Spovil wrote:
D is the correct answer
Conclusion: Warming trends wont effect food production
Premise: Little reason to believe that rain distribution would be affected by warming
Argument is trying to say that since rain distribution stays unaffected because of global warming, food production would be untouched. The argument is trying to hinge the reason - rain distribution, as a deciding factor that might have affected food production.
Possible assumptions:
- There are NO other reason apart from 'rain distribution', that affects food production
- 'Rain distribution' is necessary to be affected along with global warming for affecting food production (an extension of 1st assumption)
A is out because - it talks about improved yields.
Rest options are OFS
Try negating - it would then probably be clear why D is not an assumption.
Suppose, the experts assume that the warming trend would NOT be more damaging if accompanied by a change in rainfall patterns. With this assumption their claim that
food production will change only minimally still holds. If negating D proved the claim that that food production would change drastically then D could be an assumption.
Now why D is an inference:
1. Food production would not change
2. BECAUSE the rainfall pattern would not change.
The word "because" indicates that if rainfall changes then, then the food production changes. This is an inference from the above 2 facts.
(PS: Strictly speaking even the last statement CANNOT be inferred.
Premise: If A then B.
Conclusion: If not B then not A
Premise: If not A then not B
Conclusion: If B, then A.
Option D falls in the second category of logic structure.
So the correct inference would have been:
If the food production changes , rainfall pattern must have changed.