Pesticide

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Pesticide

by gmatmachoman » Fri Nov 27, 2009 1:57 am
Plant scientists have been able to genetically engineer vegetable seeds to produce crops that are highly resistant to insect damage. Although these seeds currently cost more than conventional seeds, their cost is likely to decline. Moreover, farmers planting them can use far less pesticide, and most consumers prefer vegetables grown with less pesticide, therefore, for crops for which these seeds can be developed, their use is likely to become the norm.

Which of the following would be most useful to know in evaluating the argument above?
A)Whether plant scientists have developed insect-resistant seeds for every crop that is currently grown commercially?
B)Whether farmers typically use agricultural pesticides in large amounts than is necessary to prevent crop damage?
C)Whether plants grown from the new genetically engineered seeds can be kept completely free of insect damage?
D)Whether seeds genetically engineered to produce insect-resistant crops generate significantly lower per acre crop yields than do currently used seeds?
E)Whether most varieties of crops currently grown commercially have greater natural resistance to insect damage than did similar varieties in the past.
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by papgust » Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:14 am
IMO its D

We can infer that the new seeds are highly insect-resistant and most consumers prefer vegetables grown with less pesticide. Also, the cost of new seeds is guaranteed to decline than it currently is.
But we do not know whether the new seeds produce lower per acre yields than the conventional seeds produce currently. We need to get this information before concluding that it's use is likely to become the norm. Hence this is the best choice.

Please share the OA.

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by heshamelaziry » Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:17 am
IMO d as well

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by mehravikas » Sun Nov 29, 2009 12:07 pm
Between C and D.....confused

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by gmatmachoman » Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:22 am

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by mehravikas » Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:37 am
Can someone explain why is C wrong?

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by joseph32 » Sun May 15, 2016 10:38 pm
Looking at it now, C makes sense