vyom001 wrote:
Hello Experts,
Can you please break down the question stem and explain why B and E are wrong.
The right answer should support the conclusion that "the cost of television satellites will continue to increase." So how does the passage support this conclusion?
Let's break down the logic of the passage:
- A recent spate of mishaps with satellites has led to a surge in claims.
- This surge in claims has led to an increase in insurance premiums.
- This increase in premiums will pressure satellite companies to "squeeze more performance out of currently operating satellites."
But why would this cause the
cost of satellites to continue to
increase?
Well, if squeezing more performance somehow leads to more mishaps, that would theoretically lead to higher premiums. This would lead in turn to increased pressure to "squeeze more performance" from satellites, which would lead to more mishaps, which would lead to higher premiums, and so on. But notice that this depends on assuming that "squeezing more performance" leads to more mishaps.
Let's look at (B) now:
Quote:
When satellites reach orbit and then fail, the causes of failure are generally impossible to pinpoint with confidence.
It's hard to know what conclusion to draw from this information. If you
could pinpoint the causes of failure, would that help companies to prevent future failures? Possibly. But that would require a few assumptions we don't want to make.
But even if we made those assumptions, the fact "the causes of failure are generally impossible to pinpoint" wouldn't support the idea that the "cost of television satellites will continue to
increase." We're looking for a reason that costs will keep going up. But the fact that causes of failure are hard to predict doesn't support the idea that costs will
increase.Overall, (B) does suggest a barrier that people may face when trying analyze (and possibly address) the causes of satellite failure. But that wouldn't support the idea that the cost of television satellites will CONTINUE to increase. So we can eliminate (B).
Let's look at (E):
Quote:
Since many satellites are built by unwieldy international consortia, inefficiencies are inevitable.
What effect do inefficiencies have on the cost of television satellites? While we could speculate, we don't really know. On top of that, the simple fact that inefficiencies exist
couldn't explain an
increase in the cost of satellites, even if it did somehow explain why satellites are generally expensive.
Since the correct answer should strengthen the conclusion that the cost of satellites will "continue to
increase," (E) won't help. Eliminate (E).
I hope that helps!