Two types of fuels, Bio X and Bio Y, both made from natural resources

Question

Two types of fuels, Bio X and Bio Y, both made from natural resources, are increasingly being used by vehicles around the country. Recent tests indicate that the complete combustion of a volume of Bio Y releases fewer pollutants in the air than the complete combustion of an equal volume of Bio X. Since both the government and the people of the country are determined to bring down the pollution levels in the long run, it can be expected that in 30 years from now, a significant number of cars will use only Bio Y.

Which of the following would be most useful to evaluate the argument’s conclusion?

(A) Whether the vehicles that currently use Bio X can also use Bio Y

(B) Whether the present day cars that run on Bio Y consume less fuel than the cars that run on Bio X to cover the same distance

(C) Whether 30 years from now the manufacturers’ profit margin for cars that consume BioY will be significantly higher than the profit margin of cars that consume Bio X

(D) Whether the resources used to make Bio Y are sustainable to cater to the demand of the fuel in the next thirty years and beyond

(E) Whether the price of cars that run on BioY will increase in the coming years.

ElninoEffect · Answer

Two types of fuels, Bio X and Bio Y, both made from natural resources, are increasingly being used by vehicles around the country. Recent tests indicate that the complete combustion of a volume of Bio Y releases fewer pollutants in the air than the complete combustion of an equal volume of Bio X. Since both the government and the people of the country are determined to bring down the pollution levels in the long run, it can be expected that in 30 years from now, a significant number of cars will use only Bio Y.

Which of the following would be most useful to evaluate the argument’s conclusion?

(A) Whether the vehicles that currently use Bio X can also use Bio Y
Not necessary, even if they are not able to a significant number of new vehicles can be added to the road running on fuel Y.

(B) Whether the present day cars that run on Bio Y consume less fuel than the cars that run on Bio X to cover the same distance
Comparison has been done with pollutants released per volume of X and Y, hence B becomes irrelevant. This option would have been significant if the comparison wasn't done per volume.

(C) Whether 30 years from now the manufacturers’ profit margin for cars that consume BioY will be significantly higher than the profit margin of cars that consume Bio X
Profit margin is not in question here.

(D) Whether the resources used to make Bio Y are sustainable to cater to the demand of the fuel in the next thirty years and beyond
Eeeeexactly...! What if the resources required to make fuel Y will be over in the span of 30 years, the whole future dream of 30 years and beyond will go crumbling down.

(E) Whether the price of cars that run on BioY will increase in the coming years.
Again price is not in question here.

(E) Whether the price of cars that run on BioY will increase in the coming years. Again price is not in question here.

AnirudhaS · Answer

Another problem with B is it says "present day cars"
But the conclusion is to bring down the pollution level in the long run.
So we cannot really say that the present day cars would survive another 30 years. Also we cannot say no new cars would be introduced in the future.

Kailin · Answer

I'm still a bit confused with the option B. What if even tho a volume of X consumes less fuels than that of Y does, a car needs more volumes of X than those of Y to cover one mile? That would probably make the total fuel consumption of X is greater than that of Y per mile?

ElninoEffect · Answer

Option B says, whether the present day cars that run on Bio Fuel Y consumes less fuel per mile than Bio X. Results we can get from evaluating this statement are: a)Present day cars consume less Bio Fuel Y than Fuel X per mile. - Good it means less fuel consumption less pollutants but can we say the same for future cars or present day cars in future. b)Present day cars consumes equal quantity of Bio fuel X and Y per mile: Even then there would be less pollutant + the reasoning of first applies here as well. c)Present day cars consumes more quantity of Bio fuel Y than X per mile: Here the evaluation fails to give us the desired result because we don't know how much more we can burn bio-fuel Y so that the pollutants released becomes equal to that of the pollutants released by X. (A second evaluation is needed). Hence not sufficient. Hope that clears your doubt.

ShakhzodS · Answer

Answer is wrong. If a car uses more of a fuel with less combustion, then the combustion level per mile driven can be equal in both types of fuel. Like lets say car uses 10 litres of Bio Y per 100 km while only 6 litres of Bio X per 100 km.

whatsarc · Answer

To eliminate B

(B) Whether the present day cars that run on Bio Y consume less fuel than the cars that run on Bio X to cover the same distance

Yes Bio Y consumers less fuel. Okay
No Bio Y doesn't consume less fuel. But does it consume equal fuel? If so then doesn't matter. If not then it matters and we need to evaluate.

That's why this option isn't airtight. Eliminate.

Vishrut16 · Answer

Well technically if energy per unit volume of fuel X is significantly higher that of Y such that in sum it reflects that Fuel X produce more pollution per unit energy than ultimately fuel Y will make more pollution than Fuel X.

Hence according to me option B should be right.

Hence according to me option B should be right.

abhisekagrawal · Answer

Why Option B is Not the Best:

Irrelevant to Pollution: The argument hinges on reducing pollution, not on how much fuel is consumed to travel a certain distance. Even if cars using Bio Y are less fuel-efficient than those using Bio X, they could still be preferred if they pollute less, which is the core concern of the argument.
 Indirect Impact: While fuel efficiency might affect the overall cost or appeal of Bio Y, it's not the primary factor that would determine whether a significant number of cars will use only Bio Y in the future.

napolean92728 · Answer

The correct answer is (D). 
Let me explain why option D is correct and why the other options can be eliminated:
 Option D asks:  "Whether the resources used to make Bio Y are sustainable to cater to the demand of the fuel in the next thirty years and beyond." This is the most useful information for evaluating the conclusion that "in 30 years from now, a significant number of cars will use only Bio Y." The argument is based on Bio Y being cleaner than Bio X, but for the conclusion to hold true over a 30-year period, the resources needed to produce Bio Y must be sustainable long-term. If Bio Y's raw materials aren't available in sufficient quantities to meet the projected demand, then regardless of its environmental benefits, it cannot become the dominant fuel as predicted.

Let's review why the other options are incorrect:
 Option A:  "Whether the vehicles that currently use Bio X can also use Bio Y" This focuses only on current vehicles, but the conclusion is about cars 30 years in the future. Even if current vehicles cannot use Bio Y, new vehicles could be designed to use it over the next three decades, making this information less relevant to the long-term prediction.

Option B:  "Whether the present day cars that run on Bio Y consume less fuel than the cars that run on Bio X to cover the same distance" While fuel efficiency is important, the argument is specifically about pollution reduction, not fuel economy. The argument already establishes that Bio Y produces fewer pollutants per equal volume compared to Bio X, so this additional information about fuel efficiency doesn't directly address the validity of the conclusion about future adoption.

Option C:  "Whether 30 years from now the manufacturers' profit margin for cars that consume Bio Y will be significantly higher than the profit margin of cars that consume Bio X" Future profit margins are speculative and not directly related to the environmental motivation cited in the argument. The argument states that both government and people are determined to reduce pollution, suggesting environmental concerns are the primary driver, not manufacturer profits.

Option E:  "Whether the price of cars that run on Bio Y will increase in the coming years" Short-term price fluctuations of Bio Y vehicles don't provide useful information about the long-term adoption trend. The argument is based on environmental benefits over 30 years, not near-term pricing.

Two types of fuels, Bio X and Bio Y, both made from natural resources

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Two types of fuels, Bio X and Bio Y, both made from natural resources

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