I definitely understand why (E) is a correct answer, but why can't (D) be also correct? This question pertains to leachate and landfills.
Thank you so much!
Prep 4. Section 1. Question 12 Forum
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eternallearner
- Posts: 101
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2009 6:11 pm
Re: Prep 4. Section 1. Question 12
Another question:
Prep 5. Section 1. Question 15. The correct answer involved survival advantage. However, when one thinks about survival advantage, one assumes that that individual who possesses the undesirable trait will perish. However, I do not think that those individuals actually perished; they just simply did not use their left hand. If the question stem implied that those left handed individuals were banned from the community or even sentenced to death, I can definitely see how (A) is a right choice. However,being punished is not a severe form of "survival advantage."
Please help!
Prep 5. Section 1. Question 15. The correct answer involved survival advantage. However, when one thinks about survival advantage, one assumes that that individual who possesses the undesirable trait will perish. However, I do not think that those individuals actually perished; they just simply did not use their left hand. If the question stem implied that those left handed individuals were banned from the community or even sentenced to death, I can definitely see how (A) is a right choice. However,being punished is not a severe form of "survival advantage."
Please help!
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matt@atlaslsat
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:34 pm
Re: Prep 4. Section 1. Question 12
PT4, S1, Q12 - Leachate is a solution
There are three claims in this stimulus.
1. If, and only, if the landfill's capacity to hold liquids is exceeded does the leachate escape into the environment.
2. Most landfill leachate is sent directly to sewage treatment plants.
3. Not all sewage plants are capable of handling the highly contaminated water.
We need to find an answer that we can infer from one or more of these statements.
(A) may be true and seems to make sense, but is an unsupported prediction. It may not help solve the problem, however.
(B) contradicts the stimulus. The first claim says that leachate will escape into the environment if, and only if, the landfill's capacity is exceeded - not if leachate permeates a landfill.
(C) is not necessarily true. We know that not all sewage plants are capable of handling the highly contaminated water. That does not mean that no sewage plants are capable of handling leachate.
(D) attempts to combine the second and third statement. However, no inference can be made from combining a SOME statement in the third claim and a MOST statement in the second claim. According to these two claims, it's possible that all leachate is sent directly to only those sewage treatment plants that are capable of handling the contaminated water.
(E) must be true. This is part of what can be inferred from the contrapositive of the first statement.
There are three claims in this stimulus.
1. If, and only, if the landfill's capacity to hold liquids is exceeded does the leachate escape into the environment.
2. Most landfill leachate is sent directly to sewage treatment plants.
3. Not all sewage plants are capable of handling the highly contaminated water.
We need to find an answer that we can infer from one or more of these statements.
(A) may be true and seems to make sense, but is an unsupported prediction. It may not help solve the problem, however.
(B) contradicts the stimulus. The first claim says that leachate will escape into the environment if, and only if, the landfill's capacity is exceeded - not if leachate permeates a landfill.
(C) is not necessarily true. We know that not all sewage plants are capable of handling the highly contaminated water. That does not mean that no sewage plants are capable of handling leachate.
(D) attempts to combine the second and third statement. However, no inference can be made from combining a SOME statement in the third claim and a MOST statement in the second claim. According to these two claims, it's possible that all leachate is sent directly to only those sewage treatment plants that are capable of handling the contaminated water.
(E) must be true. This is part of what can be inferred from the contrapositive of the first statement.
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matt@atlaslsat
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:34 pm
Re: Prep 4. Section 1. Question 12
PT5, S1, Q15 - It is almost impossible to
Let's think about the structure of this interesting question.
Speaking abstractly...
M's statement amounts to an observed phenomenon.
Q's statement offers an explanation for why the observed phenomenon is occurring.
Q's statement serves to undermine the use of the phenomenon by M to offer an alternative explanation.
Back into the words of the stimulus.
Most old people are right handed. Hmm. Why? Well maybe, right-handed people live longer. Or maybe left-handed people were taught to use their right hand for things like writing and eating. By Q offering the explanation that old people were taught to use their right hands for writing and eating, Q undermines the possible alternative explanation that right-handed people live longer. So answer choice (A) is one possible explanation of the statistic cited by M, but Q provides an alternative to this explanation. Thus, answer choice (A) is correct.
(A) is an alternative explanation undermined by Q's statement.
(B) is irrelevant. Social attitudes may or may not change, but this would not offer an alternative explanation for why so many old people are right-handed.
(C) is unsupported. There may have been harm caused by forcing people to switch handedness. Even if it were supported, it still wouldn't be correct. The correct answer should be an alternative explanation.
(D) might be tempting in that it relates handedness with genetic predispositions. This answer choice would have been better had it said that the genetic predisposition was for a longer life span.
(E) supports Q's statement but is not an alternative explanation to it.
Let's think about the structure of this interesting question.
Speaking abstractly...
M's statement amounts to an observed phenomenon.
Q's statement offers an explanation for why the observed phenomenon is occurring.
Q's statement serves to undermine the use of the phenomenon by M to offer an alternative explanation.
Back into the words of the stimulus.
Most old people are right handed. Hmm. Why? Well maybe, right-handed people live longer. Or maybe left-handed people were taught to use their right hand for things like writing and eating. By Q offering the explanation that old people were taught to use their right hands for writing and eating, Q undermines the possible alternative explanation that right-handed people live longer. So answer choice (A) is one possible explanation of the statistic cited by M, but Q provides an alternative to this explanation. Thus, answer choice (A) is correct.
(A) is an alternative explanation undermined by Q's statement.
(B) is irrelevant. Social attitudes may or may not change, but this would not offer an alternative explanation for why so many old people are right-handed.
(C) is unsupported. There may have been harm caused by forcing people to switch handedness. Even if it were supported, it still wouldn't be correct. The correct answer should be an alternative explanation.
(D) might be tempting in that it relates handedness with genetic predispositions. This answer choice would have been better had it said that the genetic predisposition was for a longer life span.
(E) supports Q's statement but is not an alternative explanation to it.
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