the city of Los Diablos:

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the city of Los Diablos:

by \'manpreet singh » Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:48 am
In 1986, the city of Los Diablos had 20 days on which air pollution reached unhealthful amounts and a smog alert was put into effect. In early 1987, new air pollution control measures were enacted, but the city had smog alerts on 31 days that year and on 39 days the following year. In 1989, however, the number of smog alerts in Los Diablos dropped to sixteen. The main air pollutants in Los Diablos are ozone and carbon monoxide, and since 1986 the levels of both have been monitored by gas spectrography.
Which of the following statements, assuming that each is true, would be LEAST helpful in explaining the air pollution levels in Los Diablos between 1986 and 1989?
(A) The 1987 air pollution control measures enacted in Los Diablos were put into effect in November of 1988.
(B) In December of 1988 a new and far more accurate gas spectrometer was invented.
(C) In February of 1989, the Pollution Control Board of Los Diablos revised the scale used to determine the amount of air pollution considered unhealthful.
(D) In 1988 the mayor of Los Diablos was found to have accepted large campaign donations from local industries and to have exempted those same industries from air pollution control measures.
(E) Excess ozone and carbon monoxide require a minimum of two years to break down naturally in the atmosphere above a given area.

OA B

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by Java_85 » Tue Aug 27, 2013 9:13 am
A, C, E clearly help explaining the pollution level changes. I was between choices B and D , but D can be also helpful in explaining the pollution levels. So I agree with the OA answer i.e. B.

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by vinay1983 » Tue Aug 27, 2013 9:16 am
Hmmm interesting one, very confusing, irritating para too.I think i will go with B, just because it is saying something about Gas Spectrometer, which does not really aid/affect the argument.

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by \'manpreet singh » Wed Aug 28, 2013 8:18 am
Source is kaplan question bank.

the reason B is correct is that it says something is invented ,but whether that invention is used or not is not clear.Hence it does not explain the phenomena as well as other options.

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by sana.noor » Wed Aug 28, 2013 8:14 pm
Okay! A,C,D and E each explains air pollution levels
(A) The 1987 air pollution control measures enacted in Los Diablos were put into effect in November of 1988 (it tells that in 1988 pollution control measures were put into effect in Los Diablos)
(B) In December of 1988 a new and far more accurate gas spectrometer was invented. (did they used this spectrometer in Los Diablos, a simple invention took place but we do not know where it happened and does Los Diablos used it)
(C) In February of 1989, the Pollution Control Board of Los Diablos revised the scale used to determine the amount of air pollution considered unhealthful. (again pollution control board of LOS Diablos revised the scale, so it explains pollution control measure)
(D) In 1988 the mayor of Los Diablos was found to have accepted large campaign donations from local industries and to have exempted those same industries from air pollution control measures. (again the mayor of Los Diablos accepted large campaign donations for pollution control measures)
(E) Excess ozone and carbon monoxide require a minimum of two years to break down naturally in the atmosphere above a given area. (it explains the main air pollutants of Los Diablos: ozone and carbon monoxide)

by the way it was an intresting question
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by KapTeacherEli » Sat Aug 31, 2013 12:43 pm
Looks like this one's been pretty well addressed, but to clarify:

(B) mentions that the spectrometer was invented, not that it was in use. Moreover, even if a more accurate spectrometer were invented and put immediately into service, that wouldn't actually provide any explanation. Why should the less accurate one consistently overmeasure the smog? And, why was the smog steadily increasing despite the same old detector being in use from 86-88? (B) doesn't help at all, since it's the right answer.

One of these wrong answers is a little more complicated than it appears, though. (C) does not actually explain the rise and decrease of pollution, as it appears to. Remember, the questions asks about pollution levels, not about frequency of pollution alerts. However, the information about the revised scale does still help provide an explanation for the anomalous readings--rather than the 1986 policies mysteriously failing at first causing changes three years later, we simply have policies that did nothing at all, but whose failure was masked by this new scale. This conclusions is a lot less counterintuitive and paradoxical that the stem originally appeared, so the answer choice is helpful for explaining the odd record.
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by Mission2012 » Tue Sep 03, 2013 8:55 am
'manpreet singh wrote:In 1986, the city of Los Diablos had 20 days on which air pollution reached unhealthful amounts and a smog alert was put into effect. In early 1987, new air pollution control measures were enacted, but the city had smog alerts on 31 days that year and on 39 days the following year. In 1989, however, the number of smog alerts in Los Diablos dropped to sixteen. The main air pollutants in Los Diablos are ozone and carbon monoxide, and since 1986 the levels of both have been monitored by gas spectrography.
Which of the following statements, assuming that each is true, would be LEAST helpful in explaining the air pollution levels in Los Diablos between 1986 and 1989?
(A) The 1987 air pollution control measures enacted in Los Diablos were put into effect in November of 1988.
(B) In December of 1988 a new and far more accurate gas spectrometer was invented.
(C) In February of 1989, the Pollution Control Board of Los Diablos revised the scale used to determine the amount of air pollution considered unhealthful.
(D) In 1988 the mayor of Los Diablos was found to have accepted large campaign donations from local industries and to have exempted those same industries from air pollution control measures.

If mayor took donation from the industries and in return exempted them from pollution control measure then it should lead to more pollution in 1988 onwards. How does this explain the paradox

(E) Excess ozone and carbon monoxide require a minimum of two years to break down naturally in the atmosphere above a given area.

OA B
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