Bunuel wrote:
Preservatives known as parabens function like weak versions of the hormone estrogen. These artificial estrogens are commonly added to cosmetic products used on hair and skin. Some cosmetics manufacturers refrain from using parabens in their products. Consequently, consumers who have adverse reactions to externally-applied hormones can safely use these paraben-free products without risking their health.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. These cosmetics manufacturers have been able to duplicate the preservative effect produced by parabens by means that do not involve adding artificial substances to their products.
B. Not all forms of artifical estrogens are equally likely to produce adverse reactions.
C. Cosmetics are the only products to which parabens are commonly added.
D. Estrogens are not naturally present in the cosmetics produced by these manufacturers in amounts large enough to produce an adverse reaction in someone who uses these cosmetics.
E. Apart from parabens, there are no substances commonly present in cosmetics that give rise to adverse reactions.
This question is an obvious copy of this official question:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/many-people- ... 25973.htmlYou might notice, though, that the logic in the official question is airtight, whereas in this prep company question, it is not. The conclusion in the official question is that people can drink the no-sulfite-added wine "without risking an allergic reaction to sulfites." In this attempt to copy that question, the conclusion instead says people can use the no-paraben-added cosmetics "without risking their health." In the official version, the only assumption is that there are no naturally-occurring sulfites in the wine, and there is only one correct answer choice. In this bad copy of that question, the conclusion is no longer only about allergic reactions to a single substance. The conclusion is about risk to health in general. Now we're not only assuming that there is no naturally occurring hormone in the cosmetic; we're also assuming the cosmetics don't contain anything else (pesticides, lead, arsenic, etc) that might be dangerous to health. We need to assume that to draw the sweeping conclusion that the argument draws, that these cosmetics pose no risk to health at all.
So the official question only has one right answer. This prep company copy has two right answers, D and E, because they didn't copy the conclusion correctly. The OE is just logical nonsense when it says "Choice E is out of scope, because the premises concern only reactions caused by parabens", because assumptions are unstated things we use to draw
conclusions. You can't look at the premises of an argument in isolation to decide if an assumption is "out of scope". You need to look at how the stated premises relate to the conclusion drawn.
In general, you won't ever encounter this issue (questions with two right answers) if you focus only on official questions, so that's what I'd recommend doing.
_________________
http://www.ianstewartgmat.com