PrepTest 132, Section 2, Question 3
Medications with an unpleasant taste are generally produced(60 more words not shown)
The conclusion is most strongly(15 more words not shown)
- AMedication M can(5 more words not shown)
- BMedication M has(3 more words not shown)
- CNo medication is(7 more words not shown)
- DMost medications with(9 more words not shown)
- EMedications in capsule(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Does M taste bad? We seem to have skipped that part. The first rule makes sense: if a medicine tastes unpleasant, putting it in a form we can swallow could spare us from drinking something awful. But the rule covers unpleasant medicines. We can't quietly apply it to every medicine.
For M, tablets are out because the manufacturing heat would damage the active ingredient. Soft gels are out because the company lacks the technology and makes its own products. That leaves capsules among the three forms we were given. But why are those the only forms we should be considering for M? If M doesn't taste unpleasant, the opening rule hasn't limited its likely form in the first place.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for an assumption that supports the conclusion. Give us the missing fact: M has an unpleasant taste. Then the argument can use the rule, eliminate two of its usual options, and support capsules as the likely remaining choice.
Working the answers
- A
Being able to make M as a liquid doesn't push us toward capsules. If anything, it gives us another possible form. We still need to know why the argument's rule about unpleasant medicines applies to M.
- BCorrect
Now M falls within the group described by the first sentence. Unpleasant medicines are generally limited to tablets, capsules, or soft gels. M cannot withstand tablet production, and its manufacturer cannot make soft gels, so capsules are the likely choice.
Keep the conclusion at that level: likely. The opening rule says “generally,” so we aren't proving that no exception could ever exist. We're supplying the missing fact that makes the argument's reasoning work.
- C
Whether a medication can be produced in both capsules and soft gels isn't our problem. This manufacturer already lacks soft-gel technology. C neither shows that M tastes unpleasant nor rules out other forms for a medicine outside that group.
- D
What most other low-melting-point medicines use doesn't help this company use technology it doesn't have. We need a reason to expect capsules for M, not a general tendency toward the form its manufacturer cannot produce.
- E
A comparison among the tastes of different forms doesn't tell us that M tastes unpleasant. It might explain a preference for capsules in some circumstances, but it doesn't establish that M belongs to the group whose usual options the argument narrows down.
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