Toxicologist: Recent research has shown that dioxin causes cancer in

Question

Toxicologist: Recent research has shown that dioxin causes cancer in rats. Although similar research has never been done on humans, and probably never will be, the use of dioxin should be completely banned.

That dioxin causes cancer in rats figures in the argument in which one of the following ways?

(A) It is presented as the hazard that the researcher is concerned with preventing
(B) It is presented as a benefit of not acting on the recommendation in the conclusion
(C) It is presented as evidence for the claim that similar research will never be done on humans
(D) It is presented as a finding that motivates the course of action advocated in the conclusion 
(E) It is presented as evidence for the claim that similar research has never been done on humans

Source: LSAT

pkshankar · Answer

The conclusion is that dioxin should be banned and this is based on the assumption that as dioxin causes cancer in rats it will in all likelihood cause cancer or at the very least harm humans (even though no research has been conducted on humans and there will never be any research ).
Option D is inline with our thinking and should be the correct answer.

Sent from my ONE E1003 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

TaN1213 · Answer

Toxicologist: Recent research has shown that dioxin causes cancer in rats. Although similar research has never been done on humans, and probably never will be, the use of dioxin should be complete banned.

That dioxin causes cancer in rats figures in the argument in which one of the following ways?

(A) It is presented as the hazard that the researcher is concerned with preventing 
 researcher is not concerned with preventing cancer in rats

(B) It is presented as a benefit of not acting on the recommendation in the conclusion
There is no clue that suggests  not  acting on the conclusion.

(E) It is presented as evidence for the claim that similar research has never been done on humans -  doesn't make sense

(C) It is presented as evidence for the claim that similar research will never be done on humans
(D) It is presented as a finding that motivates the course of action advocated in the conclusion

C and D looks like contenders. But C is very strong to say 'will never be done' whereas the premise says 'probably never will be'. D it is.

vv65 · Answer

This is a 'describe the role' question. We start with breaking down the argument into its component parts.

The toxicologist's conclusion is that 'the use of dioxin should be completely banned'. The conclusion is a recommendation.
Why does the toxicologist think so? Because 'Recent research has shown that dioxin causes cancer in rats'. So the fact that 'dioxin causes cancer in rats' is evidence (premises) supporting the main claim

C, D, and E all say that this fact is evidence supporting the claim.

According to C, the claim is that 'similar research will never be done on humans'. But the claim isn't that such research WILL not be done; the expert has recommended that such research SHOULD not be done. So C can be eliminated

E can be eliminated for similar b reasons. According to E, the claim is that 'similar research HAS never been done'. Again, that is not the argument's claim.

Answer choice D, the right answer, will confuse some test takers because of the way it is worded. 
"It is presented as a finding that motivates the course of action advocated in the conclusion"

D does not use any word such as 'premises' or 'evidence'. It does not restate the conclusion. But D perfectly describes the role of the dioxin and rat cancer information. 
The 'course of action advocated' is that 'such research should not be done'. 
The phrase 'finding that motivates the course of action advocated' is a paraphrase of 'evidence that leads to the recommendation'.

Posted from my mobile device

Toxicologist: Recent research has shown that dioxin causes cancer in

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Toxicologist: Recent research has shown that dioxin causes cancer in

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards