Logical Reasoning

PT138 · S4 · Q16 Company spokesperson: In lieu of redesigning

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Company spokesperson: In lieu of redesigning our plants, our company recently launched an environmental protection campaign to buy and dispose of old cars, which are generally highly pollutive.

Conclusion

We'll reduce air pollution more by buying old cars than by redesigning our plants.

Evidence

Our plants account for only 4% of local air pollution, while automobiles that predate 1980 account for 30%.

Evaluation

The conclusion is only about comparing these two possible actions, so we can only disagree with the author by saying that the plan to redesign plants would actually reduce air pollution more.

But how can we argue that? If they succeeded in getting all the pre-1980 cars off the road, they'd reduce 30% of the current pollution. If their plant redesign went as well as possible, it would only reduce 4% of the current air pollution.

Goal

We need a way to argue our attempt to buy up the old pre-1980 cars and get them off the road, would only amount to 4% or less. Either we have to be unable to buy up all the cars (so that the pollution savings is way less than 30%), or the people whose old cars we buy would have to THEN create more air pollution as a result (so that the net savings of air pollution is way less than 30%).

16.

Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the company spokesperson's argument?

  1. Only 1 percent of the

    No Impact

    That's fine, but it doesn't change the fact that those old cars are still 30% of the local air pollution. If anything, the fact that these old cars are only 1% mean that it's more feasible for us to buy them all up (which would strengthen).

    32% picked this

  2. It would cost the company

    Irrelevant: cost Opposite

    We don't care about money at all. We're only measuring the impact on air pollution, but this answer should be very un-tempting since it argues in favor of doing the car buying idea.

    2% picked this

  3. Correct

    Because the company pays only

    Why this is right

    This answer is saying that the people who seem willing to take part in this program are almost always people with an old car they don't drive (you know that neighbor with an old car in the garage or up on blocks). Buying those cars is irrelevant to air pollution, because those old cars weren't on the road. We WANT to be buying the old cars that people are still driving around, spewing noxious exhaust everywhere. But "almost none" of those people are selling us their cars (presumably because they need those cars as transportation, and company is offering so little money in this buyback program that someone who sold their old car wouldn't get enough money to then buy a newer one)

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

    54% picked this

  4. Automobiles made after 1980 account

    Irrelevant: post-1980 cars

    Cool fact, choice (D). Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with comparing the two options that are relevant to the conclusion: redesigning plants vs. buying pre-1980 cars.

    11% picked this

  5. Since the company launched its

    Irrelevant: complaints

    We're only measuring these two options in terms of which one reduces air pollution more. Public perception of how much we've reduced air pollution is irrelevant (sort of like the Famous Flaw Inappropriate Appeal to Opinion).

    1% picked this

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