Self-paced
An anthropologist hypothesized that a certain medicinal powder contained a significant amount of the deadly toxin T. ████ ███ ████ ███ █████████ ███ ███ ████████ ██ █████ █ ███ █████████ ███ ██████████████ ███ ███ ██████ ███ ████████ █ ███████ ███ ████████████ ███████ █████ ███ ████ ███████ ███████ ███ ██████████████ ████ ██████ ███ ███████████████ ████████ █████████ ████ █████ ███████ ████ ███████ ███████ ███ ██████ ███ █████████████ ████ ██████ ██ ██ ██████ █████████
Summarize Argument
The anthropologist failed to report test results that apparently contradicted her hypothesis that the medicinal powder contained toxin T. Because the anthropologist didn't report her results, the chemist concludes that the anthropologist committed fraud. The anthropologist responds that the results were not valid because the powder was "inadvertently" tested in an acidic solution. The implication is that because the results were invalid, the anthropologist was justified (i.e., didn't commit fraud) in not reporting those results.
4.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ ████ ███████████ ███ ████████████████ ████████████████
a
The anthropologist had ████████ ████ █████ ████ ████ ███ █████████ ██████ ███ █████████ ████████ █████ █████ ██
Incorrect. The external evidence the anthropologist had going into the experiment doesn't tell us anything about the claim that testing the powder in an acidic solution invalidated the results.
b
The activity level ██ █████ █ █████ ██ ███████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ ██████ ███ █ ████ █████
Incorrect. We don't know if the powder used in the test was stored for a long time, and even if it was, just because a toxin is less active doesn't mean it isn't present. This answer choice doesn't connect to the anthropologist's argument that testing the powder in an acidic solution somehow means the results, which said toxin T was not present, were invalid.
c
When it is ███ ████ ██ ██████ █████████ █████ █ ███████ █████████████
Correct. (C) establishes that using an acidic solution for this test would totally compromise the search for toxin T. Thus, the test results truly were invalid.
d
A fresh batch ██ ██████ ███ █ ██████ ████████ ███ █████████ ██ ███ ████ ██ ███ █████
Incorrect. The information about what could potentially have happened after the first test neither strengthens nor weakens the claim that the results of the first test were invalid because of the acidic solution.
e
The type of ████████ ████ ███ ███████████ ██ ████ █████ ███████ ██ █████ ██
Incorrect. While (E) tells us more about the type of analysis used, it doesn't strengthen the anthropologist's claim about the "inadvertent" use of an acidic solution, specifically, somehow rendering the results of the test "invalid."