PrepTest 144, Section 2, Question 8
Merton: A study showed that people who live(53 more words not shown)
Ortiz criticizes Merton's argument(1 more words not shown)
- Araising a question(9 more words not shown)
- Bcontending that Merton(10 more words not shown)
- Cclaiming that Merton(8 more words not shown)
- Draising a counterexample(7 more words not shown)
- Esuggesting that alternative(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why do people on busy streets have more heart disease? Exhaust is one possibility. It isn't the only one.
Perhaps constant traffic noise interferes with sleep. Perhaps the residents have different diets or other habits that affect their risk. These are possibilities to investigate, not facts the study established. They show why finding the higher rate doesn't automatically identify its cause.
What we’re looking for
That's Ortiz's objection. Ortiz doesn't deny that the residents have more heart disease. The question is whether Merton has considered other lifestyle factors before blaming automobile exhaust. For the method question, look for an answer describing that challenge to the explanation, rather than a challenge to the study's reported result.
Working the answers
- A
Ortiz doesn't question whether the study was conducted properly or whether it really found a higher rate of heart disease. Accepting that finding still leaves room to question Merton's explanation for it. A confuses criticism of the causal inference with criticism of the study itself.
- B
Other effects of air pollution would be additional things pollution causes. Ortiz is asking about other possible causes of the heart disease. For instance, asking whether exhaust harms the environment too wouldn't address whether something else explains the residents' elevated risk.
- C
Ortiz doesn't claim Merton has misread what the study found. Merton can accurately report the higher rate and still go beyond that finding when identifying a cause. Ortiz challenges that extra step, not Merton's understanding of the reported numbers.
- D
A counterexample would supply an actual case that conflicts with a claim being made. Ortiz doesn't describe any particular resident or case. Ortiz asks whether other factors could explain the observed pattern. A question about possible alternatives is not a concrete counterexample.
- ECorrect
Ortiz suggests checking whether the residents have other lifestyle factors that could lead to heart disease. Until those possibilities are addressed, automobile exhaust is only one explanation. The criticism is that Merton has selected that explanation without ruling out the alternatives.
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