A large apartment building in a city was assessed by a city

Question

A large apartment building in a city was assessed by a city environmental bureau for the comparatively high consumption of electricity in the building, and the landlord was threatened with a possible fine if the consumption does not drop significantly in a specified period. While all built-in appliances and lighting in common areas is energy efficient, the landlord found, upon doing an inspection, many residents were using older portable heaters that are not very energy efficient. Many residents had a few of these heaters in different rooms of the apartment. The building is often chilly, as the central heating system is old and in need of an upgrade, which will be tremendously expensive for the landlord. The landlord decided to send each resident a detailed letter about the electric energy consumption of these older portable heaters, recommending newer more energy efficient models that could be purchased at local stores. The landlord hopes that enough residents will be motivated by this letter to buy the more energy efficient heaters, so that he can avoid the fine.

Which of the following, if true, would provide most support for the prediction that the landlord's letter will have its intended effect?

(A) Residents pay for their own monthly electrical use, and the rates in this city are high, so consuming less electricity would result in a sizable monthly savings.

(B) Those apartments in the building with southern exposure get abundant sunlight, which has a substantial warming effect, and many of those residents do not use portable heaters.

(C) Some cooking appliances, like a toaster or a waffle iron, consume considerably more electricity than a portable heater during the time they are operating.

(D) Throughout the city, this same environmental agency threatened other landlord and business owners with fines for various reasons, and in almost every case, the concerned parties were able to make sufficient changes to avoid the fines.

(E) This landlord owns six apartment buildings of varying sizes in the city, and at each of the other five, the average electrical consumption is at or below the city-wide average for buildings of that size.

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cdrectenwald · Answer

(A) Residents pay for their own monthly electrical use, and the rates in this city are high, so consuming less electricity would result in a sizable monthly savings.

Explanation:

The prediction is that the landlord’s letter will motivate residents to replace their older, less energy-efficient heaters with newer models. For this prediction to hold, residents need a strong incentive to reduce their energy consumption. If residents are responsible for their own electricity bills and the cost of electricity is high, they would be more likely to switch to energy-efficient heaters to save money. This makes (A) the most supportive answer because it directly addresses the motivation of residents to make a change that aligns with the landlord’s goal.

Abdelaali91 · Answer

(A) Residents pay for their own monthly electrical use, and the rates in this city are high, so consuming less electricity would result in a sizable monthly savings.

Only viable option in my opinion. Perhaps the residents weren't conscious about their energy consumption and the detailed letter from the landlord would bring this to their attention. Then, they would be inclined to reduce their energy consumption since they are paynign for it.

wrebein · Answer

It looks like the official answer was not provided to this question?

dkpkoti · Answer

Expected outcome from the plan - Enough residents will be motivated by this letter to buy the more energy efficient heaters, so that he can avoid the fine.

For plan to work , Option A is ✅ correct. because this option gives a reason to the residents to work as per the plan and become more energy efficient and more financial saving.

Vibhatu · Answer

Since residence will be motivated by paying less bill, they will buy new heater.
 Answer: A

Bunuel · Answer

Kaplan Official Explanation:

The credited answer is (A).

If residents find out the heaters they are user will cost them more money, via their own electrical bills, then they will be motivated to replace their old heaters with more energy-efficient models, thus lowering the overall electrical consumption of the building --- the landlord's goal.

The fact that some apartments get sunlight and don't need heaters doesn't alter the fact that many others do use the heaters. The information supplied by the landlord will be more or less irrelevant to the folks who don't use heaters. Choice (B) is incorrect.

Choice (C) indicates another potential drain on energy, but that would involve a separate plan: it doesn't directly support the landlord's plan. Choice (C) is incorrect.

The fact that other landlords, doing whatever they did, avoided the fine does not necessarily tell us whether the landlord of this particular building will be successful. Choice (D) is incorrect.

The other buildings operated by this landlord don't have this problem, but this doesn't tell us how the landlord will handle the problem where it does exist. Choice (E) is incorrect.

A large apartment building in a city was assessed by a city

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A large apartment building in a city was assessed by a city

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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