PrepTest 158, Section 2, Question 6
Dark honey tends to have a higher antioxidant(48 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- ASome strains of(12 more words not shown)
- BMost plants produce(10 more words not shown)
- CLight-colored honey tends(7 more words not shown)
- DCertain strains of(13 more words not shown)
- EThe strain of(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
“Tends to” leaves room for exceptions. Dark honey generally has more antioxidants than light honey, but that doesn't rule out a light-colored honey with an unusually high amount.
So the sage honey doesn't have to create a contradiction. Some of these very light strains are among the most healthful. Now connect that with the rule we're given: the most healthful strains are all unusually high in antioxidants. Those sage strains must be unusually high too.
Be careful with “the most healthful.” It identifies the strains at the healthy end of the range. It doesn't mean “most of the healthful strains,” as though we were discussing a majority and leaving a minority out. The sentence explicitly says all of the most healthful strains have the antioxidant property.
What we’re looking for
The question asks what the information most strongly supports. I'd expect something about these light-colored exceptions. There are several facts the answers could draw on, so check the actual connection rather than insisting on one wording: some sage honey belongs to the most-healthful group, and every strain in that group has unusually high antioxidants.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Some sage-derived strains are among the most healthful, and all of the most healthful strains are unusually high in antioxidants. That puts those sage strains in the high-antioxidant group. Their light color doesn't block the inference, because the general color pattern allows exceptions.
If all five choices initially seem wrong, reread the exact sentence before settling for a guess. Here, overlooking “the” in “the most healthful” would hide the rule that makes A follow. Checking those few words can resolve the problem.
- B
We learn about sage nectar, not what most plants produce. One kind of plant cannot establish a claim about the majority of plants. We also aren't given the broader distribution of light-colored and dark honey needed to support B.
- C
A few unusually healthful light strains don't establish that light honey is generally more healthful. Nor should we simply reverse C and claim the passage proves dark honey is generally healthier. We know a tendency about antioxidant content and a rule about the most healthful strains, not a complete ranking of honey by color.
- D
The particular sage strains identified as most healthful must be high in antioxidants, not low. The passage doesn't describe the antioxidant levels of every other sage strain. There might be low-antioxidant ones, but we have no information establishing that there are.
- E
We don't know which strain has the single highest antioxidant content. Being unusually high doesn't mean being the maximum. We also shouldn't equate “most healthful” with “highest in antioxidants”: the passage gives the most healthful strains a property, without saying that more of that property always makes honey healthier.
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