Logical reasoning PrepTest 104 · Section 1 · Question 1

Question prompt

Powell: Private waste–removal companies Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed/Flawed

Question Type

Point at Issue Questions

Stimulus Summary

Phenomenon - Private garbage companies spend 60% of public ones to provide at least as good service
Powell’s explanation - They’re more efficient
Freeman’s explanation - They can reject clients they think will be too costly

Answer Anticipation

We split this stimulus up a little differently than it’s presented. Here, Powell and Freeman both agree on the details - private companies are able to provide at least as good service at 60% of the cost. That’s a phenomenon that both attempt to explain, making their debate fall into a common pattern - a Phenomenon/Explanation pattern.
And the two disagree on the explanation here. Powell believes in the free market, stating that the private companies are just more efficient than the government services. Freeman, on the other hand, believes that it’s because the private companies refuse service to certain individuals (say, the ones that live out in the middle of nowhere), whereas the public companies can’t turn anyone down.
Since the two agree on the phenomenon but disagree on the explanation, let’s find an answer that brings up that explanation.

Answer choices

  1. A
    accuracy of the figure Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Both speakers offer an explanation for that statistic, so they’re not disagreeing over its accuracy.

  2. B
    reason private waste–removal companies Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    Powell believes the price discrepancy is due to efficiency, whereas Freeman believes it’s because of customer selection. They disagree on the reason for the price discrepancy, so this is the correct answer.

  3. C
    ability of private versus Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Freeman brings this up as an explanation for the price discrepancy, but Powell doesn’t discuss it, making it out of scope of her argument.

  4. D
    likelihood of the local Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Neither discusses the conversion of public companies to private ones.

  5. E
    relationship between the needs Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Freeman believes that there is such a relationship. Powell doesn’t discuss differing needs, though, so this answer is out of scope of her argument.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 14%
  2. B Credited 77%
  3. C 2%
  4. D 0%
  5. E 6%

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