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- Mon Jun 13, 2016 7:40 am
#26462
Complete Question Explanation
Question #5: Weaken, CE. The correct answer choice is (B).
Predictable topic (global warming), predictable pattern of reasoning (causal). This argument seeks to explain a phenomenon: the phenomenon, or effect, is presented in the premises, while the explanation, or cause, functions as a conclusion:
Answer choice (A): What produced the minor gases allegedly responsible for the rise in global temperatures has no bearing on the argument. We are looking for an alternative cause for the effect, not a possible cause for the cause.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. If most of the warming occurred before 1940, while most of the buildup of gases in the atmosphere occurred after 1940, it shows that the effect occurred without the cause. Granted, “most” does not mean “all,” and it is still possible that the minor gases are making global warming even worse. Still, this answer choice clearly undermines the credibility of the explanation presented in the conclusion, making it the correct answer choice to this Weaken question.
Answer choice (C): More solar radiation appears to provide an alternative cause for the effect, but note that the amount of radiation is variable, and the differences year-to-year are slight. The overall amount of radiation received is not necessarily higher, making this answer choice irrelevant to the causal relationship outlined in the conclusion.
Answer choice (D): What’s keeping the Sun’s radiation out of the atmosphere has no bearing on the conclusion of the argument, which is about what’s keeping it in.
Answer choice (E): This Opposite answer strengthens the conclusion of the argument by showing that the buildup of minor gases is highly unusual.
Question #5: Weaken, CE. The correct answer choice is (B).
Predictable topic (global warming), predictable pattern of reasoning (causal). This argument seeks to explain a phenomenon: the phenomenon, or effect, is presented in the premises, while the explanation, or cause, functions as a conclusion:
Cause Effect
Buildup of minor gases
Avg. temperature rising (i.e. global warming)
Answer choice (A): What produced the minor gases allegedly responsible for the rise in global temperatures has no bearing on the argument. We are looking for an alternative cause for the effect, not a possible cause for the cause.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. If most of the warming occurred before 1940, while most of the buildup of gases in the atmosphere occurred after 1940, it shows that the effect occurred without the cause. Granted, “most” does not mean “all,” and it is still possible that the minor gases are making global warming even worse. Still, this answer choice clearly undermines the credibility of the explanation presented in the conclusion, making it the correct answer choice to this Weaken question.
Answer choice (C): More solar radiation appears to provide an alternative cause for the effect, but note that the amount of radiation is variable, and the differences year-to-year are slight. The overall amount of radiation received is not necessarily higher, making this answer choice irrelevant to the causal relationship outlined in the conclusion.
Answer choice (D): What’s keeping the Sun’s radiation out of the atmosphere has no bearing on the conclusion of the argument, which is about what’s keeping it in.
Answer choice (E): This Opposite answer strengthens the conclusion of the argument by showing that the buildup of minor gases is highly unusual.