A cause of all ills is often referred to as _________.

A cause of all ills is often referred to as _________.

• A. Panacea
• B. Disease
• C. Pan-pathogen
• D. A black-box effect

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is how the word parts convey a universal cause. Pan- means all, and pathogen is a disease-causing agent. Put them together and you get pan-pathogen, a term that literally suggests a single pathogen capable of causing many different illnesses. That’s the best fit for “a cause of all ills.” By contrast, a panacea is a universal cure, not a cause; disease is just any illness, not the universal cause; and a black-box effect refers to outcomes with hidden mechanisms. So the term that best matches the prompt is pan-pathogen.

The idea being tested is how the word parts convey a universal cause. Pan- means all, and pathogen is a disease-causing agent. Put them together and you get pan-pathogen, a term that literally suggests a single pathogen capable of causing many different illnesses. That’s the best fit for “a cause of all ills.” By contrast, a panacea is a universal cure, not a cause; disease is just any illness, not the universal cause; and a black-box effect refers to outcomes with hidden mechanisms. So the term that best matches the prompt is pan-pathogen.