A cup of raw milk after being heated

Answer choices

1. A

   Unclear Impact6% picked this

   Heating raw milk in a microwave oven to a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius destroys nearly all of the lysozyme

   The destruction of the enzyme could be explained by either the temperature or the microwaves. If anything, this just seems to reinforce that heating via microwave is bad for the enzyme, which would strengthen the author's conclusion.

   6%
2. B

   Out of Scope7% picked this

   Enzymes in raw milk that are destroyed through excessive heating can be replaced by adding enzymes that have

   Whether destroyed enzymes can be replaced is not relevant to the argument. We're here to figure out the causal mystery of why 50º microwaved milk has so much less lysozyme than does 50º conventionally heated milk. This answer joins the story after the murder of the lysozyme's has already been committed and asks, "Who will take Lyso's place, now that it's gone?" We're trying to figure out what killed Lyso in the first place.

   7%
3. C

   Irrelevant Comparison24% picked this

   A liquid exposed to a conventional heat source of exactly 50 degrees Celsius will reach that temperature more slowly than it would if it

   The rate at which a liquid reaches 50 degrees Celsius is not relevant to this argument. This is just telling you that the liquid on your stovetop will heat up more quickly if you turn up the burner (i.e. hotter conventional heat sources accelerate the warming process).

   24%
4. D

   Irrelevant Comparison3% picked this

   Milk that has been heated in a microwave oven does not taste noticeably different from milk that has been briefly heated by

   The taste of milk is not relevant to this argument. We're only concerned with the mystery of the missing lysozyme.

   3%
5. E

   Correct60% picked this

   Heating any liquid by microwave creates small zones within it that are much hotter than the overall temperature that

   Why this is right

   This weakens the argument by supporting the possibility that heat is what explains the discrepancy in the concentration of the enzyme. It could be the zones that are much hotter that destroy the enzyme. It gives us an Alternate Explanation for why more lysozyme is destroyed via microwaving: it's not that microwaves themselves are to blame. It's just that temperatures higher than 50º are to blame. The microwave is creating certain zone that might be 80º while others are only 20º. The liquid will average out to be 50º, but those 80º areas were so hot that they destroyed the lysozyme in them. Meanwhile, we assume, conventional ovens don't work this way, and so they manage to heat something to 50º without causing specific zones in there to be much hotter than 50º. This answer helps us argue the Anti-Conclusion, that what destroys the lysozyme IS the heat.

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

   60%