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In Arumville, among those young children with elevated

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In Arumville, among those young children with elevated

by BTGmoderatorDC » Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:43 pm

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In Arumville, among those young children with elevated levels lead in their blood, few leave in houses containing lead-based paint, but many leave in
areas where vehicular traffic is heavy. These children's elevated blood-lead levels probably result from lead added to gas, since, although gasoline sold in and around Arumville has been lead-free since 1990, lead from vehicle exhaust remains in the soil for many years.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A: Sale of lead-based paint for use in homes was banned in Arumville in 1977
B: Vehicle traffic in most residential areas of Arumville is heavier today than it was twenty years ago
C: Some lead in the soil comes from deteriorating lead-based paint on the exterior of buildings
D: In Arumville, children's blood-lead levels typically rise during the warm summer months when children frequently play outdoors but not in the winter when children spend more time indoors.
E: If improperly carried out, the removal of lead-based paint from older houses can significantly the risk that children living in such houses will ingest lead dust.

Why D is the best option?

OA D
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by SaaSquatch » Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:28 pm

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lheiannie07 wrote:In Arumville, among those young children with elevated levels lead in their blood, few leave in houses containing lead-based paint, but many leave in
areas where vehicular traffic is heavy. These children's elevated blood-lead levels probably result from lead added to gas, since, although gasoline sold in and around Arumville has been lead-free since 1990, lead from vehicle exhaust remains in the soil for many years.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A: Sale of lead-based paint for use in homes was banned in Arumville in 1977
B: Vehicle traffic in most residential areas of Arumville is heavier today than it was twenty years ago
C: Some lead in the soil comes from deteriorating lead-based paint on the exterior of buildings
D: In Arumville, children's blood-lead levels typically rise during the warm summer months when children frequently play outdoors but not in the winter when children spend more time indoors.
E: If improperly carried out, the removal of lead-based paint from older houses can significantly the risk that children living in such houses will ingest lead dust.

Why D is the best option?

OA D
I believe C is the answer since it adds force to the notion that there is lead in the soil.
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by ErikaPrepScholar » Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:06 am

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We want to STRENGTHEN the argument in the passage -- we'll start by putting that argument in our own words so we don't get mixed up: elevated lead levels in children is caused by lead added to gasoline before 1990, which still exists in the soil. This means we want to choose an answer that strengthens the tie between elevated lead in children and lead from gasoline in the soil.

A: Sale of lead-based paint for use in homes was banned in Arumville in 1977
This has nothing to do with gasoline or soil, so we should be suspicious. We've already established in the passage that very few children live in houses with lead-based paint, so it doesn't really matter whether or not the pain was banned - it isn't a factor in the argument. Eliminate.

B: Vehicle traffic in most residential areas of Arumville is heavier today than it was twenty years ago
We know that present-day vehicle traffic doesn't matter to our argument - only gas before 1990 had lead in it. So increased vehicle traffic today has no impact on lead in the soil. Eliminate.

C: Some lead in the soil comes from deteriorating lead-based paint on the exterior of buildings
This says that there is another source of lead in the soil. This supports the idea that soil is the cause of elevated lead levels in children - but that isn't our argument! The argument is specifically that lead added to gasoline (which is now in the soil) is the cause of these elevated lead levels, not that any kind of lead in the soil is the cause. If anything, this weakens our argument, since it presents another possible source of the elevated lead levels. Eliminate.

D: In Arumville, children's blood-lead levels typically rise during the warm summer months when children frequently play outdoors but not in the winter when children spend more time indoors.
If children are outdoors, they are spending more time in contact with the soil that contains lead. If they are indoors, they are spending less time in contact with the soil that contains lead. This supports the relationship between contact with lead-containing soil and increased lead levels. Let's keep this one.

E: If improperly carried out, the removal of lead-based paint from older houses can significantly the risk that children living in such houses will ingest lead dust.
Like in A, we've already established that very few of the children with high lead levels live in houses with lead-based paint, so this point is irrelevant. Even if the children did live in houses with lead-based paint, this statement would weaken our argument, as it would present another possible source of the elevated lead levels. Eliminate.

This leaves us with D as our correct answer.
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by BTGmoderatorDC » Tue May 29, 2018 9:28 pm

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SaaSquatch wrote:
lheiannie07 wrote:In Arumville, among those young children with elevated levels lead in their blood, few leave in houses containing lead-based paint, but many leave in
areas where vehicular traffic is heavy. These children's elevated blood-lead levels probably result from lead added to gas, since, although gasoline sold in and around Arumville has been lead-free since 1990, lead from vehicle exhaust remains in the soil for many years.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
A: Sale of lead-based paint for use in homes was banned in Arumville in 1977
B: Vehicle traffic in most residential areas of Arumville is heavier today than it was twenty years ago
C: Some lead in the soil comes from deteriorating lead-based paint on the exterior of buildings
D: In Arumville, children's blood-lead levels typically rise during the warm summer months when children frequently play outdoors but not in the winter when children spend more time indoors.
E: If improperly carried out, the removal of lead-based paint from older houses can significantly the risk that children living in such houses will ingest lead dust.

Why D is the best option?

OA D
I believe C is the answer since it adds force to the notion that there is lead in the soil.
Can you expound on this?
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