| Critical Reasoning Butler: February 2025 |
| February 17 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 Last year, the costs associated with processing aluminum decreased, and the costs associated with processing copper remained stable. Therefore, although the prices of aluminum products have not yet fallen, invariably, they will.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
A. Changes in the price of finished products always lag behind changes in the cost of processing raw materials.
B. The cost of processing copper is typically higher than that of the same volume of aluminum.
C. Over the last year, aluminum product manufacturing factories have not experienced a change in any costs other than the costs of processing aluminum.
D. The cost of mining bauxite ore, the primary source of aluminum, has increased over the last year.
E. The cost of refining bauxite ore, the most important step in processing aluminum, has increased over the last year.
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CR 2 Looking to decrease the hotel’s average annual expenditure of water, the General Manager of the Dauphin Hotel decided to replace the hotel’s current showerheads with low-flow water-efficient showerheads, as the current showerheads wear out. Compared to standard showerheads, low-flow water-efficient showerheads consume less water and are not any more expensive. Furthermore, the costs of converting current water fixtures to work with low-flow water-efficient showerheads are negligible.
Which of the following would it be most useful to know in determining whether switching to low-flow water-efficient showerheads would likely help minimize the Dauphin Hotel’s yearly maintenance costs?
A. Whether the General Manager plans to add more rooms to the Dauphin Hotel, necessitating the use of more showerheads
B. Whether any other hotels switched from the showerheads currently in use to any type of showerhead except the low-flow water-efficient ones
C. Whether the wholesaler from which the Dauphin Hotel currently buys showerheads also sells low-flow water-efficient ones
D. Whether the predicted longevity of low-flow water-efficient showerheads at least equals that of the showerheads currently in use
E. Whether the workmen who replace showerheads at the Dauphin Hotel know how to convert the existing fixtures so as to work with low-flow water-efficient showerheads