It is Difficult to Keep Deep Wounds Free of Bacteria.

Question: It is difficult to keep deep wounds free of bacteria. Even strong antibiotics fail to kill the bacteria that live in such wounds. However, many physicians have succeeded in eliminating bacteria from deep wounds by packing the wound with a sweet substance like sugar.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain why treating deep wounds with sugar as described above is successful?

(A) Bacteria that live in deep wounds thrive in a moist environment, and sugar has a dehydrating effect.
(B) Sugar that is nearly pure is readily available for use in medical treatments.
(C) Many kinds of bacteria can use sugar as a nutrient and will reproduce rapidly when sugar is available to them.
(D) Some foods that contain sugar can weaken the effects of certain antibiotics.
(E) Strong antibiotics were developed only recently, but the use of sugar as a treatment for wounds dates back to ancient times.

Answer: A

Explanation:

A GMAT Critical Reasoning section comprises some facts and statements. GMAT critical reasoning tests the reasoning, logical and analytical thinking abilities of the candidate. The candidate has to deduce the correct option by finding the logically correct argument or by eliminating the irrelevant arguments.

The statement states - It is difficult to keep deep wounds free of bacteria. Even strong antibiotics fail to kill the bacteria that live in such wounds. However, many physicians have succeeded in eliminating bacteria from deep wounds by packing the wound with a sweet substance like sugar.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain why treating deep wounds with sugar as described above is successful?

(A) Sugar dehydrates the wounds, therefore, eliminating the moist environment that bacteria thrive in. This is the correct option.
(B) Although this may explain why physicians use sugar, it does not explain why it is effective in eliminating bacteria.
(C) This actually negates the conclusion. If bacteria actually thrive when sugar is introduced, this goes against the conclusion that sugar eliminates bacteria.
(D) Although this helps explain why some antibiotics fail to kill bacteria, it doesn't explain why sugar eliminates bacteria.
(E) This is irrelevant to the conclusion. We aren't interested in how long each treatment has been used.

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