A severe illness which affects the red blood cell count has been found to be hereditary. Fifty percent of those who are diagnosed with the illness have a parent who suffers from it. A known scientist has hypothesized that 50% of the children of carriers of the illness will also suffer from it at one point or another.Q. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion drawn by the known scientist?a)There are many diseases which are genetic, but few of them show a 100% chance of transferring to ones children.b)Those suffering from the disease whose parents also suffer from it have, on average, one other sick sibling and three healthy siblings.c)The illness, though serious, it treatable.d)The average number of children per woman across the globe is less than 2.e)If you have the illness, the chance that any specific grandchild of yours will suffer from it is 25 out of 100, considering no-one else in the grandchilds family has the disease.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?

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Q. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion drawn by the known scientist?

a)
There are many diseases which are genetic, but few of them show a 100% chance of transferring to one's children.
b)
Those suffering from the disease whose parents also suffer from it have, on average, one other sick sibling and three healthy siblings.
c)
The illness, though serious, it treatable.
d)
The average number of children per woman across the globe is less than 2.
e)
If you have the illness, the chance that any specific grandchild of yours will suffer from it is 25 out of 100, considering no-one else in the grandchild's family has the disease.

Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?

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A severe illness which affects the red blood cell count has been found...

A. Incorrect.

To solve this conclusion-weakening question, first, break down the argument. The first two sentences are premises which provide factual data; the last sentence includes a conclusion word (hypothesized) so it's the conclusion:

Premise A: A serious illness is hereditary (carried by genes transferred from parents to children)
+
Premise B: half of those who have the disease have a parent who also has it
=
Conclusion: half the children of a parent who has the disease will have it

Possible assumption: the ratio from Premise B, although it refers to a group of sick people only, can be also applied to the ratio of sick to healthy children in a family.

You are required to find data that weakens the hypothesis that parents give half their children the disease. The correct answer could be one that exposes the argument's assumption.

This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the conclusion, as the scientist claimed the disease has a 50% chance of transferring to one's children, rather than 100%. The prevalence of a 100% hereditary disease is irrelevant.

B. Those suffering from the disease whose parents also suffer from it have, on average, one other sick sibling and three healthy siblings.

This answer choice weakens the scientist's conclusion by providing contradicting evidence: if the average family of a sick parent has 2 sick children and 3 healthy children, the chances of a parent giving the disease to their children is not 50% (it's 2/5, or 40%).

C. Incorrect.
The treatability of an illness has nothing to do with the percentage of children of a person with the illness who will inherit it, which is the conclusion you are asked to weaken.

D. Incorrect.
This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the conclusion. The number of children a person has on average doesn't affect the chance of a sick person giving the illness to his child.

E. Incorrect.
This answer choice strengthens the conclusion. If 50% of someone's children have the disease, it follows that 25% of those children's children will also suffer from it (considering no-one else has the disease), so this answer choice is consistent with the conclusion, giving it some validity.

Answered by Talent Skill Learning · View profile

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A severe illness which affects the red blood cell count has been found to be hereditary. Fifty percent of those who are diagnosed with the illness have a parent who suffers from it. A known scientist has hypothesized that 50% of the children of carriers of the illness will also suffer from it at one point or another.Q. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion drawn by the known scientist?a)There are many diseases which are genetic, but few of them show a 100% chance of transferring to ones children.b)Those suffering from the disease whose parents also suffer from it have, on average, one other sick sibling and three healthy siblings.c)The illness, though serious, it treatable.d)The average number of children per woman across the globe is less than 2.e)If you have the illness, the chance that any specific grandchild of yours will suffer from it is 25 out of 100, considering no-one else in the grandchilds family has the disease.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?

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A severe illness which affects the red blood cell count has been found to be hereditary. Fifty percent of those who are diagnosed with the illness have a parent who suffers from it. A known scientist has hypothesized that 50% of the children of carriers of the illness will also suffer from it at one point or another.Q. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion drawn by the known scientist?a)There are many diseases which are genetic, but few of them show a 100% chance of transferring to ones children.b)Those suffering from the disease whose parents also suffer from it have, on average, one other sick sibling and three healthy siblings.c)The illness, though serious, it treatable.d)The average number of children per woman across the globe is less than 2.e)If you have the illness, the chance that any specific grandchild of yours will suffer from it is 25 out of 100, considering no-one else in the grandchilds family has the disease.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? for GMAT 2024 is part of GMAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the GMAT exam syllabus. Information about A severe illness which affects the red blood cell count has been found to be hereditary. Fifty percent of those who are diagnosed with the illness have a parent who suffers from it. A known scientist has hypothesized that 50% of the children of carriers of the illness will also suffer from it at one point or another.Q. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion drawn by the known scientist?a)There are many diseases which are genetic, but few of them show a 100% chance of transferring to ones children.b)Those suffering from the disease whose parents also suffer from it have, on average, one other sick sibling and three healthy siblings.c)The illness, though serious, it treatable.d)The average number of children per woman across the globe is less than 2.e)If you have the illness, the chance that any specific grandchild of yours will suffer from it is 25 out of 100, considering no-one else in the grandchilds family has the disease.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for GMAT 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for A severe illness which affects the red blood cell count has been found to be hereditary. Fifty percent of those who are diagnosed with the illness have a parent who suffers from it. A known scientist has hypothesized that 50% of the children of carriers of the illness will also suffer from it at one point or another.Q. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion drawn by the known scientist?a)There are many diseases which are genetic, but few of them show a 100% chance of transferring to ones children.b)Those suffering from the disease whose parents also suffer from it have, on average, one other sick sibling and three healthy siblings.c)The illness, though serious, it treatable.d)The average number of children per woman across the globe is less than 2.e)If you have the illness, the chance that any specific grandchild of yours will suffer from it is 25 out of 100, considering no-one else in the grandchilds family has the disease.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?.

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