Self-study
Conclusion We can now dismiss the widely held suspicion that sugar consumption often exacerbates hyperactivity in children with attention deficit disorder. █ ██████████ █████ ██ ███ ███████ ██ █████ ██████ █████████████████ █████████ ███ ████████████ ████████ ███ ████ █████████ ███████ █████████ ████ ████████████ ██████ ████ █████████ █ ████ ██ █████ ██ █████ █████ ███ █ ███████ █████ █████████ █ █████ ██████████ ███████ ██ ██████ ██████ ██ █████████████ ███████████ ██████████ ███████ ███ ██████ ██ ████████ ██ █████████
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that sugar consumption doesn’t exacerbate hyperactivity in children with attention deficit disorder. This is based on a study that showed no difference between children with attention deficit disorder who ate each of three sugars versus those who ate a sugar substitute.
Notable Assumptions
To conclude that sugar doesn't affect hyperactivity based on this study, the author must assume that sugar substitutes also don't exacerbate hyperactivity. The author must also assume that if these three common sugars don't exacerbate hyperactivity, other common sugars also don't.
8.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ █████ ████ ██████ ███ ████████ ██████
a
Only one of ███ █████ █████ ██ █████ ████ ██ ███ █████ ███ ████ ██████ █████████ ██ ████████████ ██████████████
None of the study groups displayed more hyperactivity, regardless of which sugar they received. If anything, this strengthens the argument by making a mistaken interpretation even less likely.
b
The consumption of █████ ████████ ███ █ ███████ ██████ ██ ████ █████████
The argument specifically discusses children with attention deficit disorder, and we don't know whether these "some" children overlap with that group. So, this isn't relevant.
Directionally wrong
Directionally wrong
Answers that, if they have any effect, do the opposite of what we want (weaken when we're trying to strengthen, or strengthen when we're trying to weaken).
c
The consumption of ████ █████ ███████████ ███████████ ███ ████████ ██ ██████████████
If sugar substitutes can exacerbate hyperactivity, then the result of no difference could be due to both the possibility that both the sugar substitutes and the sugar exacerbated hyperactivity. (C) raises a potential alternate explanation for why there was no difference between the groups besides the author's hypothesis that sugar doesn't exacerbate hyperactivity.
Alternate explanation
Alternate explanation
Weaken: Introduce or support an alternate explanation for a phenomenon.
Strengthen: Helps to eliminate an alternate explanation for a phenomenon.
d
The study included ████ ████████████ ██ ████ █████ ██ ████████ ████ █████████ ████ ██ ████ ████████ ███████ ███ ███████
In other words, the children were observed in at least some different settings. We don't know how many or how varied the settings were though, so this isn't relevant.
Failed alternate explanation
Failed alternate explanation
Weaken Qs: Answers that try to introduce an alternate explanation, but fall short, or try to explain a different phenomenon.
Strengthen Qs: Answers that try to eliminate an alternate explanation, but fall short, or try to eliminate an explanation for a different phenomenon.
e
Some children believe ████ ████ ███ ████ ███ ██████████ ███████ ███ █████ ██ █████ ███ ████ ██ █████ ████████████
How many children believe this? Are they correct? Without that information, we can't assume that the children generally knew which group they were in, so this is irrelevant.
Failed alternate explanation
Failed alternate explanation
Weaken Qs: Answers that try to introduce an alternate explanation, but fall short, or try to explain a different phenomenon.
Strengthen Qs: Answers that try to eliminate an alternate explanation, but fall short, or try to eliminate an explanation for a different phenomenon.