Logical Reasoning

PT105 · S4 · Q22 Children fall into three groups-nontasters

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Children fall into three groups—nontasters, regular tasters, and supertasters—depending on how strongly they experience tastes.

Conclusion (Thus)

Supertasters experience sharp cheddar as tasting more bitter than mild cheddar, but nontasters experience sharp cheddar as tasting no more bitter than mild cheddar.

Evidence

The more bitter a food tastes, the less children like it.

Supertasters strongly prefer mild cheddar to sharp cheddar. Nontasters have no preference.

Evaluate

This argument seems to be trying to read a Volume Dial relationship backwards. Given the rule that , the author is thinking,

But we can't assume that bitterness is the only thing that affects whether children like something less.

It's possible that supertasters prefer mild cheddar to sharp cheddar not because mild cheddar is less bitter, but for some other reason.

Goal

In order to guarantee that the preferences of mild to sharp are related to bitterness, we need to rule out all other possible influences on preference.

We would want to hear something like, or something like, .

22.

Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the conclusion above to be properly inferred?

  1. Supertasters like mild cheddar cheese

    Unrelated to Goal

    Regular tasters aren't even part of the conclusion, so we definitely aren't shopping for an answer about them. This answer does nothing to address our concern, which is whether something other than bitterness is affecting the supertasters' preference for mild over cheddar.

    11% picked this

  2. The age of the child

    Unrelated to Goal

    We don't care how someone becomes a supertaster or nontaster. We're just trying to prove that because supertasters like sharp cheddar less, that means that they taste it being more bitter than mild cheddar. This answer does nothing to address our concern, which is whether something other than bitterness is affecting the supertasters' preference for mild over cheddar.

    1% picked this

  3. The sweeter a food tastes,

    Weakens

    By presenting other factors that influence preference, this is opening the door to alternate explanation for why supertasters prefer mild to sharp cheddar. Maybe they don't prefer mild because it tastes less bitter. Maybe they prefer mild because it tastes more sweet.

    3% picked this

  4. Correct

    Bitterness is the only factor

    Why this is right

    If the only thing affecting preference is bitterness, and we know that the more bitter, the less children like it (the less bitter, the more children like it), then we know that if supertasters prefer mild to sharp then they think that mild is less bitter than sharp. If nontasters have no preference then they don't perceive any difference in bitterness.

    Skill tested: Sufficient Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    76% picked this

  5. Nontasters tend to like a

    Unrelated to Goal

    Regular tasters aren't even part of the conclusion, so we definitely aren't shopping for an answer about them. This answer does nothing to address our concern, which is whether something other than bitterness is affecting the supertasters' preference for mild over cheddar.

    10% picked this

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