Official Solution:
A development team for a company that makes specialty packaging wants to improve the strength of their outer materials. The manufacturing process involves dissolving a highly complex powder in superheated water and then rapidly cooling the mixture until it is a solid. The development team plans to strengthen the material by heating the water an additional 30 degrees, which will allow them to dissolve even more powder into the mixture.
Which of the following, if true, points to the biggest flaw in the development team’s plan?
A. Developers must order the powder for this process from a company that does not make specialty packaging.
B. The molecules in the powder begin to break down at a temperature 10 degrees above that in the original process.
C. Developers will also need new molds for the packaging that can withstand the higher temperature.
D. The molecules in the powder are able to withstand temperatures 60 degrees above that in the original process.
E. Some members of the development team believe strongly in another method of strengthening the material.
General Approach In critical reasoning questions of this type, we first need to clearly understand the situation, the plan proposed, and identify the variables involved. Here the plan is to strengthen the packaging material by increasing the temperature of the water used in the manufacturing process by 30 degrees, thus allowing more powder to be dissolved. The variables are the powder, its solubility, the water, its temperature, and how they interact. Our task is to identify which option points out a flaw in this plan.
Correct Answer Option B is correct. The plan is to increase the temperature by 30 degrees, but if the powder starts to break down at a temperature 10 degrees above the original, the plan clearly fails. The powder wouldn't be able to maintain its structure and the aim of strengthening the packaging material wouldn't be fulfilled. Hence this point is a major flaw in the development team’s plan.
Incorrect Answers A: The source of the powder, whether it is a company that specializes in packaging or not, is not a factor that could affect the process of manufacturing the packaging material. Hence, this isn't a flaw in the plan.
C: The need for new molds that can withstand higher temperature is an additional cost or an implementation challenge, but not a flaw in the logic of the plan itself. The plan could still be technically sound even with this factor, thus, it's not the biggest flaw.
D: The fact that the powder can withstand temperatures even 60 degrees above the original process contradicts the information in option B and actually supports the plan. If this were true, the powder wouldn't break down and the plan could proceed. Hence, this is not a flaw in the plan.
E: The fact that some team members believe in another method doesn't point out a flaw in the plan. It just indicates a difference in opinion among team members, but doesn't mean this plan is flawed. Therefore, this option isn't the biggest flaw.
Answer: B