In Country E, car sales have dropped significantly in the past 8 years

Question

In Country E, car sales have dropped significantly in the past 8 years. During this time, public awareness about the ecology and the serious harm caused by fossil fuel-burning vehicles, amongst other things, has experienced a tremendous increase. This heightened level of public awareness, therefore, is the reason for the drop in car sales.

Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the argument?

Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the argument?

A. Whether there is any opposing evidence showing that vehicles that run on fossil fuels do not influence the ecology to a great extent
B. Whether car sales have decreased in countries with similar population densities to Country E
C. Whether the retail prices of cars, or of fuel, have increased during the past 8 years
D. Whether the public awareness campaigns held in Country E touched on the subject of recycling
E. Whether the fossil fuel-burning vehicles in Country E are manufactured locally or imported.

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iipshitaaaa · Answer

Conclusion : This heightened level of public awareness, therefore, is the reason for the drop in car sales.

In order to evaluate the conclusion we should know if there are any other reasons which may have caused the drop in sales.

Option C helps us to evaluate the conclusion.

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Abhishek009 · Answer

E : Sales (8 Yr) ↓ Env Awareness ↑-----Leads to--------> Sales ↓

(A) Ot of scope, If yes, there are opposing evidences showing that vehicles that run on fossil fuels influence the ecology then " Env Awareness ↑-----Leads to--------> Sales ↓" is falsified.

If No, there are no opposing evidences showing that vehicles that run on fossil fuels influence the ecology then " Env Awareness ↑-----Leads to--------> Sales ↓" this is the cause but no additional evidence is provided to establish the validity of the argument.

(B) similar population densities to Country E - Irrelevant.

(C) If prices have increased (Cars/Fuel) people will prefer not to buy Card (Good)

(D) Recycling is not concern, how can u recycle environental damage from fossil fuel burning and declining car sales.

(E) manufactured locally or imported - Irrelevant

Correct Answer must hence be (C)

AlexKoh · Answer

Among the options, (A) is the most useful in evaluating whether the increased public awareness about ecology is the primary reason for the drop in car sales in Country E.

pudu · Answer

C. Whether the retail prices of cars, or of fuel, have increased during the past 8 years

The argument gave that environmental campaign is a factor behind the declining sale. In order to accept it, it is important to know that whether any other factors like price of the car or fuel price increase prevent the people from buying the new car. Hence c

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

In Country E, car sales have dropped significantly in the past 8 years. During this time, public awareness about the ecology and the serious harm caused by fossil fuel-burning vehicles, amongst other things, has experienced a tremendous increase. This heightened level of public awareness, therefore, is the reason for the drop in car sales.

Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the argument?

Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the argument?

A. Whether there is any opposing evidence showing that vehicles that run on fossil fuels do not influence the ecology to a great extent

Incorrect.

To solve this Investigation question, first break down the argument. The first 2 sentences are factual, premises. The last sentence uses the conclusion conjunction Therefore letting us know that it's the conclusion.

Premise A: car sales in Country E have decreased in the past 8 years
 +
Premise B: public awareness about how cars are harmful to the ecology has increased
 = 
Conclusion: the increased public awareness led to the decrease in sales

Vital factor: ?

You are required to find the factor which is most crucial to the author's conclusion. The correct answer is a question which could support or weaken the conclusion depending on its answer.

The conclusion draws a direct relation between what the public believes and what they buy. The question in this answer choice is irrelevant because even if it was proven that cars do not harm the ecology, the public in Country E still believes that they do.

B. Whether car sales have decreased in countries with similar population densities to Country E

Incorrect.

Car sales rates in other countries are irrelevant on their own. Unless we also know the status of the public's ecological awareness in another country, we cannot make a logical comparison between it and Country E.

C. Whether the retail prices of cars, or of fuel, have increased during the past 8 years

The question claims that sales of cars were reduced, and provides increased ecological awareness as the reason. There's a hidden assumption in this causal argument - in order to reach the conclusion that eco awareness is the cause, the argument's author must assume that there is no factor other than eco awareness affecting sales of cars.

This answer choice could rule out a logical alternative explanation to the situation. If buying or using a car became more expensive, it could explain the decrease in sales. However, if buying or using a car cost the same as before, this alternative explanation is invalidated and the conclusion is emphasized (the sales likely dropped because of the public opinion).

D. Whether the public awareness campaigns held in Country E touched on the subject of recycling

Incorrect.

To solve this Investigation question, first break down the argument. The first 2 sentences are factual, premises. The last sentence uses the conclusion conjunction Therefore letting us know that it's the conclusion.

Premise A: car sales in Country E have decreased in the past 8 years
 +
Premise B: public awareness about how cars are harmful to the ecology has increased
 = 
Conclusion: the increased public awareness led to the decrease in sales

Vital factor: ?

You are required to find the factor which is most crucial to the author's conclusion. The correct answer is a question which could support or weaken the conclusion depending on its answer.

Public awareness campaigns and recycling are entirely irrelevant to this argument. The conclusion focuses on a cause-and-effect relationship between public awareness of car-related pollution and car sales.

E. Whether the fossil fuel-burning vehicles in Country E are manufactured locally or imported.

Incorrect.

Because the argument deals with car sales in general, the origin of the cars is beside the point.

VerbalBot · Answer

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In Country E, car sales have dropped significantly in the past 8 years

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In Country E, car sales have dropped significantly in the past 8 years

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