Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumNecessary Assumption

Consider the following argument:

Nutritionist: Many office workers consume heavily sweetened energy drinks to improve their focus during afternoon slumps. However, these drinks contain high levels of refined sugars, which lead to a rapid spike in blood glucose followed by a severe crash. This crash leaves workers feeling significantly more fatigued than they were before consuming the beverage. Therefore, drinking these energy drinks actually decreases a worker's overall productivity during the workday.

It is a necessary assumption of the nutritionist's argument that the initial improvement in focus from the energy drink does not result in a productivity gain that outweighs the productivity lost during the subsequent crash.

Answer: Answer

Answer

True. The statement correctly identifies an unstated premise strictly required for the argument's conclusion to hold.
The argument concludes that overall productivity decreases despite an initial improvement in focus. For a net decrease to occur, the negative impact of the crash must be greater than the positive impact of the initial focus. Therefore, the argument must assume that the initial gain does not outweigh the subsequent loss. Applying the Negation Test confirms this: if the initial gain DID outweigh the loss, overall productivity would increase, destroying the conclusion.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the argument's main conclusion.
The conclusion is the final sentence: drinking energy drinks actually decreases a worker's overall productivity during the workday.
Understanding the main point is required to evaluate what assumptions are strictly necessary to support it.
2
Identify the premises and opposing factors provided in the stimulus.
The premises are: 1) the drinks cause an initial improvement in focus, and 2) the sugars cause a severe crash that leaves workers significantly more fatigued.
Isolating the evidence reveals the logical gap between the competing premises (a benefit vs. a drawback) and the definitive conclusion.
3
Apply the Negation Test to the provided statement.
The logically negated statement is: 'The initial improvement in focus DOES result in a productivity gain that outweighs the productivity lost during the subsequent crash.'
The Negation Test is the definitive method for confirming whether an assumption is strictly required by the argument.
4
Evaluate the effect of the negated statement on the argument's conclusion.
If the positive effects outweigh the negative effects, overall productivity would increase (or at least remain net positive), which completely destroys the conclusion that overall productivity decreases.
Since negating the statement invalidates the argument, the original statement is a necessary assumption.

Key Concept

Applying the Negation Test to identify necessary assumptions involving trade-offs and net outcomes.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
Rate this question

Topics

Necessary Assumption

More questions from this topic