June 2007, Logical Reasoning 1, Question 14
Summary
The essence of tackling a weaken question on the GRE involves identifying and challenging the assumptions underlying an argument, particularly in causal arguments where establishing an alternate cause can significantly undermine the original claim.
- Understanding the argument's conclusion and evidence is crucial for identifying assumptions to attack in a weaken question.
- The argument presented uses a causal relationship to claim that microwaves, not the heat they generate, destroy a specific enzyme in milk, based on experiments comparing microwave heating to conventional heating.
- The key assumption in the argument is that there's no alternate cause for the enzyme's destruction other than the microwaves themselves, excluding the final temperature or the heat as factors.
- The correct answer to weaken the argument provides an alternate cause, suggesting that the way microwaves heat the liquid creates hot zones that could destroy the enzyme, challenging the assumption that microwaves per se, not the heat they generate, are responsible.
Chapters
00:00
Identifying the Argument Structure
01:53
Understanding the Assumption
02:41
Evaluating Answer Choices
05:19
Determining the Correct Answer
