The amount of water consumed in Anderville on any given day in the sum

Question

The amount of water consumed in Anderville on any given day in the summer is directly proportional to the heat index on that day. Since the average heat index this July was four points higher than the average heat index last August, it follows that more water was consumed in Anderville this July than last August.

Which one of the following arguments has a pattern of reasoning most similar to the one in the argument above?

(A) The number of doctors working in the emergency room on any day is directly proportional to the number of services delivered by the emergency room that day and also directly proportional to the number of patients that visit the emergency room. Thus, the number of services offered by the emergency room on any given day is directly proportional to the number of patients that visit the emergency room on that day.

(B) The number of doctors working in the emergency room on any given day is directly proportional to the number of nurses working in the emergency room on that day. But the emergency room employs the same number of orderlies every day. Hence, there are usually more doctors than orderlies working in the emergency room.

(C) The bill paid by a patient at the emergency room is directly proportional to the number of medical professionals the patient sees during his or her visit. Since the number of patients going through the emergency room is increasing, it follows that the emergency room is collecting a greater amount in fees paid by patients than it used to.

(D) The increase in patients at the emergency room is directly proportional to the amount of advertising the hospital has done the previous year. The hospital seeks to attract more patients to its emergency room by increasing the amount the hospital spends on advertising.

(E) The amount of analgesics prescribed in an emergency room is directly proportional to the number of patients that go through the emergency room on a given day. Since the emergency room handled 15 percent more patients in the last year than in the previous year, more analgesics were prescribed in the emergency room last year than in the previous year.

sj296 · Answer

Amount of water consumed on a particular day ∝ heat index on that day
=> Average heat index in July was 4 points higher than the average heat index last August

=> More water was consumed in July than the last August.

We have to find an option having similar reasoning (premise + conclusion)

(A) The number of doctors working in the emergency room on any day is directly proportional to the number of services delivered by the emergency room that day and also directly proportional to the number of patients that visit the emergency room. Thus, the number of services offered by the emergency room on any given day is directly proportional to the number of patients that visit the emergency room on that day.

This answer choice says A is proportional to B and A is proportional to C. Hence, B is proportional to C. This reasoning is not on the similar lines.

(B) The number of doctors working in the emergency room on any given day is directly proportional to the number of nurses working in the emergency room on that day. But the emergency room employs the same number of orderlies every day. Hence, there are usually more doctors than orderlies working in the emergency room.

This choice says that A is proportional to B. C is another element. Thus, A is greater than C. Again, it's not similar to the reasoning presented in the argument

(C) The bill paid by a patient at the emergency room is directly proportional to the number of medical professionals the patient sees during his or her visit. Since the number of patients going through the emergency room is increasing, it follows that the emergency room is collecting a greater amount in fees paid by patients than it used to.

There is a difference between seeing the number of medical professionals and the number of patients going through the emergency room.

(D) The increase in patients at the emergency room is directly proportional to the amount of advertising the hospital has done the previous year. The hospital seeks to attract more patients to its emergency room by increasing the amount the hospital spends on advertising.

The premise is there and a recommendation is being given. Whereas in the question stem, there is no recommendation.

(E) The amount of analgesics prescribed in an emergency room is directly proportional to the number of patients that go through the emergency room on a given day. Since the emergency room handled 15 percent more patients in the last year than in the previous year, more analgesics were prescribed in the emergency room last year than in the previous year.

This is our answer .

OA should be E

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Answer: E

STEP 1: Read the question and identify your task. 
This is a Parallel question. It asks you to find an argument that follows the same logical pattern.

STEP 2: Read the argument with your task in mind. 
The given argument says that because there is a directly proportional relationship between a higher use of water and a higher heat index (increase leads to increase), then because the average heat index is four points higher, more water will be used.

STEP 3: Know what you’re looking for. 
You must look for a similar relationship in the answers.

STEP 4: Read every word of every answer choice.  
Answer A creates two proportionalities (doctors to services, doctors to patients) in relation to the first statement (doctors). Then it tries to create a relationship between the two conditionals (services to patients). This is a much more complicated relationship than you are looking for and thus not your answer. Answer B starts out with the right kind of proportionality between two terms (doctors and nurses), but then it adds an unrelated statement about orderlies and draws an unsupportable relationship between the doctors and orderlies, so it is also not your answer. Answer C starts out well with a directly proportional relationship, higher bill to higher number of medical professionals seen, but the conclusion is based on the number of patients and not the number of medical professionals the patients see during their visit, which is a break from the premise. Thus answer C cannot be your answer. Answer D makes a recommendation based on the premise but does not draw a conclusion. Answer E describes a directly proportional relationship. More analgesics are prescribed when there are more patients, and since the number of patients this year is up 15 percent, then the number of analgesics must be up as well. Thus, the correct choice is answer E.

KarishmaB · Answer

Original Argument of the author: Premises: Water consumed is directly proportional to heat index. This July heat index was higher than last August. Conclusion: This July water consumed must be more than last August. We need to find a similar argument with the following structure: A is directly proportional to B. A was higher. Hence, B was higher too. Let’s look at the options. (A) The number of doctors working in the emergency room on any day is directly proportional to the number of services delivered by the emergency room that day and also directly proportional to the number of patients that visit the emergency room. Thus, the number of services offered by the emergency room on any given day is directly proportional to the number of patients that visit the emergency room on that day. Here we have A (number of docs) is directly proportional to B (number of services) and C (number of patients). Ignore for now. We can come back if we find nothing better. (B) The number of doctors working in the emergency room on any given day is directly proportional to the number of nurses working in the emergency room on that day. But the emergency room employs the same number of orderlies every day. Hence, there are usually more doctors than orderlies working in the emergency room. Here, we are given that A (number of docs) is directly proportional to B (number of nurses). But we are given that another quantity C (number of orderlies) is constant. Hence A is more than C. This is not the structure of our argument. (C) The bill paid by a patient at the emergency room is directly proportional to the number of medical professionals the patient sees during his or her visit. Since the number of patients going through the emergency room is increasing, it follows that the emergency room is collecting a greater amount in fees paid by patients than it used to. Here, we are given that A (amount of patient bill) is directly proportional to B (number of docs he sees). Then we are given that more A’s (more patients means more number of bills) will lead to more C (revenue collection). This is not the structure of our argument. (D) The increase in patients at the emergency room is directly proportional to the amount of advertising the hospital has done the previous year. The hospital seeks to attract more patients to its emergency room by increasing the amount the hospital spends on advertising. Here, we are given that increase in A (number of patients) is directly proportional to B (amount of advertising). The hospital seeks to increase B in the future, hoping to get more A. This is not the structure of our argument. (E) The amount of analgesics prescribed in an emergency room is directly proportional to the number of patients that go through the emergency room on a given day. Since the emergency room handled 15 percent more patients in the last year than in the previous year, more analgesics were prescribed in the emergency room last year than in the previous year. Here we are given that A (amount of analgesics) is directly proportional to B (number of patients). B (number of patients) was higher. Hence, A (amount of analgesics) was higher too. Correct. Note that our original argument tells us that A and B are directly proportional. So, if A increases B increases too. This options tells us that if B increases, A increases too. This is acceptable since the two A and B are directly proportional. So, if either one increases, we expect the other to increase too. Alternatively, we can call ‘number of patients’ A and ‘amount of analgesics’ B. Then the argument is exactly the same. After all, A is directly proportional to B implies that B is directly proportional to A. So, A and B can be named at will. Answer (E) Discussion on Mimic Questions: https://youtu.be/dHU17plF2mc

The amount of water consumed in Anderville on any given day in the sum

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