V07-23

Question

In testing for food allergies, a false positive result occurs when a person is said to be allergic to a particular food when, in fact, they are not. Conversely, a false negative result indicates that a person is not allergic to the food when, in fact, they are. A physician looking to maximize the accuracy of a food allergy test should use the test that gives the lowest percentage of false negative results because _____________________" 
Complete the argument with the statement that most logically supports the physician’s focus on minimizing false negatives.

A. some food allergies cause reactions severe enough to be life-threatening.
B. none of the tests for food allergies have lasting side effects.
C. in diagnosing food allergies, it is crucial to use the most advanced testing technology available, as it typically has the highest sensitivity for detecting allergens.
D. the proportion of tests that do not provide a clear result is the same for all tests of food allergies.
E. all tests for food allergies result in the same proportion of false positive results.

souvik101990 · Answer

Official Solution:

In testing for food allergies, a false positive result occurs when a person is said to be allergic to a particular food when, in fact, they are not. Conversely, a false negative result indicates that a person is not allergic to the food when, in fact, they are. A physician looking to maximize the accuracy of a food allergy test should use the test that gives the lowest percentage of false negative results because _____________________" 
Complete the argument with the statement that most logically supports the physician’s focus on minimizing false negatives.

A. some food allergies cause reactions severe enough to be life-threatening.
B. none of the tests for food allergies have lasting side effects.
C. in diagnosing food allergies, it is crucial to use the most advanced testing technology available, as it typically has the highest sensitivity for detecting allergens.
D. the proportion of tests that do not provide a clear result is the same for all tests of food allergies.
E. all tests for food allergies result in the same proportion of false positive results.

General Approach: 
 
In Critical Reasoning questions, the aim is to understand the logic of the argument given. Once the logic is understood, the next step is to identify the conclusion and the premises that support this conclusion. Reading and understanding the argument thoroughly helps in predicting the correct answer. An understanding of the conclusion is key because the correct answer is often a restatement of the conclusion or a statement that supports, strengthens the conclusion, or provides the missing link between the premises and the conclusion.
  
Correct Answer: 
 
Answer choice E is the correct response. The conclusion of the passage is that in order to most accurately determine food allergies, doctors should use the test with the smallest percentage of false negatives. Option E supports this by establishing that all tests for food allergies have the same proportion of false positives. Therefore, minimizing the chance of false negatives becomes the only way to increase the accuracy of the test. It provides the link between the premises and the conclusion and strengthens the argument.
  
Incorrect Answers: 
 
A: This answer choice is incorrect because it departs from the goal of locating the most accurate test. The prompt shifts into the discussion of severity of food allergies, which is not relevant to the argument of maximizing the accuracy of a food allergy test. 
 
B: This answer choice is incorrect because it discusses the side effects of the tests, which is not relevant to the argument. The argument is not discussing the side effects but rather the accuracy of the tests.
 
C: This answer choice is incorrect because it discusses the prevalence of multiple food allergies in people. However, this does not provide a reason for why a test with fewer false negatives would be more accurate.
 
D: This answer choice is incorrect because it discusses the unclear results of the tests, which is not relevant to the argument. The argument is about the accuracy of the tests and not about the clarity of the results.

Answer: E

gatorguy47 · Answer

Excellent question, this one couldn't be answered on auto-pilot.

You have to not only catch that the question is looking for the most efficient test, and not the safest, but also that answer E puts all false positive test results on a level playing field. Our only hope is the false negative tests are more efficient.

karanluthra · Answer

Why not choice D?

TBT · Answer

Amazing question!

eurasian · Answer

800+ level question

sssdd1234 · Answer

I think this is a  high-quality  question and I agree with explanation.

heeeya · Answer

Thank you for the kind explanation.
But I think an option A could be an answer too. Because we could think that the false negative results are more critical than the false positive results if some food allergies that are not diagnosed by those false negative results could cause reactions severe enough to be life-threatening.
Can you share your thought on this please?  souvik101990

bb · Answer

Thank you for the question. I also answered "A" when Souvik first presented me with this question back in the day. The reason why A is supposed to be incorrect is that the argument is mostly concerned with increasing the accuracy of the test and accurate testing. I have wrangled with this question for 45 minutes and finally found a solution to make it clearer. I have revised the question to make this more obvious the goal and to make A irrelevant to the argument.

Note that you can still use A. and it will sound OK but it will not be following the argument/goal of increasing the accuracy of testing, and shifting the direction into reasons for accurate testing instead of the original purpose of increasing accuracy of testing.

I have provided you with 2 weeks of access for asking the question and helping hopefully make this question better.

Reposting the original version here for my own records/

Dbrunik · Answer

I think this is a  high-quality  question and I agree with explanation.

Mohak01 · Answer

I was not sure between A and E but E seems to be a simple solution.

For option A, although the option initially seems plausible that if allergies are life threatening then accuracy of false negative should be improved. But on the other hand the lower accuracy of false positive may also lead to consequences such as wrong administration of treatment, medication etc.

bb · Answer

Yes, this is a very tricky question in my mind (perhaps E jumped out at you). I can tell you it did not for me and took a bit to wrap my mind around the answer

Sushi_545 · Answer

If E would be first and A would be last prob of answering this question right could get improved. I read A and inclined to it so much that I dont even bother to think what choice E is saying thats a good question indeed!

bb · Answer

Yes, one of the traps/tricks test-writers do is putting a tempting bait answer first and burying the correct one last. Test writers are NOT interested in helping you answer correctly but cause painful lessons to remember to do it right on the test.

V07-23

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