Question

The most widely used therapy for a certain type of ulcer completely heals such
ulcers in 44 percent of patients within six months. In a six-month trial of a new
therapy for this type of ulcer, 80 percent of ulcers treated achieved significant
healing and 61 percent were completely healed. Since the trial treated only ulcers
of this type that were worse than average, the new therapy clearly promotes
healing more effectively than the most widely used therapy. The answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the
argument given?

• A. \( \text{Are there differences in therapy administration?} \)
• B. \( \text{Is there a significant cost difference?} \)
• C. \( \text{What’s the old therapy’s significant healing rate?} \)
• D. \( \text{How fast do untreated ulcers worsen?} \)
• E. \( \text{What percentage of trial patients were disappointed?} \)

Hint:

Look for data to compare healing rates.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Argument: New therapy (61% healed) better than old (44% healed), despite worse ulcers.
Step 2: Needs comparison of significant healing rates.
Step 3: (C) provides old therapy’s significant healing rate to compare with 80%.
Step 4: Others (A, B, D, E) don’t address healing effectiveness directly.