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This is indeed a difficult one...

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by [email protected] » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:13 am
Inorganic pesticides remain active on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables for several days after spraying, while organic pesticides dissipate within a few hours after application, leaving the surface of the sprayed produce free of pesticide residue. Therefore, when purchasing from a farm that uses inorganic pesticides, one must be careful to wash the produce thoroughly before eating it to prevent the ingestion of toxins. But one need not worry about ingesting pesticides when purchasing from farms that use only organic pesticides.

The argument above assumes that

A] Consumers are aware of the origins of the produce they purchase.

B] Produce from farms that use organic pesticides reaches the consumer within hours after it is picked or harvested.

C] No farm uses both organic and inorganic pesticides.

D] No pesticide is capable of penetrating the skin of a fruit or vegetable.

E] The use of either type of pesticide does not increase the cost of produce.


The given OA is D.

The first thing to understand is recognizing the premise and the conclusion.

According to me the conclusion should be the whole ' Therefore, when purchasing from a farm that uses inorganic pesticides, one must be careful to wash the produce thoroughly before eating it to prevent the ingestion of toxins. But one need not worry about ingesting pesticides when purchasing from farms that use only organic pesticides.'

If this whole part is the conclusion then C stands out. C is the actual assumption.

But if only 'But one need not worry about ingesting pesticides when purchasing from farms that use only organic pesticides.' is the conclusion, then D should be the OA.

The official solution that I have says that the D is the OA. Please explain and also help me recognize the premise and the conclusion in this argument.

Thank you.
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Source: — Critical Reasoning |

by [email protected] » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:18 am
A clear indication 'Therefore' is given in the stimulus to prove that the overall is the conclusion.
Therefore, C is the answer choice. The author is asking you to be careful for inorganic pesticides and not careful for organic ones. If this is the conclusion then the people should be able to identify the two farms properly. So if C is negated, then the overall argument drops.

How can only the last part be the conclusion.

Please reply...
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:43 am
Essentially we have:

1. Evidence about organic and inorganic pesticides
2. A conclusion about farms that use inorganic pesticides
3. A conclusion about farms that use only organic pesticides

C is not required to be true for the argument to work. If there are farms that use both types, they would fall into the first conclusion: their products should be washed.

D works. The argument is about the activity of the pesticides on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables. If pesticides can penetrate deeper, then it is possible that these chemicals may still be ingested despite washing the fruits or vegetables.
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by [email protected] » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:21 am
Therefore, when purchasing from a farm that uses inorganic pesticides, one must be careful to wash the produce thoroughly before eating it to prevent the ingestion of toxins. But one need not worry about ingesting pesticides when purchasing from farms that use only organic pesticides.


What about the conclusion? help me understand.
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by vk_vinayak » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:25 am
When I read the question, I was almost sure that something on the lines of C would be the answer. But when I read D, I went back to the stimulus and noticed the only in the last line of the stimulus, and chose D.
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by vk_vinayak » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:27 am
[email protected] wrote:Therefore, when purchasing from a farm that uses inorganic pesticides, one must be careful to wash the produce thoroughly before eating it to prevent the ingestion of toxins. But one need not worry about ingesting pesticides when purchasing from farms that use only organic pesticides.


What about the conclusion? help me understand.
This whole thing (combination of two sentences) is the conclusion.
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by Gaurav 2013-fall » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:28 am
very good question !
Thanks for posting! I got this one wrong though!
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that! (Rocky VI)
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:29 am
The common link between both parts of the conclusion is the ingestion of pesticides. If a farm uses inorganic pesticides, you must wash the produce to avoid ingestion; if it only uses organic pesticides, you need not wash the produce to avoid ingestion.

D creates a scenario in which pesticides may still be ingested.
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by patanjali.purpose » Mon Jun 18, 2012 1:00 pm
[email protected] wrote:Inorganic pesticides remain active on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables for several days after spraying, while organic pesticides dissipate within a few hours after application, leaving the surface of the sprayed produce free of pesticide residue. Therefore, when purchasing from a farm that uses inorganic pesticides, one must be careful to wash the produce thoroughly before eating it to prevent the ingestion of toxins. But one need not worry about ingesting pesticides when purchasing from farms that use only organic pesticides.

The argument above assumes that

A] Consumers are aware of the origins of the produce they purchase.
B] Produce from farms that use organic pesticides reaches the consumer within hours after it is picked or harvested.
C] No farm uses both organic and inorganic pesticides.
D] No pesticide is capable of penetrating the skin of a fruit or vegetable.
E] The use of either type of pesticide does not increase the cost of produce. The given OA is D.
I think Bill explained it very well. Couple of points to add:
1) this is very similar to a problem in OG12 (mylaria fever)
2) C is concerned about USAGE of one type of pesticide (either organic or inorganic) - usage of both is not the point of discussion
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by simba2012 » Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:43 pm
Amit,
what is the source of this question?
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by karthikpandian19 » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:42 pm
The first time when i went through the question, my answer was D.

Reasoning below:

Therefore, when purchasing from a farm that uses inorganic pesticides, one must be careful to wash the produce thoroughly before eating it to prevent the ingestion of toxins.

The sentence stresses you "to wash thoroughly before eating rather than anything else".
It stresses the importance of washing and eating (as you can see them in the sentence as Main clause and other "when purchasing from a farm" as dependent clause)

So, see below:
[email protected] wrote:Inorganic pesticides remain active on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables for several days after spraying, while organic pesticides dissipate within a few hours after application, leaving the surface of the sprayed produce free of pesticide residue. Therefore, when purchasing from a farm that uses inorganic pesticides, one must be careful to wash the produce thoroughly before eating it to prevent the ingestion of toxins. But one need not worry about ingesting pesticides when purchasing from farms that use only organic pesticides.

The argument above assumes that

A] Consumers are aware of the origins of the produce they purchase. - Irrelevant doesnt talk anything about the main stimulus

B] Produce from farms that use organic pesticides reaches the consumer within hours after it is picked or harvested. - Irrelevant ...of delivery process

C] No farm uses both organic and inorganic pesticides. - Again for this u can refer Bill's explanation, that, Organic and Inorganic produce can come from anywhere or same place

D] No pesticide is capable of penetrating the skin of a fruit or vegetable....rightly assumed

E] The use of either type of pesticide does not increase the cost of produce.---Cost is irrelevant


The given OA is D.

The first thing to understand is recognizing the premise and the conclusion.

According to me the conclusion should be the whole ' Therefore, when purchasing from a farm that uses inorganic pesticides, one must be careful to wash the produce thoroughly before eating it to prevent the ingestion of toxins. But one need not worry about ingesting pesticides when purchasing from farms that use only organic pesticides.'

If this whole part is the conclusion then C stands out. C is the actual assumption.

But if only 'But one need not worry about ingesting pesticides when purchasing from farms that use only organic pesticides.' is the conclusion, then D should be the OA.

The official solution that I have says that the D is the OA. Please explain and also help me recognize the premise and the conclusion in this argument.

Thank you.
Regards,
Karthik
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by vinaym89 » Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:23 am
Hi

Could someone give a slightly more detailed explanation as to why option A is wrong. In my opinion, if consumers are not aware of whether a farm uses inorganic or organic pesticides, how are they not to worry or worry about the presence of pesticide residue.

I agree that option D is right. But want to really understand why A is wrong as well.
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by mv12 » Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:32 pm
I chose B as the answer, but after re-reading the question , I noticed that the whole argument is based on the skin of the vegetables. and option D correctly used this point.

So answer should be D.

Thanks Bill for your inputs.
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:21 am
mv12 wrote:I chose B as the answer, but after re-reading the question , I noticed that the whole argument is based on the skin of the vegetables. and option D correctly used this point.

So answer should be D.

Thanks Bill for your inputs.
Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference :)
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