Forecaster: The blueberry crop this coming season will almost certain

Question

Forecaster: The blueberry crop this coming season will almost certainly greatly surpass that of last season in quantity and quality. A new and environmentally safe method of eradicating the pest problem we have faced in recent years is now available, and the climate conditions will be at least as favorable as those we’ve experienced during our most successful years.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument made by the forecaster regarding the blueberry crop in the coming year?

(A) The new method of eradicating the pest problem is more effective on blueberry crops than on any other crop.

(B) The climate in the coming season will be more stable than it was the past two years.

(C) An increase in the quality of a blueberry crop is typically matched by an increase in the quantity of the crop.

(D) Older methods of eradicating the pest problem affecting blueberry crops have been costly and difficult to maintain.

(E) Those who are responsible for growing blueberries will not have a reason for choosing to not use the new method of eradicating the pest problem.

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Question 4: Blueberry Crop

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rohit8865 · Answer

blueberries growers are willing /inclined to the use of new pest control

(E) Those who are responsible for growing blueberries will not have a reason for choosing to not use the new method of eradicating the pest problem.

Ans E

tittoo · Answer

(A) The new method of eradicating the pest problem is more effective on blueberry crops than on any other crop.
We are not concerned with other crops and it may be possible that the new methods of eradicating can only be used on blueberry crops.

(B) The climate in the coming season will be more stable than it was the past two years.
We are not told anything about requirement of a stable climate for blueberries, the prompt states that the climate is expected to be favorable which can also mean periods of heavy rain and periods of sunny days (which cannot be classified as stable).

(C) An increase in the quality of a blueberry crop is typically matched by an increase in the quantity of the crop.
The prompt states that both quality and quantity will increase. Restating it in a slightly different manner does not strengthen the argument.

(D) Older methods of eradicating the pest problem affecting blueberry crops have been costly and difficult to maintain.
Cost is not stated as a concern in the passage.

(E) Those who are responsible for growing blueberries will not have a reason for choosing to not use the new method of eradicating the pest problem.
This strengthens the argument - if blueberry crops are expected to do well this year because of a new eradication method, then stating that everyone will be using the method strengthens the argument. In fact, this is an assumption of the argument and strengthen questions fall under the category of assumption questions.

Hoozan · Answer

Argument: 
(1) This season the blueberry crops will be better in quality and quantity as compared to the crops of last year.
(2) Better methods to face pest problems and favorable conditions are the sighted reasons for this prediction

Question:  Strengthen

Pre-thinking: 
(1) The farmers will not face any other issue that will have a negative impact on the crops
(2) The pest methods mentioned will be cost-effective
(3) The favorable climate will not bring in predators - birds, animals - or new kinds of pests to the crops

Note  - Pre-thinking is not really needed. But coming up with one definitely gives you a better understanding.

(A) The new method of eradicating the pest problem  is more effective on blueberry crops than on any other crop.   Incorrect.  The comparison between blueberry crops and other crops is irrelevant. Simply ask yourself, " even if the method is more effective how would it help me believe that this season will yield a better output? "

(B) The climate in the coming season will be  more stable than it was the past two years.   Incorrect.   Again, the comparison with this years climate to the last two years' is irrelevant. We are concerned with this seasons out-put to last seasons' out-put. And the argument is already stated that this season will have one of the most favorable climates. The stability of the climate to the last two years' stability won't help us prove anything.

(C) An increase in the quality of a blueberry crop  is typically matched  by an increase in the quantity of the crop.  Incorrect.  It doesn't matter if quality if "typically" matched with quality. The argument has already mentioned that this season we will have higher quantity and higher quality. We need to prove that there indeed WILL be a rise in quality and quantity.

Note  - Even if we consider option (C), we still will need to prove that this season will have a rise in quantity. Because only if quantity increases , as per this choice, the quantity will increase. And we aren't given any information that the quantity will increase.

(D) Older methods of eradicating the pest problem affecting blueberry crops have been costly and difficult to maintain.  Incorrect.  The premise is talking about the new methods. Flaw in old methods will not help us believe that the new methods will work out.

(E) Those who are responsible for growing blueberries  will not have a reason   for choosing to not use the new method  of eradicating the pest problem.  Correct.  This choice simply states that the farmers will not have any issue in implementing the new methods that guarantee a better yield. This option is in the direction of pre-thinking (2). This option covers a much broader aspect that the one covered by pre-thining (2)

Correct Choice:  (E)

Varunsawhney8 · Answer

Forecaster: The blueberry crop this coming season will almost certainly greatly surpass that of last season in quantity and quality. A new and environmentally safe method of eradicating the pest problem we have faced in recent years is now available, and the climate conditions will be at least as favorable as those we’ve experienced during our most successful years.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument made by the forecaster regarding the blueberry crop in the coming year?

This is planning argument 
And conclusion is plan will achieve the goal
Assumptions can be
1) The method will improve the crop yield.
2) the new method can is the only reason for increased crop yield.
3) reverse relation is not possible

(A) The new method of eradicating the pest problem is more effective on blueberry crops than on any other crop.
Effectiveness only will not result in increasing the crip yield.
Incorrect

(B) The climate in the coming season will be more stable than it was the past two years.
Already conveyed in the argument
Incorrect

(C) An increase in the quality of a blueberry crop is typically matched by an increase in the quantity of the crop.
We are not concerned with this at all
We are looking for the choices where the new method is used against the previous one
Incorrect

(D) Older methods of eradicating the pest problem affecting blueberry crops have been costly and difficult to maintain.
Same as C
Incorrect

(E) Those who are responsible for growing blueberries will not have a reason for choosing to not use the new method of eradicating the pest problem.
Yes this choice is correct that those who grows the crop will use this method which in turn increases their crop yield.

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EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Great job getting the correct answer,  rohit8865 ! Just remember the rules to get kudos next time:

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EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Official Explanation:

Forecaster: The blueberry crop this coming season will almost certainly greatly surpass that of last season in quantity and quality. A new and environmentally safe method of eradicating the pest problem we have faced in recent years is now available, and the climate conditions will be at least as favorable as those we’ve experienced during our most successful years. 
 
 Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument made by the forecaster regarding the blueberry crop in the coming year? 
 
(A) The new method of eradicating the pest problem is more effective on blueberry crops than on any other crop.
 
(B) The climate in the coming season will be more stable than it was the past two years.
 
(C) An increase in the quality of a blueberry crop is typically matched by an increase in the quantity of the crop.
 
(D) Older methods of eradicating the pest problem affecting blueberry crops have been costly and difficult to maintain.
 
(E) Those who are responsible for growing blueberries will not have a reason for choosing to not use the new method of eradicating the pest problem.

Question Type:   Strengthen
  Boil It Down:   Blueberry crop will be better than last season because of better pest control and better climate.
  Goal:    Find the missing assumption that will best support the argument.

Analysis:  
This question asks us to  strengthen  the conclusion.
 
  Premise:   A new and improved method to deal with the pests that have negatively affected blueberries is now available and the climate conditions this year are good.
 
  Conclusion:   The blueberry crop will improve in quantity and quality over last year.
 
This argument depends on the assumption that the blueberry growers will actually use the new and improved method of dealing with the pests. This might seem obvious, but there may be reasons why at least some growers choose not to use this new pesticide. If, for example, the new method costs too much, then the growers won’t use it. And if they don’t use it, the argument doesn’t hold. Choice E says, don’t worry, there is no reason they wouldn’t use it. This then strengthens the argument by getting rid of a potential weakness to the argument.
 
 (A) The new method of eradicating the pest problem is more effective on blueberry crops than on any other crop. 
This is an irrelevant comparison. We don’t care about other crops.
 
 (B) The climate in the coming season will be more stable than it was the past two years. 
The stability of the climate is not an issue, though it’s favorability to blueberries is, and we don’t have the information that would connect those things. Is stable weather good for blueberries? What if the weather was stable buy harsh for blueberries?
 
 (C) An increase in the quality of a blueberry crop is typically matched by an increase in the quantity of the crop. 
It might be that quantity and quality typically go together, but we only care about this coming season. We want to strengthen the conclusion that there will be an improvement this season, and this choice doesn’t support the idea that either the quantity or quality of the berries will improve.
 
 (D) Older methods of eradicating the pest problem affecting blueberry crops have been costly and difficult to maintain. 
Another irrelevant comparison, though it might not appear so at first. The question is whether the new method is more effective at eliminating pests than the old method. This choice does not tell us. It only says that it’s new and environmentally safe.
 
 (E) Those who are responsible for growing blueberries will not have a reason for choosing to not use the new method of eradicating the pest problem. 
This is the correct choice.

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Hoozan · Answer

EMPOWERgmatVerbal  Do you suggest to try and pre-think a few scenarios in which the argument would be strengthened? Or do you suggest to simply understand the argument and jump straight into the answer choices?

Fdambro294 · Answer

The key with the correct Strengthen answer is that it doesn’t exactly give you a new premise that ADDS a layer of support to the evidence the author has already given.

The key is that answer E does the following: Eliminates a potential WEAKENER.

If it were true that there was some reason why they would not use this pesticide, then this would Weaken the idea that the conclusion follows from the facts given (we will have the most blueberries this year because we have this new pesticide and the environment will be favorable just as it was during our best years).

By eliminating the possibility that this potential weakener will occur and weaken whether the author’s argument is true, you have in effect STRENGTHENED the author’s argument.

Key Takeaway from question: you can Strengthen an argument by eliminating the possibility that a Weaken Statement will occur.

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Vishnu0001 · Answer

Hi,

I have some queries regarding this question.

The argument doesn't say anything about whether the new method of eradicating the pest problem will improve yield. It just says that it is  new and environmentally safe . Combining this with Option E, we can only assume they will switch to a new eco-friendly technique. That is all. Nothing is said about "surpassing quantity and quality versus the previous year".

Also, the passage says nothing about the old pesticide technique possibly affecting their yield.

However, the passage mentions that they expect the climate  will be at least as favorable as those we’ve experienced during our most successful years.  Which makes us think, what was the climate last year? This is answered by option B.

Combining B with the argument => the coming season's climate will be  more stable  than last year's, irrespective of whether last year's climate fell within the range of "successful-years climate". Yes, questionable words "more stable", "successful years" ,but still way better than Option E, I think.

egmat · Answer

Vishnu0001 First of all, good questions! I can see you're carefully analyzing the gaps between what's stated and what's assumed—that's exactly the right approach for strengthen questions! However, there's a key piece of information in the argument you may have overlooked. What the argument actually tells us about the new method: The passage states: "A new and environmentally safe method of eradicating the pest problem we have faced in recent years " This phrase reveals TWO things: It's environmentally safe (a beneficial feature) It eradicates the pest problem we have faced in recent years (this is its core FUNCTION and effectiveness) The argument explicitly identifies this as a method that eradicates pests , not just one that's eco-friendly. Since the passage mentions "the pest problem we have faced in recent years," we can infer that pests existed and have been reducing yields, including last season. The critical gap that option (E) addresses: Availability ≠ Adoption Just because an effective method exists doesn't mean growers will use it. They might resist due to cost, complexity, unfamiliarity, or skepticism. Option (E) eliminates this concern by confirming growers will adopt the method. The strengthening chain with (E): Pests have reduced yields recently (including last season) New method eradicates pests (stated in argument) Growers WILL use this method (option E confirms this) → Pests will be eliminated → yield surpasses last season ✓ Why option (B) doesn't strengthen as effectively: The argument already establishes: "climate conditions will be at least as favorable as those we've experienced during our most successful years." Option (B) adds: "climate will be more stable than the past two years." The problems: "Stable" ≠ "Favorable" — stability and crop favorability are different dimensions (B) doesn't directly establish this season will be better than last season—only more stable than an unspecified benchmark The real gap in the argument is about pest control adoption, not climate conditions (already addressed in the premise) Key Insight: I'd suggest that in strengthen questions, carefully distinguish between what the argument actually states versus what you think it should state. The phrase "method of eradicating the pest problem" directly establishes effectiveness—this isn't an assumption that needs strengthening. The real assumption is whether this available method will be used , which is precisely what (E) confirms. Hope this clears your confusion now? If you still have any doubts around it, feel free to ask!

Forecaster: The blueberry crop this coming season will almost certain

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Forecaster: The blueberry crop this coming season will almost certain

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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