Logical Reasoning

PT115 · S2 · Q13 Jenkins: Research on the properties

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Jenkins: Research on the properties of snow at the North Pole should be conducted in January and February.

Jenkins' first claim

Research at North Pole should be conducted in January and February. does Lurano disagree?

Yes. She's implicitly saying that research at North Pole should be in April or May.

Jenkins's second claim

The weather is cold enough in January/February that snow will definitely not melt.

does Lurano disagree?

No. She seems to agree it's super cold then, and still pretty cold a couple months later.

Jenkins's third claim

It's important that research money not be wasted. does Lurano disagree?

No, she probably agrees that research money shouldn't be wasted.

Jenkins's fourth claim

If we wait until later than February, we risk sending researchers when they will be unable to carry out research successfully. does Lurano disagree?

No, not quite. She isn't ready to say that if we send people in April/May there is no risk. In fact, she even acknowledges the risk by saying, "it will likely still be quite cold then".

Evaluate

It looks like, of the explicit claims, the only one Lurano is specifically arguing the opposite of is the first one. Jenkins would say and Lurano is saying, "we should do the research in April/May, so that we have less risk of the researchers being harmed by the cold.

13.

The dialogue lends the most support to the claim that Jenkins and Lurano disagree on whether

  1. there is a possibility of

    Both Probably Agree

    Jenkins insinuates that there's a risk of melting by saying that "we need to go in Jan/Feb in order to ensure no melting". Lurano insinuates there's a risk of melting by saying that "the weather will likely still be quite cold in April/May".

    11% picked this

  2. it is impossible to investigate

    Neither Person Too Strong: impossible

    We can't say that either person has committed to an extreme position like "it's impossible to investigate later". They're just debating when it would be preferable to go.

    6% picked this

  3. funding will be wasted if

    Too Strong: will be wasted

    We can't derive from either person's comments that we're certain to waste funding if we go later than February. Jenkins would be the person most likely to think that, but he's only saying "we risk sending researchers when they will be unable to carry out research".

    32% picked this

  4. the temperatures at the North

    Both Probably Agree

    Both speakers seem to acknowledge that it's somewhat more prone to melting in April and May, so they would both agree with this. Lurano isn't saying that temps aren't lower; she's just saying "yes they're lower, but they're still low enough that it's usually quite cold.

    2% picked this

  5. Correct

    research funding considerations outweigh the

    Why this is right

    This type of answer is always really tough: the explicit disagreement comes from their overall conclusions (do the research in January/February vs. April/May), so LSAC writes an answer about weighing the underlying rationale for their conclusions. Jenkins would agree with this answer choice, since he firmly wants to go in January/February based on a fear of wasting research money if they wait until later. Lurano would disagree, because she wants to wait until later in order to mitigate the risk of researchers being harmed by the severe cold.

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

    49% picked this

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