Regulations will not allow a pesticide that is toxic to humans to be u

clearly A which satisfies what the argument wants.

Rest all other choices are irrelaevant with the argument looked closely.

-h

Regulations will not allow a pesticide that is toxic to humans to be used inside houses
unless the pesticide will dissipate completely from the air within eight hours after its
application. One test that pesticide manufacturers standardly use to determine how
quickly anti-termite pesticides dissipate involves spraying the pesticides on the walls of
room-sized plywood boxes and then timing its dissipation.

Which of the following would it be most useful to know in order to evaluate whether a
dissipation time of just under eight hours on the manufacturers’ test indicates that an antitermite
pesticide that is toxic to humans obeys regulations for use in houses?

A. Whether anti-termite pesticides dissipate more slowly in furnished rooms than in
plywood boxes
B. Whether people who apply anti-termite pesticide standardly wear protective
equipment that prevents them from being exposed to the pesticide
C. Whether people whose house is being treated with anti-termite pesticide generally
know that they should remain out of their house during the hours immediately after the pesticide’s application
D. Whether there are anti-termite pesticides that are toxic to humans that, when
subjected to the manufacturers’ test, dissipate completely from the air in the boxes
in well under eight hours
E. Whether anti-termite pesticides that are not toxic to humans tend to take longer to
dissipate than those that are toxic.

Thank God i got it correct this time. It is Option A.

Assumption question type and Evaluate question type have one thing in common i.e. an implied premise or a bridge between premise and conclusion.

In this question, Option A forms a bridge between the Most Important Premise and the conclusion. Lets evaluate all the options thoroughly:-

Option B:- Out of scope - as for the anti-termite pesticides that are toxic to humans to pass the test, there is no mention that the people should be wearing any
protective equipment.

Option C:- Out of scope - People awareness is also not a part of the premise. The litmus test is whether the pesticide dissipates before 8 hrs of application.

Option D:- Out of Scope - Regulators do not care if there are no such pesticides that exist in the market or no. Even if they do not exist, it is not their business.

Option E:- Out of Scope - The argument does not talk about the pesticides that are not toxic to humans. We are only concerned with the pesticides that are toxic to
humans.

Option A:- This is exactly our concern and hence the right answer choice - The most important premise states that the regulators test the pesticide on 4 sided plywood walls, then will it be similar to the houses i.e. <= 8 hrs where pesticides shall be applied. If yes, then argument falls apart, if no then argument holds.

Hence, Option A is the correct answer.

Hope the above helps!!!

Thanks.

I got stuck between A and D but picked A because i realized that i needed to know the test done is correct or not . Is there any way to provev the test wrong. and then it came to me that A is the answer

Basically what this question is which one of these answer presents a question that challenges the validity of the study conducted? A is absolutely important because if the antipesticide dissipates more slowly on furnished rooms then the results of the study are not accurate.

A

I got this question wrong on the first attempt but when you read the question stem carefully and see what it is actually asking, you will be able to eliminate all the wrong answer choices. The question stem is very narrow and specific here to help you pick the right answer

A. If a pesticide has a dissipation time of just under 8 hrs, we need to know if it will take more time to dissipate in an actual furnished room. If it will take more time, it may not be allowed in houses. If it will take the same time, it may be allowed in houses. So this is useful to evaluate. Hence, A is the answer.
B. This statement has no relevance to the dissipation time of the pesticide.
C. This statement holds no relevance to the rate of dissipation of the pesticide.
D. Whether such pesticides exist or not doesn't matter. We are concerned about that fact that if a pesticide does pass the test, can it be used in houses?
E. The argument has nothing to do with non-toxic pesticides.

How I broke down the argument?
- Law: Toxic pesticides must go away in <8 hrs or else they can't be used in homes
- Other Info.: Manufacturer test with plywood boxes
- Re-framed question: If the dissipation time is 7hrs 59mins, will this toxic pesticide pass the regulation and be allowed to be used in homes

A. Answer - If it take more time in a furnished room in a house (i.e. with a couch, with chairs and tables) - it will not pass the regulation. Thus, we need to know this.
B. What people wear when they apply the pesticide is NOT RELEVANT to evaluating if this new pesticide meets regulation
C. How homeowner interpret instructions is NOT RELEVANT to evaluating if this new pesticide meets regulation
D. A potential impostor answer, as it draws our attention to comparing the NEW pesticide with other toxic pesticides and their dissipation rate but this does not help prove if our NEW pesticide will pass regulation.
E. Omit because it would not be fair to compare a TOXIC pesticide with NON-TOXIC - how would this help us at all?

P1: Regulations will not allow P that is toxic to be used inside house unless P will disappear within 8 hours of it’s application.
P2: Test that used to determine how quickly it disappear, involve spraying the P on the walls of room-sized Plywood boxes and then timing.

Evaluate, if this gives the correct results?

A. Yes, as what if there is the time difference in disappearance then this test is of no use.
B. Not relevant
C. Not relevant
D. If test results show positive result, that doesn't mean that the test if perfect we need to evaluate the test.
E. Not relevant, no speak of the toxic one.

So correct answer: A

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