Critical Reasoning

Beverage company representative: The plastic rings that hold six-packs of beverage cans together pose a threat to wild animals, which often become entangled in the discarded rings and suffocate as a result. Following our lead, all beverage companies will soon use only those rings consisting of a new plastic that disintegrates after only three days' exposure to sunlight. Once we all complete the switchover from the old to the new plastic rings, therefore, the threat of suffocation that plastic rings pose to wild animals will be eliminated.

11. The argument depends on which one of the following assumptions?

(A) None of the new plastic rings can disintegrate after only two days' exposure to sunlight.
(B) The switchover to the new plastic rings can be completed without causing significant financial hardship to the beverage companies.
(C) Wild animals will not become entangled in the new plastic rings before the rings have had sufficient exposure to sunlight to disintegrate.
(D) Use of the old plastic rings poses no substantial threat to wild animals other than that of suffocation.
(E) Any wild animal that becomes entangled in the old plastic rings will suffocate as a result.

12. Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the representative's argument?

(A) The switchover to the new plastic rings will take at least two more years to complete.
(B) After the beverage companies have switched over to the new plastic rings, a substantial number of the old plastic rings will persist in most aquatic and woodland environments.
(C) The new plastic rings are slightly less expensive than the old rings.
(D) The new plastic rings rarely disintegrate during shipping of beverage six-packs because most trucks that transport canned beverages protect their cargo from sunlight.
(E) The new plastic rings disintegrate into substances that are harmful to aquatic animals when ingested in substantial quantities by them.

reply2spg wrote:Beverage company representative: The plastic rings that hold six-packs of beverage cans together pose a threat to wild animals, which often become entangled in the discarded rings and suffocate as a result. Following our lead, all beverage companies will soon use only those rings consisting of a new plastic that disintegrates after only three days' exposure to sunlight. Once we all complete the switchover from the old to the new plastic rings, therefore, the threat of suffocation that plastic rings pose to wild animals will be eliminated.

11. The argument depends on which one of the following assumptions?

(A) None of the new plastic rings can disintegrate after only two days' exposure to sunlight.
(B) The switchover to the new plastic rings can be completed without causing significant financial hardship to the beverage companies.
(C) Wild animals will not become entangled in the new plastic rings before the rings have had sufficient exposure to sunlight to disintegrate.
(D) Use of the old plastic rings poses no substantial threat to wild animals other than that of suffocation.
(E) Any wild animal that becomes entangled in the old plastic rings will suffocate as a result.

The conclusion is in the end of the argument: the threat of suffocation posed by the plastic rings will be eliminated once the new rings are in use. However, the new rings don't disintegrate until they've had three days of sun exposure. So what happens if animals get tangled in the rings sometime within those three days? The conclusion depends on the assumption that they won't, because if they did, then the new rings wouldn't completely eliminate the threat. Thus, the correct answer is C.

[spoiler]11. C
12. E[/spoiler]

Thanks Andrea, I removed D because it is out of scope. Passage talks about the suffocation and D is saying about other threats. Also, if I negate D, there is no effect on conclusion.

Please let me know whether my approach is correct.

Yes C is correct for assumption question.

grockit_andrea wrote:

reply2spg wrote:Beverage company representative: The plastic rings that hold six-packs of beverage cans together pose a threat to wild animals, which often become entangled in the discarded rings and suffocate as a result. Following our lead, all beverage companies will soon use only those rings consisting of a new plastic that disintegrates after only three days' exposure to sunlight. Once we all complete the switchover from the old to the new plastic rings, therefore, the threat of suffocation that plastic rings pose to wild animals will be eliminated.

11. The argument depends on which one of the following assumptions?

(A) None of the new plastic rings can disintegrate after only two days' exposure to sunlight.
(B) The switchover to the new plastic rings can be completed without causing significant financial hardship to the beverage companies.
(C) Wild animals will not become entangled in the new plastic rings before the rings have had sufficient exposure to sunlight to disintegrate.
(D) Use of the old plastic rings poses no substantial threat to wild animals other than that of suffocation.
(E) Any wild animal that becomes entangled in the old plastic rings will suffocate as a result.

The conclusion is in the end of the argument: the threat of suffocation posed by the plastic rings will be eliminated once the new rings are in use. However, the new rings don't disintegrate until they've had three days of sun exposure. So what happens if animals get tangled in the rings sometime within those three days? The conclusion depends on the assumption that they won't, because if they did, then the new rings wouldn't completely eliminate the threat. Thus, the correct answer is C.

Your approach to the assumption question is correct; if you negate D, it has no effect on the conclusion, because the conclusion is about the threat of suffocation, not about other threats besides suffocation.

My pick is C for 11 and B for 12

Completed both in 2 mins 30 secs

reply2spg wrote:Beverage company representative: The plastic rings that hold six-packs of beverage cans together pose a threat to wild animals, which often become entangled in the discarded rings and suffocate as a result. Following our lead, all beverage companies will soon use only those rings consisting of a new plastic that disintegrates after only three days' exposure to sunlight. Once we all complete the switchover from the old to the new plastic rings, therefore, the threat of suffocation that plastic rings pose to wild animals will be eliminated.

11. The argument depends on which one of the following assumptions?

(A) None of the new plastic rings can disintegrate after only two days' exposure to sunlight.
(B) The switchover to the new plastic rings can be completed without causing significant financial hardship to the beverage companies.
(C) Wild animals will not become entangled in the new plastic rings before the rings have had sufficient exposure to sunlight to disintegrate.
(D) Use of the old plastic rings poses no substantial threat to wild animals other than that of suffocation.
(E) Any wild animal that becomes entangled in the old plastic rings will suffocate as a result.

12. Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the representative's argument?

(A) The switchover to the new plastic rings will take at least two more years to complete.
(B) After the beverage companies have switched over to the new plastic rings, a substantial number of the old plastic rings will persist in most aquatic and woodland environments.
(C) The new plastic rings are slightly less expensive than the old rings.
(D) The new plastic rings rarely disintegrate during shipping of beverage six-packs because most trucks that transport canned beverages protect their cargo from sunlight.
(E) The new plastic rings disintegrate into substances that are harmful to aquatic animals when ingested in substantial quantities by them.