Logical reasoning PrepTest 104 · Section 1 · Question 13

Question prompt

Problems caused by the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

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

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Strengthen with Necessary Premise Questions

Stimulus Summary

Problems from landfills are worst for countries from $4-5k per capita economic output
Why? - Industrialization initially makes pollution problems bad until the country has enough money to deal with it
Country X - Per capita income is currently $5k
Conclusion - Country X will see landfill problems go down

Answer Anticipation

The conclusion here is a prediction - Country X will soon see the problems they face due to landfills decrease. Normally, when an argument makes a prediction, it’s assuming that what is currently true will continue into the future.
However, in this case, the stimulus presents a generalization that allows such a prediction to be made. It establishes that such problems “are worst” for countries that have a per capita economic output of $4-5k - a certainty that would allow us to predict a decline in these problems for Country X, assuming that it moves out of this range.
Right now, Country X is at $5k - the upper limit. So in order to justify a prediction that Country X will soon be out of this range, the argument is assuming that Country X will continue to industrialize and move out of this range.
(Note that it assumes that the country is growing out of the range, not falling below it. Why? Because industrialization is a widespread development of industry in a country, so even if the process stalls out, it doesn’t lead to a decrease in economic output. Those industries still exist, and we’re dealing with a timeline of the “next few years.”)

Answer choices

  1. A
    Within the next few Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    The argument requires that Country X develop to the point where they have “resources to tackle such problems.” That doesn't necessarily involve imposing a system of fines - it might involve the government stepping in and directly addressing any problems.

  2. B
    Countries surrounding Country X Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    There’s no discussion of the impact of surrounding countries on a given one, so this answer is out of scope.

  3. C
    Industrial development in Country Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    This answer establishes that Country X will continue to undergo industrialization, growing their per capita output above the $5k threshold, and thus moving out of the range where the problems are “worst.” This justifies the prediction that the problems will soon diminish. If industrial development doesn’t continue, then there’s no indication that the per capita economic output will break that $5k line, invalidating the prediction. This answer is therefore a necessary premise.

  4. D
    Country X will begin Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    In the early stages of industrialization, according to the stimulus, pollution problems increase, so, if anything, this answer undercuts the argument.

  5. E
    No other country with Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    A comparison to other countries doesn’t affect the conclusion about the future of Country X.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 10%
  2. B 3%
  3. C Credited 83%
  4. D 3%
  5. E 1%

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