Studies have shown that an automobile that runs on a blend of 85%

Question

Studies have shown that an automobile that runs on a blend of 85% ethanol/15% gasoline gets better mileage than an otherwise similar car equipped with a gasoline engine. Many American legislators have concluded that an increase in tax incentives for ethanol production would lessen our dependence on foreign oil.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt upon the validity of the legislators’ conclusion?

A. It takes 1.5 gallons of oil to produce 1 gallon of ethanol.

B. Electric cars are cheaper to operate than cars running on the ethanol fuel mix.

C. It costs thousands of dollars to retrofit an automobile to run on the ethanol fuel mix.

D. The ethanol/gasoline blend emits more pollution that regular gasoline.

E. The ethanol/gasoline blend has not been widely adopted in Europe.

This is a  CR Butler Question

Check the links to other Butler Projects:

Data Sufficiency Butler  
  Problem Solving Butler  
  Reading Comprehension Butler  
  Data Insights Butler

ManifestDreamMBA · Answer

Conclusion: An increase in tax incentives for ethanol production would lessen America's dependence on foreign oil.

Ideas : We are looking for something which suggests otherwise, that is we will still need the same amount of oil or more.
- may be the production will need more oil

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt upon the validity of the legislators’ conclusion?

A. It takes 1.5 gallons of oil to produce 1 gallon of ethanol.
 Increase in tax benefit would encourage people to produce more ethanol. But, if we need more quantity of oil to produce smaller quantity of ethanol, then we will need more oil than we are using currently

B. Electric cars are cheaper to operate than cars running on the ethanol fuel mix.
 Operating costs is not a concern of the conclusion

C. It costs thousands of dollars to retrofit an automobile to run on the ethanol fuel mix.
 Retrofitiing costs is not a concern of the conclusion

D. The ethanol/gasoline blend emits more pollution that regular gasoline.
 Polution is not a concern of the conclusion

E. The ethanol/gasoline blend has not been widely adopted in Europe.
 Oversees adoption is not a concern of the conclusion

Whoisdmx15 · Answer

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt upon the validity of the legislators’ conclusion?

A.  It takes 1.5 gallons of oil to produce 1 gallon of ethanol. Suitable  This shows more oil will be required to be imported if ethanol production is incentivised.

B. Electric cars are cheaper to operate than cars running on the ethanol fuel mix.  Eliminated  This does nothing to the conclusion.

C. It costs thousands of dollars to retrofit an automobile to run on the ethanol fuel mix.  Eliminated  This does nothing to the conclusion.

D. The ethanol/gasoline blend emits more pollution that regular gasoline.  Eliminated  This does nothing to the conclusion.

E. The ethanol/gasoline blend has not been widely adopted in Europe.  Eliminated  This does nothing to the conclusion.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The legislators want to promote ethanol production in order to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Any evidence that ethanol production would not
lessen our dependence on foreign oil would undermine the legislators' conclusion.

(A) CORRECT.  If it takes 1.5 gallons of oil to make 1 gallon of ethanol, it is not clear that producing ethanol can help us to reduce our reliance on foreign oil.

(B) As long as many drivers prefer not to switch to electric cars, it is possible that the ethanol fuel mix will come into widespread use.

(C) Although it may be expensive to retrofit a non-ethanol vehicle, ethanol-ready new vehicles might constitute a large potential market for subsidized ethanol.

(D) This answer choice is irrelevant because the argument does not mention pollution.

(E) Without any information as to why the ethanol/gasoline blend has not been widely adopted in Europe, we cannot reach any conclusions that are relevant to the United States.

Studies have shown that an automobile that runs on a blend of 85%

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

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

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Studies have shown that an automobile that runs on a blend of 85%

Prep Toolkit

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

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards