More than 83 people have died from the symptoms of an unknown virus.

Question

More than 83 people have died from the symptoms of an unknown virus. To prevent contamination, health officials are urging people in the vicinity to wear masks at all times while in public areas.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the preventative action suggested by the health officials?

A. The type of symptoms experienced by the contraction of a virus depends on the characteristics of that particular virus.

B. In a number of sports, protective masks are used to prevent injury to the face and jaw.

C. Organisms use antibodies to fight against attacking viruses.

D. Many viruses are contracted through the mouth via food, breathing, and even kissing.

E. In the city of Tropalle, a virus contracted through the pores of the skin killed hundreds before a vaccine was found.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

More than 83 people have died from the symptoms of an unknown virus. To prevent contamination, health officials are urging people in the vicinity to wear masks at all times while in public areas.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the preventative action suggested by the health officials?

A. The type of symptoms experienced by the contraction of a virus depends on the characteristics of that particular virus.

Incorrect.

To solve this Conclusion Weakening question, first break down the argument. The first sentence is a premise which provides factual data. The health official's recommendation is the conclusion.

Premise A: an unknown virus has killed at least 83 people
 =
Official's suggestion: wear masks to avoid catching the virus

Possible assumption: masks prevent the contraction of the virus

Weakening Data: ?

You are required to find data that weakens the health officials' suggestion that masks should be worn to avoid the virus. The correct answer could be one that exposes the argument's assumption.

This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the health officials' suggestion as it provides general information about viruses and their symptoms, and mentions nothing about contracting the virus and masks (notice the word contracting in this answer choice is only used to described the symptoms).

B. In a number of sports, protective masks are used to prevent injury to the face and jaw.

Incorrect.

This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the health officials' suggestion. The use of protective masks in sport is irrelevant as it does not help to undermine the usefulness of masks in avoiding the virus.

C. Organisms use antibodies to fight against attacking viruses.

Incorrect.

This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the health officials' suggestion as only provides information about how the body handles viruses in general and does not mention how the new virus is contracted and whether masks can help avoid it.

D. Many viruses are contracted through the mouth via food, breathing, and even kissing.

Incorrect.

This answer choice strengthens the conclusion, but you are asked to weaken it. Claiming that many viruses are passed via the mouth just gives us another reason to believe that masks are very useful in preventing the contraction of the virus.

E. In the city of Tropalle, a virus contracted through the pores of the skin killed hundreds before a vaccine was found.

This answer choice weakens the health officials' suggestion by providing an example of another virus outbreak. The example undermines the suggestion because the virus in Tropalle was contracted through the skin. Masks would be useless in preventing the spreading of such a virus.

sj296 · Answer

More than 83 people have died from the symptoms of an unknown virus.

To prevent contamination, health officials are urging people in the vicinity to wear masks at all times while in public areas.

Well the plan focuses on wearing masks in public areas to prevent contamination. To weaken the plan, we should look for other sources of the virus contraction.

A.  The type of symptoms experienced by the contraction of a virus depends on the characteristics of that particular virus.
 ........................We are not concerned with the symptoms experienced & characteristics of virus.

B.  In a number of sports, protective masks are used to prevent injury to the face and jaw. ....................We are not concerned what people do while playing a sport

C.  Organisms use antibodies to fight against attacking viruses .................................Irrelevant

D.  Many viruses are contracted through the mouth via food, breathing, and even kissing .......................This in a way strengthens the plan

E.  In the city of Tropalle, a virus contracted through the pores of the skin killed hundreds before a vaccine was found ......................This says that if the virus enters through the pores of the skin, then the plan will not work. This is our answer

IMO OA should be E

sumitkrocks · Answer

(E) is the answer

Option (E) indicates that spread is possible through skin pores. so wearing masks would not be sufficient.

swim2109 · Answer

Assumption:

IS that the virus transmits through the mouth. if we can show that the virus might be contracted from some other channel; it will be a weakener,

Only E does that. So E is the Answer!!!

asishron29181 · Answer

Conclusion: To prevent contamination, health officials are urging people in the vicinity to wear masks at all times while in public areas.

We need to weaken the conclusion.

A. The type of symptoms experienced by the contraction of a virus depends on the characteristics of that particular virus. - Characteristics of virus is irrelevant. Incorrect.

B. In a number of sports, protective masks are used to prevent injury to the face and jaw. - We are not concerned about sports here. Incorrect.

C. Organisms use antibodies to fight against attacking viruses. - Incorrect. This doesn't help in anyway.

D. Many viruses are contracted through the mouth via food, breathing, and even kissing. - This actually strengthens the conclusion. Incorrect

E. In the city of Tropalle, a virus contracted through the pores of the skin killed hundreds before a vaccine was found . - Correct. In this way wearing of masks won't be helpful.

IMO E

mSKR · Answer

More than 83 people have died  from the symptoms of an unknown virus . To prevent contamination, health officials are urging people in the vicinity  to wear masks at all times while in public areas.

Which of the following, if true,  casts the most doubt on the preventative action suggested by the health officials ?

A. The  type of symptoms  experienced by the contraction of a virus depends on the  characteristics of that particular virus .
it seems more of a premise

B. In a number of sports, protective masks are used  to prevent injury to the face and jaw .
how does it matter with mask realted with virus

C. Organisms use  antibodies  to fight against attacking viruses.
it means wearing mask won't help? but maybe can prevent spread of virus?

D. Many viruses are contracted through the mouth via food, breathing, and even kissing. 
We can't avoid food, if it can be spread through mouth while eating then how mask can prevent it?

E.  In the city of Tropall e,  a virus c ontracted through the pores of the skin killed hundreds  before a vaccine was found. 
how this particular type of virus related with the said place? 
no information about vaccine

Answer:D?

IanStewart : please comment on option D vs option E
Thanks!

Crytiocanalyst · Answer

A. The type of symptoms experienced by the contraction of a virus depends on the characteristics of that particular virus.
This is thoroughly out of context and doesn't have any impact

B. In a number of sports, protective masks are used to prevent injury to the face and jaw.
This lends support to the argument

C. Organisms use antibodies to fight against attacking viruses.
This doesn't impact the passage the slightest

D. Many viruses are contracted through the mouth via food, breathing, and even kissing.
So it seems that while having food how can we prevent the virus exactly it cannot be prevented and in order to prevent people should we are a mask and not eat in a contaminated place

E. In the city of Tropalle, a virus contracted through the pores of the skin killed hundreds before a vaccine was found.
The answer definitely weakens therefore our

Therefore IMO E

Konstantin1983 · Answer

A is out of because the question is not about virus type
B is irrelevant
C is out of context
D seems correct because helpe to weaken a conclusion that masks help to prevent contamination. Food and kisses require put off a mask and hence if this unknown virus is contracted through the mouth then masks may not help
E is irrelevan

mendax · Answer

More than 83 people have died from the symptoms of an unknown virus. To prevent contamination, health officials are urging people in the vicinity to wear masks at all times while in public areas.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the preventative action suggested by the health officials?

A. The type of symptoms experienced by the contraction of a virus depends on the characteristics of that particular virus.

B. In a number of sports, protective masks are used to prevent injury to the face and jaw.

C. Organisms use antibodies to fight against attacking viruses.

D. Many viruses are contracted through the mouth via food, breathing, and even kissing.

E. In the city of Tropalle, a virus contracted through the pores of the skin killed hundreds before a vaccine was found.

The answer should be E.

The question demands to find out a option which will imply that wearing masks will not be beneficial in preventing the disease.
Only Option E implies that the virus can be contracted through pores of the skin, thus the correct answer

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

More than 83 people have died from the symptoms of an unknown virus. To prevent contamination, health officials are urging people in the vicinity to wear masks at all times while in public areas.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the preventative action suggested by the health officials?

A. The type of symptoms experienced by the contraction of a virus depends on the characteristics of that particular virus.
it seems more of a premise

B. In a number of sports, protective masks are used to prevent injury to the face and jaw.
how does it matter with mask realted with virus

C. Organisms use antibodies to fight against attacking viruses.
it means wearing mask won't help? but maybe can prevent spread of virus?

D. Many viruses are contracted through the mouth via food, breathing, and even kissing.
We can't avoid food, if it can be spread through mouth while eating then how mask can prevent it?

E. In the city of Tropalle, a virus contracted through the pores of the skin killed hundreds before a vaccine was found.
how this particular type of virus related with the said place?
no information about vaccine

Answer:D?

IanStewart: please comment on option D vs option E
Thanks!

SohGMAT2020 · Answer

More than 83 people have died from the symptoms of an unknown virus. To prevent contamination, health officials are urging people in the vicinity to wear masks at all times while in public areas.
  
Ok to cast the most doubt on the conclusion, we are looking for the option that weakens the protection against the virus by wearing a mask.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the preventative action suggested by the health officials?

A. The type of symptoms experienced by the contraction of a virus depends on the characteristics of that particular virus. : In this argument, we are not concerned about the symptoms experienced after contracting a virus. Eliminate A

B. In a number of sports, protective masks are used to prevent injury to the face and jaw. Here, we are discussing the protection against a virus. What protects against an injury may not protect against a virus. Moreover, in any case it is not weakening the protection against the virus by using a mask. So irrelevant . Eliminate B

C. Organisms use antibodies to fight against attacking viruses. Ok that may be a true fact but this fact is not affecting the argument at all. Eliminate C

D. Many viruses are contracted through the mouth via food, breathing, and even kissing. Ok if many viruses are contracted by mouth, then wearing the mask may be beneficial. This option is actually strengthening the argument not weakening it. Eliminate D.
 
 E. In the city of Tropalle, a virus contracted through the pores of the skin killed hundreds before a vaccine was found. Ok so this option says that there is a history of contracting the virus through pores of the skin in that area. Hence wearing a mask in that case may not be helpful . This option is not completely destroying the argument but casting some doubts on the conclusion for sure. So IMO E is correct.

IanStewart · Answer

I don't think the person who designed this question understands some elementary principles of CR. You are not meant to assume, when answering a CR question, that you're visiting Earth from another planet and that you don't know basic facts about the world. You wouldn't be able to answer any CR questions if you were supposed to do that. In this question, of course some viruses are not transmitted through the air -- some are transmitted through insect bites, for example. That's a basic fact about viruses. So when we read answer E here, and learn that a virus exists somewhere that was not transmitted through the air, that is not new information. We know that's possible before even reading the question. So answer E cannot be the right answer to this question, since it doesn't tell us anything new. The right answer to this question would need to give us some reason to think that masks would be ineffective in stopping the spread of the particular virus described in the stem. No answer does that here, so the question doesn't have a good answer, and there's no reason to study it.

100mitra · Answer

Correct Answer E

Passage gives information about people died due to virus, but no information about the cause, or mode of spread,to most doubt to heatlh official, could be, by the authenticity of the cause of spread done, if known

A.  Wrong  - gives information about virus, not cause of the virus spread.
B.  Wrong  - gives information about Mask 
C.  Wrong  - gives information about remedies, but not the cause of spread of virus.
D. -  wrong  - mode of spread.

E.  Correct  - the cause of spread is through the pores of the skin

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More than 83 people have died from the symptoms of an unknown virus.

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More than 83 people have died from the symptoms of an unknown virus.

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