Advertisement: The dental profession knows that brushing with Blizzard toothpaste is the best way to fight cavities. ...

Victoria on May 29, 2020

Hi @Crook,

The advertisement concludes that the dental profession knows that Blizzard toothpaste is the best way to fight cavities.

Why? Five dentists were surveyed. Each of the five dentists agreed that Blizzard's tartar control formula is the most effective cavity-fighting formula available in a toothpaste.

There are two flaws in this argument:

(1) The advertisement draws a conclusion about the views of the dental profession as a whole after surveying only five dentists.

(2) The advertisement claims that dentists believe that Blizzard toothpaste is the best way to fight cavities. This conclusion is based on the evidence that the five surveyed dentists agreed that Blizzard has the most effective cavity-fighting formula found in a toothpaste. While Blizzard may be the best toothpaste to use to fight cavities, this does not necessarily mean that it is the best way to fight cavities. For example, eating a lot of candy and then brushing your teeth with Blizzard may still give you cavities. Reducing your candy consumption would likely be more helpful for your problem than increasing the amount you brush your teeth with Blizzard.

Now let's go through the answer choices you are stuck on to determine which one makes the same errors as outlined above.

Answer choice (A) is incorrect because it does not make the second flaw. While it does draw a conclusion about the nation's voters based only on the views of ten voters, the conclusion is about Gomez's policies whereas the voters were polled about Gomez's popularity.

Answer choice (E) is incorrect because it does not make the first flaw. The surveyors draw their own conclusion based on the views of ten voters as opposed to drawing a conclusion about the views of the nation's voters.

Answer choice (D) is correct because it makes both flaws. First, it draws a conclusion about the nation's voters based on polling ten voters. Second, it concludes that electing Gomez would be the best way to help the nation because the policies Gomez is committed to would help more than any other policies. While Gomez's policies may be the best, this does not mean that policies are necessarily the best way to help the nation just as Blizzard is not necessarily the best way to fight cavities.

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