Necessary AssumptionDiff: Easy
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: An employee claims their company is one of the worst polluters among small firms because just five companies, including theirs, account for more than half of the group's total pollution.
Conclusion: The speaker's chemical company produces a higher volume of pollutants than the majority of other small chemical companies.
Reasoning: Out of a group of 30 small companies, the speaker's company and four others are responsible for 60 percent of the total pollutants released.
Analysis: The 'gap' here is the distribution of pollutants among those top five companies. We know the group of five produces 60%, but we don't know if the speaker's company is a 'heavy hitter' or a 'lightweight' within that specific subgroup. For the conclusion to be true, the speaker's company cannot be releasing a tiny fraction of that 60% while the other four do all the heavy lifting. The argument requires an assumption that the speaker's company is not significantly cleaner than the other four companies in that top bracket.
Conclusion: The speaker's chemical company produces a higher volume of pollutants than the majority of other small chemical companies.
Reasoning: Out of a group of 30 small companies, the speaker's company and four others are responsible for 60 percent of the total pollutants released.
Analysis: The 'gap' here is the distribution of pollutants among those top five companies. We know the group of five produces 60%, but we don't know if the speaker's company is a 'heavy hitter' or a 'lightweight' within that specific subgroup. For the conclusion to be true, the speaker's company cannot be releasing a tiny fraction of that 60% while the other four do all the heavy lifting. The argument requires an assumption that the speaker's company is not significantly cleaner than the other four companies in that top bracket.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage4.Which one of the following is an assumption required by the employee's argument?
Correct Answer
D
This bridges the key gap. Negation test: Suppose the four other companies together account for very close to 60% of the total. Then the employee’s company could contribute only a tiny fraction, and we could not infer it pollutes more than most. That destroys the argument, so D is required.
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