The 1936 North American heat wave remains one of the hottest and most

Question

The 1936 North American heat wave remains one of the hottest and most destructive on record, causing serious environmental and economic problems. Beginning in June of 1936 and lasting only through the summer, temperatures rose sharply across the United States, attacking the Midwest and Southwest in particular. Even in Canada, scientists recorded dangerously high temperatures. Air conditioners did not have common distribution in homes and businesses until some years later, and the heat-related deaths rose to upwards of 5,000 people. Not surprisingly, the heat caused problems for the most vulnerable members of society. The temperatures were so high, in fact, that the soil was depleted of necessary bacteria, and the crops withered away leaving a serious shortage of corn and wheat. The drought that accompanied the heat wave stripped the soil of all nutrients, and the upper layers of the soil quite literally blew away, developing into serious dust storms in the Midwest.

Which of the following may be assumed strictly based on the information provided in the passage above?

(A) The heat wave of 1936 damaged the crops seriously, but the temperatures returned to normal the next year, so farmers did not have problems with the crops in 1937.

(B) The temperatures did not rise as high in Canada as they did in the United States, and thus the damage in Canada was not as extreme as it was in the United States.

(C) It is certain that fewer people would have died in the 1936 heat wave had air conditioners been common in homes.

(D) The problems from the heat wave of 1936 were exacerbated because the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression.

(E) Because of the damage to the crops from the heat wave in 1936, prices of crops such as corn and wheat rose very high.

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Akriti_Khetawat · Answer

IMO B.

It says that the affects were felt particularly in the US and *even* Canada had high temperatures, this would mean it was high only to an extent and not as high as USA?

Prathish · Answer

Hello, the paragraph states that the heat wave rose dangerously high in Canada as well, therefore option B would be eliminated hope this helps.

kayarat600 · Answer

Don't see why the air conditioner part won't be correct if the crop part is unless you go by the certain and extreme equals false argument even then the paragraph makes the association between common distribution and deaths very clear compared to high prices because of crops which could be mitigated by a number of unseen factors.

kayarat600 · Answer

This imo doesn't really disqualify the argument at all just because my region hit an extreme temp once it wouldn't lead to as much damage as a region that had a whole season of extreme weather hope that helps.

Vibhatu · Answer

"... that the soil was depleted of necessary bacteria, and the crops withered away leaving a serious shortage of corn and wheat."
so it is obvious that price of corn and wheat will increase!! 
 Answer:E

ludicrous · Answer

It is written 'strictly based on the information provided', so how can we assume the economic principle that prices will rise?

2learnerjoy · Answer

That option is one of the best from above.

Vibhatu · Answer

it is written in question " may be assumed strictly based on the information provided in the passage above"
here we are assuming the price will increase!! Plus this is basic to know when we have limited suppy price tendsto go high !! 
 Hope its clear now  ludicrous

Anonymous__20 · Answer

why the air conditioner option is incorrect

MartyMurray · Answer

Here's that choice:

(C) It is certain that fewer people would have died in the 1936 heat wave had air conditioners been common in homes.

Notice that it says, " It is certain  that fewer people would have died."

In saying, "It is certain," the choice goes too far.

What the passage says indicates that it is  likely  that fewer people would have died had air conditioners been common, but it does not indicate that it is  certain  that fewer people would have died. After all, the passage doesn't say for sure that anyone who died would not have if the person had had an air-conditioned home.

It comes pretty close to saying that, but doesn't quite say it.

Vkvsonu · Answer

due to heat wave followed up by drought ...it can be inferred that price will soar but here it is a question of assumption and assumption should be unstated so why not go for c option which assumes that fewer people would have died in the 1936 heat wave had air conditioners been common in homes

financebro28 · Answer

I fail to see how this is assumption question. The question seemed more like an inference based on the correct answer choice.
If someone could break it down into Premise and Conclusion and link them with the correct asnwer choice, it would help me understand better.
 Bunuel   GMATNinja

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Overview:

Questions refer to the passage that discusses the history of the North American heat wave in 1936, a climate phenomenon that caused massive problems for most of North America, including crop shortages and even several thousand deaths. Question asks the student to determine which of the answer choices may be assumed strictly based on information provided in the passage. This means that the answer choice cannot infer information that has no support in the passage.

The Correct Answer:

E To arrive at the correct answer in question 5, the student has to sort through a variety of details. The first sentence states that the heat wave caused “serious environmental and economic problems.” Further down, the author of the passage notes that there were “serious shortages” of corn and wheat due to the damage from the heat wave. From this, the student may correctly infer that shortages create a price increase (i.e., “economic problems”) and, as a result, the prices of corn and wheat rose very high. Answer choice (E) may be inferred from the details in the passage, so it is correct.

The Incorrect Answers:

A The passage states very clearly that the heat wave damaged crops severely and that it lasted only through the summer. But the passage does not contain enough information to suggest that temperatures were normal the next year or that farmers had no problems with crops in 1937. What is more, there are a variety of factors besides weather that can affect crops, so it would be assuming too much to claim that crops were good in 1937, even if the temperatures were normal. Answer choice (A) cannot be correct.

B The author of the passage claims that scientists in Canada “recorded dangerously high temperatures.” While there is no immediate comparison to temperatures in the United States, there is nothing to suggest that the high temperatures in Canada caused fewer problems. Answer choice (B) assumes what is not implied in the passage, so it is incorrect.

C Answer choice (C) provides a seemingly good option. The author of the passage claims that air conditioners were not universal and that many died in the heat. This suggests that air conditioners might have been of assistance in helping those suffering in the heat. But the passage also states that the heat wave “caused problems for the most vulnerable members of society.” Even in the highly air-conditioned twenty-first century, heat waves target and kill the most vulnerable members of society. Furthermore, it is too much to assume from the statements made in the passage that air conditioners would certainly have prevented deaths, however likely that may seem. They might have, but there is not enough information to determine the point decisively. Answer choice (C) makes inferences that do not have enough support from the passage, so it cannot be correct.

D The passage claims that the heat wave caused “serious environmental and economic problems.” The fact that the United States was also suffering the Great Depression would probably add to this, but there is simply not enough information in the passage to infer this specific piece of information. The heat wave, in and of itself, caused many severe problems. The Great Depression was a separate problem, but it is not addressed, nor does the author of the passage make any reference to outside factors that exacerbated the problems from the heat wave. Answer choice (D) seems like a good option, but it simply has no support in the passage

The 1936 North American heat wave remains one of the hottest and most

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The 1936 North American heat wave remains one of the hottest and most

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