lionsshare wrote:In Merina commercial fossil hunters often sell important fossils they have found, not to universities or museums, but to individual collectors, who pay much better but generally do not allow researchers access to their collections. To increase the number of fossils available for research, some legislators propose requiring all fossils that are found in Merina to be sold only to universities or museums.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly indicates that the legislators' proposal will fail to achieve its goal?

(A) Some fossil hunters in Merina are not commercial fossil hunters, but rather are amateurs who keep the fossils that they find.
(B) Most fossils found in Merina are common types that have little scientific interest.
(C) Commercial fossil hunters in Merina currently sell some of the fossils they find to universities and museums.
(D) Many universities in Merina do not engage in fossil research.
(E) Most fossils are found by commercial fossil hunters, and they would give up looking for fossils if they were no longer allowed to sell to individual collectors.

PREMISE: Fossils often sold to individual collectors
PREMISE: Collectors typically do not give researchers access to fossils
CONCLUSION: Forcing fossil Hunters to sell fossils only to universities or museums will increase fossils available for research
SHORTENED CONCLUSION: Proposed law will increase the number fossils available for research

Let's check the answer choices while reminding ourselves of the conclusion...

A) Does this weaken the conclusion that the proposed law will increase the number fossils available for research?
NO. This premise has no bearing on the conclusion. The pro/amateur status of the person who found a fossil doesn't matter, since the proposed law would require all found fossils to be sold only to universities or museums.

B) Does this weaken the conclusion that the proposed law will increase the number fossils available for research?
NO. Just because most fossils are uninteresting doesn't mean that interesting fossils are not found.

C) Does this weaken the conclusion that the proposed law will increase the number fossils available for research?
NO. The word "some" tells us that at least one fossil is sold to universities and museums. If there were a law that required ALL fossils to be sold to University's museums then the number of fossils available for research would definitely increase.

D) Does this weaken the conclusion that the proposed law will increase the number fossils available for research?
NO. The conclusion is all about the availability of fossils available for research, not weather every University studies fossils

E) Does this weaken the conclusion that the proposed law will increase the number fossils available for research?
YES! If the fossil hunters stop looking for fossils of then the availability of fossils will NOT increase

Answer: E