Most household appliances use electricity only when in use. Many microwave ovens, however, have built-in clocks and so use some electricity even when they are not in use. The clocks each consume about 45 kilowatt-hours per year. Therefore, households whose microwave oven has no built-in clock use 45 kilowatt-hours per year less, on average, than do comparable households whose microwave oven is otherwise similar but has a built-in clock.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Households that do not have a microwave oven use less energy per year, on average, than do households that have a microwave oven.
B. Microwave ovens with a built-in clock do not generally cost more to buy than microwave ovens without a built-in clock.
C. All households that have a microwave oven also have either a gas oven or a Conventional electric oven.
D. Households whose microwave oven does not have a built-in clock are no more likely to have a separate electric clock plugged in than households whose microwave oven has one.
E. There are more households that have a microwave oven with a built-in clock than there are households that have a microwave oven without a built-in clock.
Let’s look at the stimulus given-
PremisesMost household appliances use electricity only when in use.
Many microwave ovens, however, have built-in clocks and so use some electricity even when they are not in use.
The clocks each consume about 45 kilowatt-hours per year.
ConclusionTherefore, households without a built-in clock microwave use less electricity than households with a built-in clock microwave.
This is an assumption-based question. We need to look for an answer choice that when negated results in breaking the main conclusion that on average the households with no built-in clock microwave use less electricity than the households with no clock microwave.
A – The argument is not about microwave ovens in general. The discussion is about microwaves with clocks and without clocks. Option A is irrelevant to the argument.
Eliminate.
B – The cost of a microwave is irrelevant.
EliminateC – Having a gas oven or conventional oven is not relevant to the argument.
Eliminate.
D – OA – Let’s negate option D. If households whose microwave does not have a clock use an extra clock then the power consumption for the households with both kinds of microwaves would be the same. This breaks the argument and hence is the right answer.
Correct.
E – The argument is about the power consumed by types of microwave ovens.
Eliminate.
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