PrepTest 150

Incorrect. The stimulus doesn't deal with pollution at all, and it's irrelevant to the contention that geothermal plants will be in more areas. If the argument were about these plants being more environmentally friendly, then this answer would be in contention.

Incorrect. The plants producing power more economically is a comparison of output vs. cost, so their production is already baked into the comparison. Additionally, the advocates' position is only about accessibility, not whether they'll be able to replace conventional plants.

Incorrect. By stating that these plants aren't economical overall, it undermines the advocates' position.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen

Stimulus Summary:
Where reachable by drilling, geothermal plants are more economical than fossil fuel plants. Advocates argue that there will soon be more places where these plants are economical.

Answer Anticipation:
The spread of these plants is currently limited by being accessible through drilling. If advocates believe that they will spread to more areas, then it must be the case that more areas will be accessible by drilling. Either drilling is getting better, or something about the Earth is changing to make it easier to reach these areas, or some other change is happening that would have the same impact.

Answer Explanation:
This answer provides information that the current limitation on where geothermal plants are economical will soon be overcome, thus supporting the advocates' position that there will soon be more of them.

Key Takeaway:
If a limitation is presented in the stimulus, it's usually relevant in reaching the correct answer, so be sure to pay attention to it.

Incorrect. If all power plants will become cheaper, it might shift the economics of geothermal plants around so they're no longer better than conventional plants. For example, if these advances decrease the costs of geothermal plants by 15%, but conventional plants by 40%, the economics might shift in favor of conventional plants, even where drilling is easy.