neeshpal
Davison River farmers are currently deciding between planting winter wheat this fall or spring wheat next spring. Winter wheat and spring wheat are usually about equally profitable. Because of new government restrictions on the use of Davison River water for irrigation, per acre yields for winter wheat, though NOT for spring wheat, would be much LOWER than average. Therefore, planting spring wheat will be MORE profitable than planting winter wheat, SINCE_____.
A. the smaller-than-average size of a winter wheat harvest this year would NOT be compensated for by HIGHER winter wheat prices
B. new crops of spring wheat must be planted earlier than the time at which standing crops of winter wheat are ready to be harvested
C. the spring wheat that farmers in the Davison River region plant is well adapted to the soil of the region
D. spring wheat has uses that are different from those of winter wheat
E. planting spring wheat is more profitable than planting certain other crops, such as rye
Spring or Winter WheatStep 1: Identify the QuestionThis is a fill in the blank question. The word
since just before the blank indicates the need for
another premise to support the conclusion, so this is a
Strengthen the Argument question.
Step 2: Deconstruct the ArgumentSpring and Wint=profit usually
But: Low yield for Wint due to water rest.
Conc: Spring more profit
The argument provides information to compare the expected quantities of spring versus winter wheat. What other factors might influence the profit of spring wheat compared to winter wheat?
Step 3: Pause and State the GoalOn Strengthen questions, the goal is to find a piece of information that would support the conclusion. The correct answer should make the conclusion more likely.
Step 4: Work from Wrong to Right(A) CORRECT. Price is another factor that affects profit. In order for spring wheat to be more profitable, the lower yields from winter wheat must not be offset by much higher prices. If the farmers were able to sell the winter wheat at much higher prices, then profits might not be lower during that season.
(B) This answer establishes that it is not possible to plant both spring and winter wheat in the same field, but that is not important to the conclusion, which focuses on the profit from spring wheat versus winter wheat.
(C) The fact that spring wheat is well adapted would most directly influence the yields for spring wheat. The argument already says that the yields for spring wheat will be higher than those for winter wheat this year, so his answer does not provide any additional information to help compare profitability between spring and winter wheat.
(D) The particular uses for spring wheat versus winter wheat do not directly provide information about the profitability of the two types of wheat.
(E) The conclusion is about the profit of spring versus winter wheat, so comparisons to rye or other crops are irrelevant.