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Difficult CR

by [email protected] » Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:05 am
In response to the increasing cost of producing energy through traditional means, such as combustion, many utility companies have begun investing in renewable energy sources, chiefly wind and solar power, hoping someday to rely on them completely and thus lower energy costs. The utility companies claim that although these sources require significant initial capital investment, they will provide stable energy supplies at low cost. As a result, these sources will be less risky for the utilities than nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil, and coal, whose prices can fluctuate dramatically according to availability. The claim of the utility companies presupposes which of the following?

"¢ The public will embrace the development of wind and solar power.

"¢ No new deposits of gas, oil, and coal will be discovered in the near future.

"¢ Weather patterns are consistent and predictable.

"¢ The necessary technology for conversion to wind and solar power is not more expensive than the technology needed to create energy through combustion.

"¢ Obtaining energy from nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil and coal, cannot be made less risky.





OA is C. how on earth is the oa c for this question.

Less risky in terms of price or something else. This question is not understood so easily. Could any of the experts plsss help understanding this question...
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by avik.ch » Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:29 am
[email protected] wrote:how on earth is the oa c for this question.
I am not getting what you mean here, are you referring to real world scenario.

[email protected] wrote:

Less risky in terms of price or something else. This question is not understood so easily. Could any of the experts plsss help understanding this question...
less risky in terms of price - as according to the stimulus the price is dependent on the availability.

As a result, these sources will be less risky for the utilities than nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil, and coal, whose prices can fluctuate dramatically according to availability
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by GMATGuruNY » Sat Jan 28, 2012 5:29 am
[email protected] wrote:In response to the increasing cost of producing energy through traditional means, such as combustion, many utility companies have begun investing in renewable energy sources, chiefly wind and solar power, hoping someday to rely on them completely and thus lower energy costs. The utility companies claim that although these sources require significant initial capital investment, they will provide stable energy supplies at low cost. As a result, these sources will be less risky for the utilities than nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil, and coal, whose prices can fluctuate dramatically according to availability. The claim of the utility companies presupposes which of the following?

"¢ The public will embrace the development of wind and solar power.

"¢ No new deposits of gas, oil, and coal will be discovered in the near future.

"¢ Weather patterns are consistent and predictable.

"¢ The necessary technology for conversion to wind and solar power is not more expensive than the technology needed to create energy through combustion.

"¢ Obtaining energy from nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil and coal, cannot be made less risky.
This CR exhibits a LANGUAGE SHIFT.

The premise is about X: Renewable energy sources can be obtained at low COST.
The conclusion is about Y: These sources will be less RISKY.

The passage assumes that X is connected to Y: that low COST = less RISK.
For the conclusion to be valid, what must be true?
That there are NO OTHER RISKS -- aside from cost -- associated with renewable energy sources.

Answer choice C: The argument assumes that weather patterns are consistent and predictable.
Correct. In order to conclude that renewable energy sources are LESS RISKY, it must be true that weather patterns are CONSISTENT and PREDICTABLE.

The correct answer is C.
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by gmatdriller » Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:57 am
Option E:

if other sources ultimately become less risky, thus warranting a shift
from traditional to renewable sources, are we not assuming that traditional sources (
gas, oil, and coal) will not become (or be made) less risky?

Like saying, we are rejecting X and accepting Y because option Y has a prospect
of been associated with reason A.
I feel its a noteworthy presumption to say that X will not be associated with reason A;
otherwise, there is no justification for moving from X to Y.

Someone please correct my reasoning.
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by LalaB » Sun Jan 29, 2012 12:57 am
I had doubts among B,C and E
GMATGuruNY, could u please be so kind to explain what is wrong with B and E?

my view on B "No new deposits of gas, oil, and coal will be discovered in the near future."-

in the text it is mentioned, that "As a result, these sources will be less risky for the utilities than nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil, and coal, whose prices can fluctuate dramatically according to availability. "

if new deposits are found, then the sources wont be so risky.

The same explanation can be given for answer choice C. since weather patterns are consistent and predictable, then these sources are less risky.

as for E "Obtaining energy from nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil and coal, cannot be made less risky. ",
using ur logic "The passage assumes that X is connected to Y: that low COST = less RISK. For the conclusion to be valid, what must be true? ", we can conclude, that E is also ok

please explain me in detail, how to ignore B and E
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:50 am
LalaB wrote:I had doubts among B,C and E
GMATGuruNY, could u please be so kind to explain what is wrong with B and E?

my view on B "No new deposits of gas, oil, and coal will be discovered in the near future."-

in the text it is mentioned, that "As a result, these sources will be less risky for the utilities than nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil, and coal, whose prices can fluctuate dramatically according to availability. "

if new deposits are found, then the sources wont be so risky.

The same explanation can be given for answer choice C. since weather patterns are consistent and predictable, then these sources are less risky.

as for E "Obtaining energy from nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil and coal, cannot be made less risky. ",
using ur logic "The passage assumes that X is connected to Y: that low COST = less RISK. For the conclusion to be valid, what must be true? ", we can conclude, that E is also ok

please explain me in detail, how to ignore B and E
B: No new deposits of gas, oil, and coal will be discovered in the near future.
Too extreme. For the conclusion to be valid, it does not have to be true that NO new deposits -- not even ONE -- will be discovered. Eliminate B.

D: The necessary technology for conversion to wind and solar power is not more expensive than the technology needed to create energy through combustion.
No. This answer choice merely confirms the PREMISE that renewable energy sources require significant capital investment. The assumption is what must be true in order to CONNECT this premise to the conclusion. Eliminate D.

E: Obtaining energy from nonrenewable sources, such as gas, oil and coal, cannot be made less risky.
No. It is given as a PREMISE that nonrenewable sources cannot be made less risky because the prices of non-renewable energy sources can fluctuate dramatically according to availability. A PREMISE is a fact that cannot be changed. The assumption is what must be true for this premise to support the conclusion: that RENEWABLE energy sources will become less risky. Eliminate E.
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by ArunangsuSahu » Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:40 pm
Presupposes means "ASSUMPTION"

So If they are not predictable whole Argument/Conclusion fails

(C)
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by [email protected] » Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:53 pm
Thank You GmatGuru!!! for a wonderful explanation... Basically this is defender-assumption question according to the Powerscore Gmat Bible. Where did I go wrong is that I questioned the stated premise in the question... the premise actually says that the cost or the initial investment is the problem and so the assumption should state that other parameters should remain constant for argument to be a valid one... I got it!!! thanx gmatguru!!!
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