OG CR:Many industrialized nations are trying to

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Many industrialized nations are trying to reduce atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, a gas released by the burning of fossil fuels. One proposal is to replace conventional cement, which is made with calcium carbonate, by a new "eco-cement." This new cement, made with magnesium carbonate, absorbs large amount of carbon dioxide when exposed to the atmosphere. Therefore, using eco-cement for new concrete building projects will significantly help reduce atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

A) The cost of magnesium carbonate, currently greater than the cost of calcium carbonate, probably will fall as more magnesium carbonate is used in cement manufacture.
B) Eco-cement is strengthened when absorbed carbon dioxide reacts with the cement.
C) Before the development of eco-cement, magnesium-based cement was considered too susceptible to water erosion to be of practical use.
D) The manufacture of eco-cement uses considerably less fossil fuel per unit of cement than the manufacture of conventional cement does.
E) Most building-industry groups are unaware of the development or availability of eco-cement.

OA:D

Source:OG 2017

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by NandishSS » Tue Feb 28, 2017 5:53 pm

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Bumping the thread for the experts review.

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by crackverbal » Tue Mar 07, 2017 3:04 am

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Simplify the argument -

Eco-cement (made with magnesium carbonate) absorbs large amounts of CO2 --> Using eco-cement will reduce atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide.

Option A - Incorrect.
The cost of Magnesium carbonate is irrelevant to the discussion at hand. We are talking about whether the use of eco-cement will reduce atmospheric concentrations of CO2 or not.

Option B - Incorrect.
The strength of eco-cement is not relevant to evaluating the conclusion.

Option C - Incorrect.
Not relevant. We are not concerned about how susceptible it was to water erosion earlier or today. We are concerned about whether the use of eco-cement will reduce CO2 in the atmosphere.

Option D - Correct.
If it does not, then the conclusion that using eco-cement for new building projects will reduce CO2 in atmosphere will fall apart.

Option E - Incorrect.
The conclusion says "using eco-cement will reduce CO2". Whether industry groups are aware of eco-cement or not is not really relevant.
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by rsarashi » Sat Jun 03, 2017 6:18 pm

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Hi Experts ,

How option D can be the answer, D is just comparing between The manufacture of eco-cement and the manufacture of conventional cement.

Please help.

Thanks

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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Mon Jun 05, 2017 9:08 am

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rsarashi wrote:Hi Experts ,

How option D can be the answer, D is just comparing between The manufacture of eco-cement and the manufacture of conventional cement.

Please help.

Thanks
We know that the eco-cement has one big advantage over conventional cement: it absorbs Carbon Dioxide. If the goal is reduce the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere, all we need to know is that there's no disadvantage in manufacturing the eco-cement. In other words, the only way that using eco-Cement wouldn't be conducive to reducing greenhouse gas would be if manufacturing the eco-Cement produced more Carbon Dioxide than manufacturing conventional cement would. Option D ameliorates this concern.
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