Logic Breakdown

Passage Summary: Making paper look white requires adding minerals, and recycled paper needs even more of these minerals than regular paper does, so switching to recycled paper will mean using more minerals overall.

Conclusion: If recycled paper replaces other types, manufacturers will have to increase their total consumption of mineral fillers.

Reasoning: Recycled paper requires a higher concentration of filler to appear white compared to paper made from other sources.

Analysis: The argument makes a jump from the 'intensity' of filler use to the 'total volume' of filler used. For the conclusion to be true, we must assume that the total amount of paper produced won't decrease significantly enough to offset the higher filler requirement per page. You should look for an answer that addresses this gap by ensuring that the total production levels remain high enough to necessitate an overall increase in filler.

Passage Stimulus

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6.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Correct Answer
C
Correct. The argument depends on the industry still needing white writing paper. Negation test: If grayish writing paper would be a universally acceptable alternative, then manufacturers could avoid using fillers altogether, and it would no longer be guaranteed that total filler use must increase.
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