During the Jenovian War, about 128,000 Karthusian civilians died in

Question

During the Jenovian War, about 128,000 Karthusian civilians died in Karthusia, and about the same number of Karthusian soldiers died in battle. On the basis of these figures, it can be hypothesized that it was just as life-threatening to be a Karthusian civilian at that time as it was to be a Karthusian soldier.

Which of the following, if it could be carried out, would be most useful in an evaluation of the above hypothesis?

Which of the following, if it could be carried out, would be most useful in an evaluation of the above hypothesis?

A. Separating between civilian deaths directly related to the war and civilian deaths not related to the war such as deaths caused by old age or natural causes

B. Comparing the percentage of death rates in each group rather than comparing the total numbers of deaths

C. Adding the number of war-related injuries in each group to the number of deaths

D. Comparing the number of deaths among male civilians with the number of deaths among Karthusian soldiers

E. Comparing the number of deaths among Karthusian civilians with the number of deaths among civilians in countries Karthusia was at war with during that time

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HadjiMurad · Answer

I think the answer is B.
A - it's could be an answer, but it doesn't seem to be exactly what we looking for, while the question "most useful". Just leave it as an option
 B  - precisely what we need. From  "it was just as life-threatening to be a Karthusian civilian at that time as it was to be a Karthusian soldier"  we need to know,  "is it as dangerous to be civilian as soldier?" . From finding out what 128 000 is a percentage of total amount civilians/soldiers we can conclude that.
C - injuries - does not matter 
D - only male - not sufficient 
E - they comparing civilians from distinct sites, does not relate to main point. Can't help us to provide argument to prove hypothesis.

Dereno · Answer

During a war, the number of civilians belonging to karthusia who are dead equals the number of Karthusian soldiers who died in battle.

The hypothesis is that : it was just as life-threatening to be a Karthusian civilian at that time as it was to be a Karthusian soldier. What EXTRA information do we need to ascertain this hypothesis.

Let’s see the options now.

A. Separating between civilian deaths directly related to the war and civilian deaths not related to the war such as deaths caused by old age or natural causes

comparison is between civilian and soldier deaths. So out of scope.

B. Comparing the percentage of death rates in each group rather than comparing the total numbers of deaths

The percentage of deaths that happen in each group with respect to the total population of each group provides a more accurate picture on the death rate for civilians and soldiers. So, if more deaths happened per population of soldiers compared to civilian group. We can say the hypothesis is wrong.

C. Adding the number of war-related injuries in each group to the number of deaths

Adding war injuries to death might skew the data more towards soliders death. Hence eliminated.

D. Comparing the number of deaths among male civilians with the number of deaths among Karthusian soldiers

Civilian death is not only confined to male civilians alone. Hence out of scope.

E. Comparing the number of deaths among Karthusian civilians with the number of deaths among civilians in countries Karthusia was at war with during that time

Comparison with other countries doesn’t add value to the hypothesis in question. Hence, out of scope.

Answer is  Option B

Sketchitesh · Answer

Hypothesis is it was equal life threating to be a civilian or soldier 
A. focusing on cause of death which does not matter.  (Irrelevant) 
B. %of death rate of both group can give better picture. what if %death rate of civilian is 20% while soldier is 80% .  Keep it 
C. Adding war injuries to war deaths  ( Out of scope)  
D. Comparing deaths of male  (Irrelevant) 
E. Comparing deaths with other contries  (Out of scope)

B is answer

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

During the Jenovian War, about 128,000 Karthusian civilians died in Karthusia, and about the same number of Karthusian soldiers died in battle. On the basis of these figures, it can be hypothesized that it was just as life-threatening to be a Karthusian civilian at that time as it was to be a Karthusian soldier.

Which of the following, if it could be carried out, would be most useful in an evaluation of the above hypothesis?

Which of the following, if it could be carried out, would be most useful in an evaluation of the above hypothesis?

A. Separating between civilian deaths directly related to the war and civilian deaths not related to the war such as deaths caused by old age or natural causes

Incorrect.

In this variation of Investigation questions, you are required to find which method of investigation will be most useful in evaluating the conclusion. To do so, first break down the argument. The first sentence is factual - a premise. The second sentence uses the conclusion phrase hypothesized that, marking it as the conclusion:

Premise: In the Jenovian War the same number of Karthusian civilians and Karthusian soldiers died
 =
Hypothesis: it was just as dangerous being a Karthusian civilian as it was being a Karthusian soldier

Relevant Investigation: ?

The correct answer is a method of investigation which could support or weaken the conclusion depending on its outcome, i.e., an investigation that tests the most crucial factor.

This answer choice suggests a separation which would not shed any light on the comparison between the civilians and the soldiers. Even if all 128,000 civilians died of old age that would not change the fact that they died during the war. Since the conclusion is about danger to one's life at that time and not "because of the war", we cannot separate war and non-war causes of death.

B. Comparing the percentage of death rates in each group rather than comparing the total numbers of deaths

The above hypothesis relies on the assumption that the number of civilians and the number of soldiers was about the same. If the assumption is invalid - for example, if there had been at that time 200,000 Karthusian soldiers and 10,000,000 Karthusian civilians - then the similar number of deaths does not reflect a similar level of danger.

Comparing percentages rather than total numbers allows a valid comparison of two groups that are not the same size.

Comparing percentages rather than total numbers allows a valid comparison of two groups that are not the same size.

C. Adding the number of war-related injuries in each group to the number of deaths

Incorrect.

In this variation of Investigation questions, you are required to find which method of investigation will be most useful in evaluating the conclusion. To do so, first break down the argument. The first sentence is factual - a premise. The second sentence uses the conclusion phrase hypothesized that, marking it as the conclusion:

Premise: In the Jenovian War the same number of Karthusian civilians and Karthusian soldiers died
 =
Hypothesis: it was just as dangerous being a Karthusian civilian as it was being a Karthusian soldier

Relevant Investigation: ?

The correct answer is a method of investigation which could support or weaken the conclusion depending on its outcome, i.e., an investigation that tests the most crucial factor.

Mixing deaths with injuries in this comparison, as suggested by this answer choice, will not help evaluate the conclusion as the conclusion revolves around the risk of death (life-threatening).

D. Comparing the number of deaths among male civilians with the number of deaths among Karthusian soldiers

Incorrect.

While it is possible that most Karthusian soldiers were men, comparing civilian men and soldiers would not helps us affirm or disprove the hypothesis that civilians of any kind - be it infant, child, man or woman - were under the same threat to their lives as were Karthusian soldiers during the war.

E. Comparing the number of deaths among Karthusian civilians with the number of deaths among civilians in countries Karthusia was at war with during that time

Incorrect.

This answer choice does not provide a method of analyzing the hypothesis as it deals with deaths among civilians only. Instead of comparing Karthusian civilians with Karthusian soldiers, it compares Karthusian civilians with civilians in other countries.

During the Jenovian War, about 128,000 Karthusian civilians died in

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During the Jenovian War, about 128,000 Karthusian civilians died in

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