PrepTest 132, Section 4, Question 11
A bacterial species will inevitably develop greater resistance(34 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AIt is unlikely(13 more words not shown)
- BIf any antibiotic(22 more words not shown)
- CThe only way(19 more words not shown)
- DBacterial species X(10 more words not shown)
- EBacterial species X(24 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
The exception is complete elimination. If an antibiotic wipes out the species, there is no surviving population to become more resistant. If it doesn't, the passage says greater resistance will develop within a few years.
What we’re looking for
Now apply that rule to species X. No single antibiotic currently on the market can eliminate it completely. So if we use one of those antibiotics against X, we won't get the exception; we'll get greater resistance. That's the supported inference. Keep the “if we use it” part, though. We haven't been told that any antibiotic actually has been used against this species.
Working the answers
- A
What we can buy now doesn't tell us what researchers might develop later. A new antibiotic might eliminate X completely. The passage only rules out that ability for the individual antibiotics currently on the market; it doesn't assess the prospects for future research.
- BCorrect
A current antibiotic cannot completely eliminate species X. If used against X, it therefore falls under the rule that the species will develop greater resistance within a few years. B combines the two statements while preserving the condition that the antibiotic is actually used.
- C
We know a single current antibiotic isn't enough. We don't know that a combination would work, and we certainly don't know that a combination is the only possible way. There might be a future antibiotic or some other method of eliminating X. C adds both a successful treatment and an exclusivity claim.
- D
Greater resistance means the antibiotic becomes less effective against the species. Greater virulence concerns how harmful the bacteria are. Those are different claims. D also predicts an inevitable change over time without requiring exposure to an antibiotic, while our rule applies to antibiotics used against the species.
- E
This describes something that has already happened. But the passage never says any antibiotic has been used against X, or that enough time has passed for greater resistance to develop. Knowing what will happen if we use a drug doesn't establish that we used it and the result has already occurred. B avoids that unsupported history.
More Must Be True questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Must Be True questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.