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06 Mar 2025, 01:30
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D
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Difficulty:
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77% (01:50) correct
23%
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The element ytterbium increases its electrical resistance when subject to high mechanical stresses. This property has made it an indispensable component in a medical tool designed to measure the stress on bones, which can guide physicians in setting broken bones. Unfortunately, ytterbium is rare, found in only a few meager sources around the world. A steep market demand will cause the price to skyrocket, and this technology so helpful to physicians will become unaffordable.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
(A) Just one mining company controls all the ytterbium that is imported into the United States, where these medical tools are manufactured.
(B) The process of extracting pure ytterbium from its ores, euxenite and xenotime, is very expensive and involves strong acids.
(C) Ytterbium is also used as an additive, in small quantities, to stainless steel and solid-state lasers.
(D) Some common alloys of tin also increase their electrical resistance under mechanical loads.
(E) The largest source of ytterbium is in a relatively remote region of China.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
(A) Just one mining company controls all the ytterbium that is imported into the United States, where these medical tools are manufactured.
(B) The process of extracting pure ytterbium from its ores, euxenite and xenotime, is very expensive and involves strong acids.
(C) Ytterbium is also used as an additive, in small quantities, to stainless steel and solid-state lasers.
(D) Some common alloys of tin also increase their electrical resistance under mechanical loads.
(E) The largest source of ytterbium is in a relatively remote region of China.
06 Mar 2025, 04:35
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premise: because of its electrical resistance property ytterbium has made itself an indispensable component in a medical tool. and because ytterbium is rare, author says this technology will become unaffordable.
question is asking is to weaken the author conclusion that this technology will become unaffordable.
so what if we can find another element with same property as required for technology? wouldn't that mean the technology can become affordable?
Option D does the job.
question is asking is to weaken the author conclusion that this technology will become unaffordable.
so what if we can find another element with same property as required for technology? wouldn't that mean the technology can become affordable?
Option D does the job.
05 Apr 2025, 01:00
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Bunuel
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
The element Ytterbium (#70 on the Periodic Table) has this special property, which is useful for this special medical tool. Unfortunately, ytterbium is rare, which suggest that the medical tool will become too expensive. We are asked to weaken this argument. Why will the medical tool not become too expensive?
(D) is the credited answer. If we can use common alloys of tin instead of expensive ytterbium, then we can get the same effect that we want, and the tool will be much cheaper than if we were limited to ytterbium.
Choice (A) & (B) & (E) are all strengtheners, and we need a weakener. All of these factors would tend to increase the price of ytterbium, whether it’s a mining company with a monopoly on production, or an expensive extraction process, or costs associated with mining work in a remote area. None of these weaken the argument.
Choice (C) is ambiguous. If ytterbium is also used in other things, this suggests an even greater demand for it, and by the Law of Supply and Demand, this would suggest even a higher price for ytterbium, which, again, strengthens the argument instead of weakening it.
