12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 4: Industrial Analyst

Industrial Analyst: Many factories install sophisticated filtration systems to reduce air pollution. However, factories using a new biofiltration technology have shown significantly lower pollution levels, even when their overall production rates increase. This suggests that biofiltration technology provides pollution control that is more effective than that of traditional filtration systems.

Which of the following can most reasonably be inferred from the analyst’s statement?

(A) All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations. (IC: adoption is not discussed)
(B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology. (IC: The argument doesn't discuss the effectiveness of traditional filtration systems at a higher production level )
(C) Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems. (IC: Cost is not discussed)
(D) Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution. (IC: Factories not using BioF not discussed)
(E) Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels. (C : This can be inferred as the efficiency of New BioF even in increased production is used as a + point to support the use of BioF)

On analyzing each of the options below:

(A) All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations-This is an extreme option unsupported by the argument as we dont know for sure if all factories will follow suit. Eliminate
(B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology- This can be reasonably inferred by the argument as it is stated that the new biofiltration technology have shown significantly lower pollution levels, even when their overall production rates increase. Keep it for now
(C) Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems- Cost is irrelevant to the argument. Eliminate
(D) Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution-Again we cant infer this. What if there is a factory that uses biofiltration technology in conjunction with something else & is the biggest polluter out there. Eliminate.
(E) Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels-This is not evidenced by the argument being made. What if biofiltration technology reduces pollution at even increased production rates. Eliminate.

Hence the correct answer to this question is option (B)

(A) All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations.
The statement doesn’t discuss future regulations or the likelihood that all factories will adopt biofiltration. It only compares the effectiveness of biofiltration versus traditional systems, so this option cannot be inferred.

(B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology.
Correct. The analyst highlights that biofiltration reduces pollution levels even with increased production, suggesting that traditional systems may not handle higher production rates as well as biofiltration.

(C) Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems.
There is no mention of costs in the statement, so we can’t infer anything about how biofiltration compares to traditional systems in terms of maintenance expenses.

(D) Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution.
While it might seem plausible, the statement doesn’t provide any evidence about the pollution contributions of factories using traditional systems versus biofiltration.

(E) Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels.
This directly contradicts the statement, as biofiltration is shown to reduce pollution levels even when production increases.

The most reasonable inference from the analyst's statement is:
B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology.
This inference is supported by the statement that factories using biofiltration technology have shown lower pollution levels even when their production rates increase. This suggests that biofiltration technology is more adaptable to increased production without compromising its effectiveness in reducing pollution.
Here's why the other options are less likely:
A) While it's possible that future regulations may encourage the adoption of biofiltration technology, it's not necessarily guaranteed.
C) The statement doesn't provide information about the cost of maintaining the two technologies.
D) The statement only compares the effectiveness of two types of filtration systems, not the overall contribution of different factories to air pollution.
E) The statement suggests that biofiltration technology can mitigate the increase in pollution associated with higher production rates, but it doesn't imply that increased production always leads to higher pollution levels.

IMO B

Conclusion - Biofiltration technology provides pollution control that is more effective than that of traditional filtration systems.

A - All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology is nowhere mentioned or even hinted at in the argument. The argument tells that biofiltration technology provides pollution control better than tranditional one, but all factories WILL adopt it? Can't be said. ELIMINATE

B - Traditional filtration systems MAY not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration systems. This captures the conclusion and the essence of the argument as a whole. KEEP

C - Cost effectiveness of the biofiltration system is not talked about in the argument. Out of Scope. ELIMINATE

D - Which factories are the largest contributors to air pollution is not talked about and cannot be said. ELIMINATE

E - Increased production rates MAY OR MAY NOT lead to higher pollution levels. Does it ALWAYS lead to higher pollution levels? cannot be said. ELIMINATE

FINAL ANSWER - Option B

Ask : Inference


A - Analyst hasn't mentioned that factories will adopt the more effective technology
B - Analyst has directly implied that the pollution doesn't reduce with traditional filtration systems when the production rates increase. This is a reasonable inference from the statement
C - Irrelevant to the discussion
D - Analyst has not mentioned this
E - While this is true, this cannot be the inference from the analyst's statement

OPTION B

Conclusion: Biofiltration technology provides pollution control that is more effective than that of traditional filtration systems.

(A) All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations => Cannot be sure of that. No basis to believe that all factories will eventually adopt the biofiltration technology, maybe because it is too costly, maybe there is no laws that force them to do so.

(B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology. => As per premise, both systems are to reduce the air pollution. The comparative words such as "significantly lower pollution levels" or "more effective" indicate that both are effective, just that the bio one is better than the traditional one. Correct.

(C) Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems. => No information on cost. Irrelevant.

(D) Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution.
=> Not really because as per premise, factories use the sophisticated filtration systems to reduce air pollution.

(E) Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels.
=> Not exactly if these factories use biofiltration as per premise

=> IMO: B

(A) All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations.
The statement does not discuss future regulations or predict that all factories will adopt biofiltration technology.

(B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology. CORRECT
The analyst’s statement suggests that biofiltration technology provides better control of pollution levels even as production increases, implying that traditional filtration systems might not be as effective at higher production rates.

(C) Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems.
The statement does not mention the cost of biofiltration or traditional filtration systems, only their effectiveness in controlling pollution.

(D) Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution.
The statement does not compare pollution levels between factories using biofiltration and those not using it.

(E) Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels.
The statement specifically mentions that even with increased production rates, pollution levels are lower when using biofiltration technology. This contradicts the idea that increased production rates always lead to higher pollution.

Answer B

Hi Everyone

This is an inference question.
Usually I'm wearing the lawyer's glasses and searching for 100% evidence answer.
Additionally, I'm looking for soft words for the answer to be correct.

A - No one said that ALL Factories evetually will adopt the biofiltration. it's an assumption one needs to make. - Eliminate.
B - Correct. We can infer from the text that Biofiltration has lower pollution even in high production rates. so this is true that Traditional MAY NOT maintain as effective as the Biofiltration in that situation.
C - No one spoke about cost in the text. - Eliminate.
D - We don't know that. We don't know which companies contribute the largest/smallest pollution.
E - Same here. We can't infer that. actually they say the Biofiltration can lower the pollution in higher rates of production - Eliminate.

[ltr]B is the answer. [/ltr]

Ans: B. Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology

Ask: What can be inferred from the analysts statement

(A) All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations
There is nothing mentioned about factories adopting biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations and that there will be future regulations mandating the use of biofiltration technology. Eliminate.

(B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology
This is the correct answer. The analyst mentions that factories using the new biofiltration technology have shown significantly lower pollution levels, even when their overall production rates increase. The analysts specifically mentions that even at higher rates, the biofiltration technology works well, indirectly meaning that the traditional filtration systems at higher production rates may not be as effective as biofiltration technology.


(C) Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems
Nothing is given about the cost of biofiltration technology. Eliminate.

(D) Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution
There is nothing said that if the factories are not using biofiltration technology then they are the largest contributors to air pollution. Even though there are factories who does not use biofiltration technology, they maybe using the traditional sophisticated filtration system to reduce air pollution. Eliminate.

(E) Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels
This is a given but the analysts mainly talks about how biofiltration technology is more effective than the traditional filtration systems. Eliminate.

This is an inference question.
Correct answer is B

(A) All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations. - Passage does not mention anything about this - Out

(B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology. This can be inferred from the passage, "factories using a new biofiltration technology have shown significantly lower pollution levels, even when their overall production rates increase." - Keep

(C) Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems. - This cannot be inferred from the passage - Out

(D) Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution. - Out of context - Out

(E) Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels. - This might be true but the passage states that using new biofiltration technology have shown significantly lower pollution levels, even when their overall production rates increase. - Out

For inference, we need to find something which is already in the paragraph / inferred by the argument. Let's eliminate one by one:

(A) All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations - This has never been stated throughout the argument so its an assumption & cannot be inferred - ELIMINATE

(B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology - This can be inferred by the last line of the argument - CORRECT

(C) Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems - Nothing about cost is mentioned throughout the argument - ELIMINATE

(D) Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution - No information regarding the air pollution contribution is provided - ELIMINATE

(E) Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels - No correlation has been given regarding Increased prod & pollution levels + the biofiltered negates this claim - ELIMINATE

Question type:

Inference
In inference we look for a must be true statement based on the passage.

Answer choice analysis:

A. All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations.

Incorrect, Based on data about present event we can just speculate what can and can not happen in the future, this will never form a must be true statement.

B. Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology.

correct, Nice and conservative language it actually captures the essence of what the argument says and acts as a valid rational conclusion let’s keep this for a while.

C. Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems.

Incorrect, Nowhere in the passage anything is mentioned about cost it is only talking about efficiency.


D. Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution.

Incorrect. We have no data about the largest producers of air pollution maybe they are factories maybe automobiles.

E. Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels.

Incorrect. Beware of answer choices that use extreme words such as all, always, etc. Here just by data about few factories we can’t extrapolate and apply this as a generalization.

B is the answer

A. There is no mention of any future event and inferring if all factories will adopt biofiltration is not correct. Can't be inferred.
B. " even when their overall production rates increase." This statement of the paragraph directly relates to the information present in option B. Hence, we can infer statement B
C. There is no mention of cost or cost benefit. Can't be inferred.
D. Again, no specific mention if factories at all are largest contributors to air pollution. Can't be inferred.
E. No direct relation between the increase production rate to higher pollution level mentioned in the paragraph. Can't be inferred.

• A: Irrelevant to the statement . Talks about future possibility
• B: Main point of the passage seems to be about the efficiency of biofiltration. Hence I found this statement as an inference to the passage.
• C: Cost isn't discussed
• D: Contribution to air pollution isn't discussed.
• E: Doesn’t specify differences between the two methods.

Answer is B.

I would say answer B

(A) All factories will eventually adopt biofiltration technology to comply with future environmental regulations -> The analyst do not address the regulation
(B) Traditional filtration systems may not maintain effectiveness at higher production rates as effectively as biofiltration technology -> Effectively, through the following sentence:
However, factories using a new biofiltration technology have shown significantly lower pollution levels, even when their overall production rates increase
(C) Biofiltration technology is less costly to maintain than traditional filtration systems. -> The analyst do not address the cost
(D) Factories not using biofiltration technology are the largest contributors to air pollution. -> There is no information to compare the proportion of air pollution contributors
E) Increased production rates always lead to higher pollution levels -> No information about this topic

The statement says the following: many companies use sophisticated filters -> biofiltration has less pollution (this effectiveness works even for increased production) -> biotech filtration is more effective

So, whatever we infer, has to logically follow from the above. Let’s check:

A. This is not guaranteed by the prompt, there’s nothing said about regulations or future. Eliminate.

B. Seems to be right, because the analyst says ‘even when <...> production rates increase’, implying that this is one of the comparable scenarios.

C. No costs are mentioned in the prompt – it’s about effectiveness, not necessarily efficiency. Eliminate.

D. We’re operating with relative metrics (higher/lower), not absolutes (highest/lowest). Eliminate.

E. While this is implied as a general trend, there’s no indication this is necessarily and ‘always’ the case. Too strong, so eliminate.

Therefore, the answer is B.