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1980 there was growing concern that the protective ozone

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1980 there was growing concern that the protective ozone

by pnk » Wed Jun 16, 2010 8:22 pm
LSAT

In 1980 there was growing concern that the protective ozone layer over the Antarctic might be decreasing and thereby allowing so much harmful ultraviolet radiation to reach the Earth that polar marine life would be damaged. Some government officials dismissed these concerns, since statistics indicated that global atmospheric ozone levels remained constant.
The relevance of the evidence cited by the government officials in support of their position would be most seriously undermined if it were true that
(A) most species of plant and animal life flourish in warm climates rather than in the polar regions
(B) decreases in the amount of atmospheric Ozone over the Antarctic ice cap tend to be seasonal rather than constant
(C) decreases in the amount of atmospheric ozone were of little concern before l980
(D) quantities of atmospheric ozone shifted away from the polar caps, correspondingly increasing ozone levels in other regions
(E) even where the amount of atmospheric ozone is normal, some ultraviolet light reaches the Earth's surface


[spoiler]OA - D; How can we drop B [/spoiler]
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by kvcpk » Wed Jun 16, 2010 8:23 pm
IMO D
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by kvcpk » Wed Jun 16, 2010 8:32 pm
Hi Pnk,

The flaw in the question is that the author is speaking about "protective ozone layer over the Antarctic" and the gov officials are speaking about "global atmospheric ozone levels". We cannot compare ozone over atlantic with ozone over globe.

So the undermining statement should show some contrast in this aspect. Which is rightly done by D.

I believe statement B is a kind of supporting statement raher than undermining. it says that decrease over atlantic is seasonal.. that doesnt give any link to what the govt officials said.

Hope this helps!!
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by Testluv » Wed Jun 16, 2010 8:38 pm
[spoiler]OA - D; How can we drop B[/spoiler]
The question asks us to find a choice that shows that the government officials' evidence is irrelevant.

Choice B speaks of "decreases" in ozone layer. But because the government officials' evidence showed that ozone was constant, choice B isn't relevant to the officials' evidence.

And because choice B is irrelevant to the officials' evidence it can't be showing that the officials' evidence is irrelevant (!)

TAKEAWAY: Read the question stem first, but don't just characterize the type. Juice the question stem for all bonus information. And if there are extra instructions, follow them religiously (there will almost always be a wrong answer waiting for someone who isn't). (If we call this question just "weaken" then choice B is more tempting. But if we ask: "Does this show that the officials' evidence is irrelevant?" choice B is less tempting.)
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