WeakenDiff: Medium

Logic Breakdown

Passage Summary: A scientist claims GMOs are safe because we are only changing a tiny fraction of the plant's DNA, and such a small tweak couldn't possibly lead to a major health risk.

Conclusion: The health risks associated with genetically engineered foods are minimal and not a cause for concern.

Reasoning: Because only one out of 750,000 genes is typically altered, the change to the organism's genetic structure is too small to result in significant or worrisome effects.

Analysis: The scientist is making a 'size-of-cause equals size-of-effect' assumption, which is a dangerous leap in biology. To weaken this, we need to find a way to show that a tiny change can have a massive, catastrophic impact. Think of it like a single typo in a million lines of computer code—it can still crash the whole system. Look for an answer choice that suggests a single gene change can significantly alter the chemical composition or toxicity of a plant, proving that 'slight' changes are not necessarily 'insignificant' changes.

Passage Stimulus

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24.

Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the scientist's argument?

Correct Answer
D
D directly attacks the size-of-change assumption by giving counterevidence: some plants’ toxicity is affected by alteration of a single gene. If one gene can make a plant toxic to some animals, then a one-gene change can have significant effects, weakening the claim that risk is minimal.
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