Group 19 Question 95: A simple way for homeowners to cut down on...

Premise:Keeping the curtains closed during the day in the summer will keep the houses a few degrees cooler and the air conditioner will not have to work so hard.
Conclusion: Doing so will help homeowners cut down on utility bills.

Prethink : The main objective is to cut down the utility bills by reducing the effort of air conditioner. To ensure the validity of the conclusion, we must assume that there is no other way the utility bills rise while we keep the curtains closed.

Considering this assumption in mind, let's see the choices -
A. The cost of cooling homes has been increasing steadily for many years.
First of all, we don't know if it talks about cooling by keeping the curtains closed. Even if does talk about keeping the curtains closed, we don't know if the increases are higher than the reduction in the utility bills due to reduced effort of air conditioner. This choice does have many points open-ended.
B. There are more effective ways to cool a house than to keep the curtains closed that don’t involve the use of air-conditioning.
Availability of a better way does not impact the role of the existing way i.e. cooling by keeping the curtains closed.
C. Homeowners who keep their curtains closed during the day typically turn more lights on and leave them on for longer periods of time.
Keeping the curtains closed might have helped in reduction of the utility bills, but turning on more lights for longer does nullify the reduction.This choice weakens the conclusion that overall utility bills will be reduced.
D. Textile manufacturers are now producing curtains that are specially designed to insulate a room from heat.
This choice in fact strengthens the argument.
It suggests that closing the curtains is actually an effective way to insulate the room.
E. In most office buildings, it is impractical to use heavy curtains that are kept closed throughout the day.
The argument is about the homes and not the office buildings. This information does not impact the argument.

IMO C

CONCLUSION - Curtains closed during the day in summer leads to cutdown of utility bills of homeowners

GIVEN -

1) Houses will stay cooler and AC won't have to work hard
2) Dark and thick curtains will increase the effect

WEAKNER - What new information would reduce the belief in the conclusion?

ANSWER CHOICE ANALYSIS -

A) Cost of homes doesn't affect the conclusion
B) Other ways of cooling don't affect the conclusion
C) CORRECT - The effect of turning on the lights is outweighing the effect of closing the curtains
D) Strengthens the conclusion
E) Office buildings specifically are not talked about in the argument

A simple way for homeowners to cut down on utility bills is to keep their curtains closed during the day in the summer. By doing so, their houses will stay a few degrees cooler and their air conditioner will not have to work so hard. To increase the effect, darker, thicker curtains are advised.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

A. The cost of cooling homes has been increasing steadily for many years. Incorrect

new info, it cant weakens argument

B. There are more effective ways to cool a house than to keep the curtains closed that don’t involve the use of air-conditioning. Incorrect

it talks about another method

C. Homeowners who keep their curtains closed during the day typically turn more lights on and leave them on for longer periods of time. Correct

as a result, this method cant decrease utility bills; weakens argument

D. Textile manufacturers are now producing curtains that are specially designed to insulate a room from heat. Incorrect

support argument

E. In most office buildings, it is impractical to use heavy curtains that are kept closed throughout the day.Irrelevant

office buildings curtains are irrelevant to argument

Official Explanation:

A simple way for homeowners to cut down on utility bills is to keep their curtains closed during the day in the summer. By doing so, their houses will stay a few degrees cooler and their air conditioner will not have to work so hard. To increase the effect, darker, thicker curtains are advised.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

A. The cost of cooling homes has been increasing steadily for many years.
B. There are more effective ways to cool a house than to keep the curtains closed that don’t involve the use of air-conditioning.
C. Homeowners who keep their curtains closed during the day typically turn more lights on and leave them on for longer periods of time.
D. Textile manufacturers are now producing curtains that are specially designed to insulate a room from heat.
E. In most office buildings, it is impractical to use heavy curtains that are kept closed throughout the day.

Question Type: Weaken
Boil It Down: Because curtains can reduce utility, drawn curtains will reduce utility costs
Goal: Find the option that would weaken the argument to close curtains to reduce utility bills.

Analysis:

Argument structure:
(P) = Premise/Evidence/Support (C) = Conclusion

P: Drawn curtains can reduce utility costs
C: To reduce utility bills, darker, thicker curtains should be installed in homes

The argument assumes that because curtains can reduce utility costs, they should be used to reduce utility costs. This argument overlooks the fact that closing curtains at home can have certain unintended consequences or effects. These effects can cause an increase in utility costs that counterbalance the cost benefits of closed curtains. To weaken this argument, we can look for overlooked possibilities where closed curtains actually end up not being cost effective. Also, note the move from “can” in the premises to “should” in the conclusion. Just because something can be the case, this does not mean that it should be the case.


A. The cost of cooling homes has been increasing steadily for many years.
Incorrect. The crux of the argument deals with the inference from the fact that drawn curtains reduce sunlight and thereby reduce utility costs to a recommendation that homes should use curtains. The fact that the cost of cooling homes has increased over the years does not affect this inference. As such, answer choice A is irrelevant.

B. There are more effective ways to cool a house than to keep the curtains closed that don’t involve the use of air-conditioning.
Incorrect. The crux of the argument deals with the inference from the fact that drawn curtains reduce sunlight and thereby reduce utility costs to a recommendation that homes should use curtains. The fact that there are more effective ways to cool a house does not affect this inference. As such, answer choice B is irrelevant.

C. Homeowners who keep their curtains closed during the day typically turn more lights on and leave them on for longer periods of time.
Correct. This answer choice describes an overlooked possibility in the argument. The argument fails to consider the possibility that drawing curtains may cause homeowners to turn their lights on, driving up utility costs. This overlooked possibility shows that just because curtains can reduce utility costs in isolation, that does not mean that the recommendation of installing darker, thicker curtains should be followed.

D. Textile manufacturers are now producing curtains that are specially designed to insulate a room from heat.
Incorrect. This answer choice strengthens the argument. Curtains that better insulate rooms from heat would make the recommendation/ conclusion more warranted because better insulation from heat means lower utility costs.

E. In most office buildings, it is impractical to use heavy curtains that are kept closed throughout the day.
Incorrect. We must be careful readers. This answer choice would weaken the argument IF the recommendation was about curtain use in office buildings. However, the recommendation is about using curtains in homes. As such, this answer choice, which deals with office buildings, is irrelevant.

Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.

ramlala, ntngocanh19, Sumi1010, minalgambhir, and winterschool

GREAT WORK! You all cracked the code on this one! Kudos to you!

Check back on Monday for a new round of questions!

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