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Consolidated Metals manufactures only ashtrays and umbrella stands. In 1983, ashtrays accounted for 40 percent of their production. In 1993 they produced more umbrella stands than in 1983, but the increase in the number of ashtrays they produced was even greater over the same ten year period.
If all the facts above are true, which of the following must also be true?
| Passage Statement | Visualization and Linkage |
|---|---|
| Consolidated Metals manufactures only ashtrays and umbrella stands. | Establishes: Product constraint - only 2 products Key Insight: Total production = Ashtrays + Umbrella stands Example: If total production = 1000 units, then Ashtrays + Umbrella stands = 1000 units exactly |
| In 1983, ashtrays accounted for 40 percent of their production. | Establishes: 1983 baseline proportions
Example:
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| In 1993 they produced more umbrella stands than in 1983. | Establishes: Umbrella stand growth constraint Pattern: 1993 Umbrella stands > 1983 Umbrella stands Example:
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| The increase in the number of ashtrays they produced was even greater over the same ten year period. | Establishes: Comparative growth rates Pattern: Ashtray increase > Umbrella stand increase Example:
Critical Pattern: Both products increased, but ashtrays increased more in absolute terms |
| Overall Implication | Key Pattern Revealed: Since ashtrays had a larger absolute increase than umbrella stands, and total production must have grown significantly, ashtrays likely increased their share of total production from their 1983 baseline of 40%. Complete Example:
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Inference: By combining the facts about product constraints and comparative growth rates, we can conclude that Consolidated Metals increased production of both product types between 1983 and 1993, with ashtrays experiencing greater absolute growth.
Supporting Logic: Since Consolidated Metals produces only two products and both umbrella stands and ashtrays increased in absolute numbers over the ten-year period, with ashtrays showing an even greater increase than umbrella stands, the company's total production must have grown substantially. The phrase "even greater" indicates that ashtrays not only increased but increased by a larger absolute amount than umbrella stands.
Clarification Note: While we know both products increased in absolute terms with ashtrays showing greater growth, we cannot definitively conclude what happened to the percentage breakdown without specific numbers, though the pattern suggests ashtrays likely gained market share within the company's product mix.