CR Explanation Needed!!!

Shadow · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:31 am Post subject: CR Explanation Needed!!!

Scientists have made genetic modifications to cotton to increase its resistance to insect pests. According to farmers’ reports, the amount of insecticide needed per acre to control insect pests was only slightly lower for those who tried the modified seed than for those who did not. Therefore, since the modified seed costs more than ordinary seed without
producing yields of higher market value, switching to the modified seed would be unlikely to benefit most cotton farmers economically.
Which of the following would it be most useful to know in order to evaluate the argument?

A. Whether farmers who tried the modified cotton seed had ever tried growing other crops from genetically modified seed
B. Whether the insecticides typically used on ordinary cotton tend to be more expensive than insecticides typically used on other crops
C. Whether for most farmers who grow cotton it is their primary crop
D. Whether the farmers who have tried the modified seed planted as many acres of cotton, on average, as farmers using the ordinary seed did
E. Whether most of the farmers who tried the modified seed did so because they had previously had to use exceptionally large quantities of insecticide

discreet · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:22 am Post subject:

Is it D?

In order to evaluate the cost effectiveness,it's important to know if the no. of acres used for farming is the same in both cases....what is the answer ?

givemeanid · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:55 am Post subject:

A is out of scope because it talks about 'growing other crops'
B is again out of scope since it talks about 'other crops'. Whether the insecticide is more/less expensive than the one used on other crops is irrelevant
C Whether cotton is a primary crop is irrelevant
D Number of acres does not affect the argument since according to the passage, insecticide 'per acre' was slightly lower.
E CORRECT
Whether most of the farmers who tried the modified seed did so because they had previously had to use exceptionally large quantities of insecticide is important to know because if the farmers were using a lot more insecticide before the genetic seed, then it would definitely benefit the farmers. The arguments states "modified seed would be unlikely to benefit most cotton farmers economically."

jayhawk2001 · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:39 pm Post subject: Re: CR Explanation Needed!!!

A - out of scope
B - Talks about cost. Possible reason to explore if this is economically
viable. cost * diff in qty can lead to greater savings if cost is high.
C - Does not really help
D - Amount per acre is not substantially different. So, large area vs
small area does not help a whole lot
E - Cannot directly conclude on economic viability. The price
difference between the (new qty + genetically modified seeds) and
the old qty of insecticide can be either greater or lesser.

Tough call between B and E but given the above, I'll go with B

radhika1306 · Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 1:14 pm Post subject:

E
what's the OA

chatekar · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 3:18 am Post subject:

I agree with jayhawk2001
I go with B

jan08 · Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:00 am Post subject:

OA please?

sankruth · Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:17 pm Post subject:

Why not consider D?

Expense on insectcide is not much different. But cost of seeds is much higher for GM cotton compared to ordinary cotton. So, the only differentiater is the cost of seeds. Higher cost of seeds can be offset by higher yield.

The argument says it did not produce yield of higher value but that could be because farmers using GM seeds did not plant as many acres as ordinary cotton, which D addresses.

mayonnai5e · Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:59 pm Post subject:

sibbineni · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:17 am Post subject:

I Will go with B

OA please.

Suggest me if iam wrong

sibbineni · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:19 am Post subject:

I Will go with B

OA please.

Suggest me if iam wrong