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EtaCarnia
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 13 Apr 2026
Posts: 73
Given Kudos: 75
Location: India
Schools: Sauder '22 DeGroote "22 Smurfit Alberta University
GPA: 3.5
11 Jun 2025, 12:36
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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
95%
(hard)
Question Stats:
40% (01:53) correct
60%
(01:56)
wrong
based on 467
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
A city's government has decided to impose a fee on single-use plastic bags at retail stores, arguing that this will significantly reduce plastic waste. A similar policy implemented in another city led to a 40% reduction in plastic bag usage within a year. Officials claim that since consumer behavior is similar across cities, their city should expect a comparable reduction in plastic waste.
Which of the following must be assumed for the argument to be logically valid?
(A) The fee imposed on plastic bags will be high enough to deter most consumers from purchasing them.
(B) Retail stores in the city will comply fully with the policy and not find ways to distribute plastic bags without charging the mandated fee.
(C) The availability of alternative packaging materials, such as paper or reusable bags, will not lead to an increase in overall waste production.
(D) Consumers in the city are not already using fewer plastic bags than those in the city where the policy was previously implemented.
(E) Factors other than the plastic bag fee, such as public awareness campaigns or environmental policies, did not cause the reduction in the other city.
Which of the following must be assumed for the argument to be logically valid?
(A) The fee imposed on plastic bags will be high enough to deter most consumers from purchasing them.
(B) Retail stores in the city will comply fully with the policy and not find ways to distribute plastic bags without charging the mandated fee.
(C) The availability of alternative packaging materials, such as paper or reusable bags, will not lead to an increase in overall waste production.
(D) Consumers in the city are not already using fewer plastic bags than those in the city where the policy was previously implemented.
(E) Factors other than the plastic bag fee, such as public awareness campaigns or environmental policies, did not cause the reduction in the other city.
12 Jun 2025, 22:16
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EtaCarnia
The question is tricky though fair. One could have fixated on (B), then moved on to (D) to finally settle on (E). Once you read (E), you know it is definitely (E).
(A) The fee imposed on plastic bags will be high enough to deter most consumers from purchasing them.
We don't need "most" (which means more than 50%) consumers to be deterred. The other city saw a 40% reduction. We are expecting a similar reduction. So less than "most" is fine.
(B) Retail stores in the city will comply fully with the policy and not find ways to distribute plastic bags without charging the mandated fee.
The problem here is the word "fully". We don't need them to comply fully. We need them to comply to a large extent.
(C) The availability of alternative packaging materials, such as paper or reusable bags, will not lead to an increase in overall waste production.
We are talking about "comparable reduction in plastic waste". Other waste is beyond our scope.
(D) Consumers in the city are not already using fewer plastic bags than those in the city where the policy was previously implemented.
Trap answer - even if the consumers are already using fewer plastic bags than the other city, it doesn't mean the usage cannot further decrease. It is possible, say, that the fee causes a reduction in the use of plastic bags. We are looking for around 40% reduction from its current value - whatever the current value may be.
(E) Factors other than the plastic bag fee, such as public awareness campaigns or environmental policies, did not cause the reduction in the other city.
Correct. What if the fee had no role to play in the decrease in usage in the other city? We are basing our plan on what happened in the other city, but what if awareness campaigns led to the reduction? We are assuming that the fee was responsible for reduction and not something else.
Hence answer is (E)
Answer (E)
Discussion on Assumption Questions: https://youtu.be/O0ROJfljRLU
General Discussion
EtaCarnia
Joined: 10 Jul 2017
Last visit: 13 Apr 2026
Posts: 73
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 75
Location: India
Schools: Sauder '22 DeGroote "22 Smurfit Alberta University
GPA: 3.5
11 Jun 2025, 12:38
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Need help in understanding the reason for the correct answer please.
