Q1 - Jones fell unconscious on the job

[sloan_galler]

Can anyone please go through why option E is incorrect ...

Option E reads 'deficiency in minerals other than the mineral in question can cause inflammation of the skin"

I deducted that option A, B and D were incorrect but both C and E looked really good.

Can't understand why option E is not correct ... if the deficiency in the mineral in question does not cause inflammation than Jones would be incorrect in her diagnosis .. thereby weakening her conclusion ...

Thanks in advance, Andy.

[bbirdwell]

I think you've misinterpreted the answer choice:

if the deficiency in the mineral in question does not cause inflammation

This is not what (E) says. In fact, we know from the argument that the opposite is true (a deficiency in that mineral causes inflammation).

It's as if the argument says "carrot juice tastes good." And then (E) says "apple juice and orange juice also taste good."

Here, it doesn't matter how many different mineral deficiencies can cause the inflammation -- he didn't have inflammation.

[pkraft1]

The gap in this argument is indicated with the phrase: "when he was admitted to the emergency room." The test makers are hinting at the fact that the answer will have to do with the element of time. Additionally, the stim also says Jones was "rushed" to the ER. I don't know exactly how long that takes, but I have a general idea that time is an important factor and will likely be tested in the answer choices.

I narrowed down the answer choices to B and C, both which deal with time.

B suffered inflammation in the past-this is a very tempting answer to me, but ultimately too vague. While "in the past" could mean that Jones had inflammation prior to his admittance in the emergency room, but after his alleged swallowing of the chemical, thereby undermining the conclusion, this is not the only possibility indicated by the answer choice. It is also possible that "in the past" means "at some point in his long life. Therefore, this answer choice does not necessarily undermine the conclusion.

C takes 48 hours- this timing element more closely matches what the stimulus suggests I'm supposed to look for. It is not a perfect match-a better answer would read "the chemical takes longer than the time it took to get Jones admitted to the emergency room to bring about the deficiency of the mineral in the blood."

I'm left with my notions of how long it takes to "rush" someone to the ER and get them admitted. My guess is, even considering how horrible the US healthcare system is, that rushing someone to the ER and getting them admitted likely takes less than 3-5 hours, definitely within the 48 window answer choice C allots. If Jones works on an oil rig somewhere out in the middle of the Pacific or something, perhaps it would take longer than 48 hours to access an ER (this is my qualm with the question). Still, it is definitely a superior choice to B, which, if evaluated in common parlance, has actually no bearing on the conclusion.