclusion is that the Tropical rain forests MUST be preserved to make it possible for important medicines to be developed from plant species that have not yet been studied by scientists.
28 Jun 2020, 09:54
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tittoo
This question is actually an excellent example of the limitations of using the negation technique. While the negation technique is logically sound, it can be difficult to determine what exactly to negate. In this instance it’s much easier just to think about what an assumption is: something that, while left unstated in the passage, must be true for the conclusion to be properly drawn.
With that in mind, borrowing from my previous post, does it have to be true that every single substance of medicinal value will eventually be discovered in order to conclude that important types of medicine will never be developed if the forests are not preserved?
No. The conclusion still follows even if just some of the potentially valuable medicinal substances are discovered. For that reason, we can eliminate (D).
I hope that helps!
