In an effort to boost sales during

Answer choices

1. A

   Helps Explain4% picked this

   The soft-drink industry as a whole experienced depressed sales during the

   "Foamy had poor sales during the summer months, because .... the whole soft drink industry was struggling during the summer months. So Foamy's attempt to boost sales by lowering prices failed because it's just a bad time for the soda industry in general.

   4%
2. B

   Helps Explain4% picked this

   Foamy Soda’s competitors lowered their prices even more drastically during the

   "Foamy had poor sales during the summer months, because .... the other sodas lowered their prices even more. So Foamy's attempt to boost sales by lowering prices failed because it's ended up still being more expensive than the competition's sodas.

   4%
3. C

   Correct83% picked this

   Because of an increase in the price of sweeteners, the production costs of Foamy Soda rose

   Why this is right

   "Foamy had poor sales during the summer months, because .... production costs went up?" Rising production costs would only affect profit. It doesn't affect the volume of people buying your product. The only way that escalating production costs would affect sales volume is if the company decided to raise its prices in response to those higher production costs. But we already know that baked-into this Paradox is the idea that Foamy was actually cheaper than usual.

   Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   83%
4. D

   Helps Explain5% picked this

   A strike at Foamy Soda’s main plant forced production cutbacks that resulted in many stores not receiving their normal

   "Foamy had poor sales during the summer months, because .... a lot of stores that usually sell Foamy were out of stock, as a result of a strike at Foamy's main plant." So Foamy's attempt to boost sales by lowering prices failed because they weren't able to get their inventory into all the usual stores, so it was impossible for those stores to sell Foamy at the rates they otherwise would have been.

   5%
5. E

   Helps Explain4% picked this

   The weather during the summer months was unseasonably cool, decreasing the demand

   "Foamy had poor sales during the summer months, because .... it was a weirdly cold summer, and there's less demand for soda when it's cool." But what a summer it was for the hot cider and hot chocolate industries! This, like (A), is explaining the failure of Foamy's price discount plan on a condition that is affecting the soda industry broadly.

   4%