PrepTest 117, Section 4, Question 1
Jones fell unconscious on the job and it(84 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(7 more words not shown)
- AJones did not(6 more words not shown)
- BJones had suffered(7 more words not shown)
- CIt takes 48(14 more words not shown)
- DJones often worked(3 more words not shown)
- EDeficiency in minerals(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What if the symptoms haven't had time to appear?
The doctor has a useful chain of information. Swallowing the chemical leads to a shortage of a mineral in the blood, and that shortage causes inflamed skin. So I can see why she checks Jones's skin. If the expected effect is missing, that seems like a reason to question the suspected cause.
But Jones was rushed to the emergency room. Does this process happen immediately? Suppose it takes several hours before the chemical produces the mineral shortage or the shortage produces visible inflammation. Then Jones could have swallowed the chemical and still arrive with normal-looking skin. The chain could work exactly as described; it just wouldn't have finished yet.
What we’re looking for
We're asked to weaken the doctor's conclusion that Jones didn't swallow the chemical. I'd look for that delay. We don't need to establish that he did swallow it. We need to show why the absence of inflammation at admission doesn't rule it out.
Working the answers
- A
His knowledge of the danger doesn't tell us whether he swallowed the chemical. Someone could swallow something dangerous accidentally, knowingly, or without understanding the risk. The doctor's conclusion rests on his symptoms, and A doesn't expose a problem with that evidence.
- B
Past inflammation doesn't tell us what caused Jones's current loss of consciousness or whether this chemical is now in his system. The doctor knows his skin isn't inflamed at admission. A previous episode doesn't explain how that observation could coexist with recently swallowing the chemical.
- CCorrect
The first step in the chain takes 48 hours. If Jones swallowed the chemical shortly before collapsing, the resulting mineral deficiency wouldn't have developed by the time he was rushed to the hospital. We therefore wouldn't yet expect the skin inflammation caused by that deficiency.
The doctor has checked for a later effect too soon to rule out a recent cause. C doesn't prove what Jones swallowed or exactly when. It provides a reason he could have swallowed this chemical despite the missing symptom, which undermines the diagnosis.
- D
Working with the chemical gives Jones opportunities to encounter it. But opportunity isn't ingestion. D doesn't show that he swallowed it on this occasion or explain why swallowing it could leave him without the expected inflammation. C directly addresses the doctor's reason for ruling it out.
- E
Other mineral deficiencies could cause inflammation too. That would matter if the doctor were using inflamed skin to identify this particular chemical as the cause. Here the skin isn't inflamed, and the doctor uses that absence to exclude the chemical. Listing other causes of a symptom he doesn't have doesn't reveal the missing timing issue.
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