New types of washing machines designed to consume less energy also ext

Question

Competition Mode Question

New types of washing machines designed to consume less energy also extract less water from laundry during their final spin cycles than do washing machines that consume somewhat more energy. The wetter the laundry, the more energy required to dry it in an automatic dryer. Thus using these new types of washing machines could result in an overall increase in the energy needed to wash and dry a load of laundry.

In which one of the following is the pattern of reasoning most parallel to that in the argument above?

(A) The more skill required to operate a machine, the harder it is to find people able to do it, and thus the more those people must be paid. Therefore, if a factory installs machines that require highly skilled operators, it must be prepared to pay higher wages.

(B) There are two routes between Centerville and Mapletown, and the scenic route is the longer route. Therefore, a person who is not concerned with how long it will take to travel between Centerville and Mapletown will probably take the scenic route.

(C) The more people who work in the library’s reading room, the noisier the room becomes; and the noisier the working environment, the less efficiently people work. Therefore, when many people are working in the reading room, those people are working less efficiently.

(D) Pine is a less expensive wood than cedar but is more susceptible to rot. Outdoor furniture made from wood susceptible to rot must be painter with more expensive paint. Therefore, building outdoor furniture from pine rather than cedar could increase the total cost of building and painting the furniture.

(E) The more weights added to an exercise machine, the greater the muscle strength needed to work out on the machine. Up to a point, using more muscle strength can make a person stronger. Thus an exercise machine with more weights can, but does not necessarily, make a person stronger.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

(A) No. The argument describes a situation in which an alternative designed to produce savings in an area may have side effects that counteract these savings, and the overall impact of the change may actually require more resources than another alternative.

New washing machines —> less energy but wetter clothes
 Wetter clothes —> more energy to dry 
∴ New washing machines —> may consume more energy overall

This answer-choice can be paraphrased as follows:

Machines that require greater skill —> harder to find operators
 Harder to find operators —> more they must be paid 
∴ Machines that require greater skill —> higher wages for operators

This valid application of the transitive property is not parallel to the original argument.

(B) No. The argument describes a situation in which an alternative designed to produce savings in an area may have side effects that counteract these savings, and the overall impact of the change may actually require more resources than another alternative.

New washing machines —> less energy but wetter clothes
 Wetter clothes —> more energy to dry 
∴ New washing machines —> may consume more energy overall

In this answer-choice, there are two alternatives: a scenic route between Centerville and Mapletown, and a more direct route. However, there is no discussion of unexpected side-effects from choosing either route.

(C) No. The argument describes a situation in which an alternative designed to produce savings in an area may have side effects that counteract these savings, and the overall impact of the change may actually require more resources than another alternative.

New washing machines —> less energy but wetter clothes
 Wetter clothes —> more energy to dry 
∴ New washing machines —> may consume more energy overall

This answer-choice can be paraphrased as follows:

More people in reading room —> Noisier the room becomes
 Noisier the room becomes —> Less efficient people work 
∴ More people in reading room —> Less efficient people work

This valid application of the transitive property is not parallel to the original argument.

(D) Yes.  The argument describes a situation in which an alternative designed to produce savings in an area may have side effects that counteract these savings, and the overall impact of the change may actually require more resources than another alternative.

New washing machines —> less energy but wetter clothes
 Wetter clothes —> more energy to dry 
∴ New washing machines —> may consume more energy overall

This answer-choice can be paraphrased as follows:

Pine furniture —> less expensive but more susceptible to rot
 Susceptible to rot —> more expensive paint 
∴ Pine furniture —> may cost more overall

Like the original argument, this answer-choice describes an alternative that costs less initially but may end up costing more in the long run.

(E) No. The argument describes a situation in which an alternative designed to produce savings in an area may have side effects that counteract these savings, and the overall impact of the change may actually require more resources than another alternative.

New washing machines —> less energy but wetter clothes
 Wetter clothes —> more energy to dry  
∴ New washing machines —> may consume more energy overall

This answer-choice can be paraphrased as follows:

More weights on machine —> more muscle strength needed
 More muscle strength needed —> person becomes stronger 
∴ More weights on machine —> can make a person stronger

Although this choice is not strictly a deductive argument, it has the same structure as a transitive argument and is not parallel to the original argument.

exc4libur · Answer

ARGUMENT
  new machines consume less energy and less water than current machines;
  the wetter the laundry, the more energy is required to dry it;
  thus, using new machines could INCREASE energy needed to do such load.
  although new macs might use less energy than current macs in one case, they might be counterproductive in different setting.

Ans (D) : although pine is less expensive it rots more often, thus needing to spend on painting, which makes it overall more expensive than its counterpart.

ostrick5465 · Answer

New types of washing machines designed to consume  less energy also extract less water  from laundry during their final spin cycles than do washing machines  that consume somewhat more energy . The wetter the laundry,  the more energy required to dry it  in an automatic dryer.  Thus using these new types of washing machines  could result in  an overall increase in the energy needed to wash and dry a load of laundry .

(D) Pine is a  less expensive wood  than cedar  but is more susceptible to rot . Outdoor furniture made from wood susceptible to rot must  be painted with more expensive paint .  Therefore, building outdoor furniture  from pine rather than cedar  could increase the total cost of building and painting the furniture.

=> Choice D

eakabuah · Answer

D is the right answer.

Premise: New types of washing machines designed to consume less energy also extract less water from laundry during their final spin cycles than do washing machines that consume somewhat more energy.
Counter-premise: The wetter the laundry, the more energy required to dry it in an automatic dryer.
Conclusion: Thus using these new types of washing machines could result in an overall increase in the energy needed to wash and dry a load of laundry.

We are to determine the answer choice that adopts a structure that is parallel to the argument above.

(A) The more skill required to operate a machine, the harder it is to find people able to do it, and thus the more those people must be paid. Therefore, if a factory installs machines that require highly skilled operators, it must be prepared to pay higher wages.
Premise: The more skill required to operate a machine, the harder it is to find people able to do it, and thus the more those people must be paid.
Conclusion: Therefore, if a factory installs machines that require highly skilled operators, it must be prepared to pay higher wages.
Not structurally parallel to the argument above.

(B) There are two routes between Centerville and Mapletown, and the scenic route is the longer route. Therefore, a person who is not concerned with how long it will take to travel between Centerville and Mapletown will probably take the scenic route.
Premise: There are two routes between Centerville and Mapletown, and the scenic route is the longer route.
Conclusion: Therefore, a person who is not concerned with how long it will take to travel between Centerville and Mapletown will probably take the scenic route.
Not structurally parallel to the argument above.

(C) The more people who work in the library’s reading room, the noisier the room becomes; and the noisier the working environment, the less efficiently people work. Therefore, when many people are working in the reading room, those people are working less efficiently.
Premise: The more people who work in the library’s reading room, the noisier the room becomes; 
Premise: the noisier the working environment, the less efficiently people work.
Counter-premise: Therefore, when many people are working in the reading room, those people are working less efficiently.
Not structurally parallel to the argument above.

(D) Pine is a less expensive wood than cedar but is more susceptible to rot. Outdoor furniture made from wood susceptible to rot must be painted with more expensive paint. Therefore, building outdoor furniture from pine rather than cedar could increase the total cost of building and painting the furniture.
Premise: Pine is a less expensive wood than cedar but is more susceptible to rot.
Counter Premise: Outdoor furniture made from wood susceptible to rot must be painted with more expensive paint.
Conclusion: Therefore, building outdoor furniture from pine rather than cedar could increase the total cost of building and painting the furniture.
This is rightly parallel to the reasoning adopted in the argument in the stem. It starts by pointing out a desirable advantage in pine in terms of its expense over cedar and also by highlighting a limitation of pine. It further continues with a counter-premise that shows that an application of pine within a setting may require some additional expense and concludes that although pine is less expensive, to use it in some specific setting requires additional work that eventually makes it more expensive. The line of reasoning in D rightly mimics that in the question stem. Hence D is the right answer.

(E) The more weights added to an exercise machine, the greater the muscle strength needed to work out on the machine. Up to a point, using more muscle strength can make a person stronger. Thus an exercise machine with more weights can, but does not necessarily, make a person stronger.
Premise: The more weights added to an exercise machine, the greater the muscle strength needed to work out on the machine.
Premise: Up to a point, using more muscle strength can make a person stronger.
Conclusion: Thus an exercise machine with more weights can, but does not necessarily, make a person stronger.
Not structurally parallel to the argument above.

VerbalBot · Answer

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