Regulations will not allow a pesticide that is toxic to humans to be used inside houses unless the pesticide will...

GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions

Source: Official Guide

Critical Reasoning

Evaluate

MEDIUM

...

Notes

Post a Query

Regulations will not allow a pesticide that is toxic to humans to be used inside houses unless the pesticide will dissipate completely from the air within eight hours after its application. One test that pesticide manufacturers standardly use to determine how quickly anti-termite pesticides dissipate involves spraying the pesticides on the walls of room-sized plywood boxes and then timing its dissipation.

Which of the following would it be most useful to know in order to evaluate whether a dissipation time of just under eight hours on the manufacturers' test indicates that an antitermite pesticide that is toxic to humans obeys regulations for use in houses?

Whether anti-termite pesticides dissipate more slowly in furnished rooms than in plywood boxes

Whether people who apply anti-termite pesticide standardly wear protective equipment that prevents them from being exposed to the pesticide

Whether people whose house is being treated with anti-termite pesticide generally know that they should remain out of their house during the hours immediately after the pesticide's application

Whether there are anti-termite pesticides that are toxic to humans that, when subjected to the manufacturers' test, dissipate completely from the air in the boxes in well under eight hours

Whether anti-termite pesticides that are not toxic to humans tend to take longer to dissipate than those that are toxic

Solution

Passage Analysis:

Text from Passage	Analysis
Regulations will not allow a pesticide that is toxic to humans to be used inside houses unless the pesticide will dissipate completely from the air within eight hours after its application.	What it says: There's a rule that toxic pesticides can only be used in houses if they completely clear out of the air within 8 hours What it does: Sets up the key regulation that everything else will relate to What it is: Regulatory requirement/rule
One test that pesticide manufacturers standardly use to determine how quickly anti-termite pesticides dissipate involves spraying the pesticides on the walls of room-sized plywood boxes and then timing its dissipation.	What it says: Companies test how fast pesticides disappear by spraying them in plywood boxes and timing how long it takes What it does: Introduces the standard testing method used to measure what the regulation requires (8-hour dissipation) What it is: Industry testing procedure Visualization: Plywood box (room-sized) → spray pesticide on walls → start timer → measure when it's gone

Argument Flow:

The passage sets up a regulatory framework first, then describes how companies test to meet that regulation. This creates a potential gap between what the regulation requires (real houses) and how it's tested (plywood boxes).

Main Conclusion:

This passage doesn't actually make a conclusion - it's setting up information for us to evaluate. It's describing a situation where we need to determine if the testing method accurately reflects real-world conditions.

Logical Structure:

This isn't a traditional argument structure. Instead, it presents two pieces of information that may not align: (1) a regulation based on real house conditions, and (2) a testing method using artificial conditions. The question asks us to evaluate whether results from the test environment would be valid for the regulatory environment.

Prethinking:

Question type:

Evaluate - We need to find what information would help us determine whether the manufacturers' test (showing just under 8 hours dissipation) actually proves the pesticide meets regulations for real house use

Precision of Claims

The key claims involve specific conditions: 8-hour dissipation requirement, plywood box testing environment, and real house conditions. We need to evaluate whether test conditions accurately represent actual house conditions

Strategy

Since this is an evaluate question, we need to think about assumptions underlying the connection between the test results and real-world compliance. The core assumption is that plywood box conditions accurately predict house conditions. We should create scenarios that either strengthen or weaken this connection when taken to extremes

Answer Choices Explained

Whether anti-termite pesticides dissipate more slowly in furnished rooms than in plywood boxes

This directly addresses the core gap between test conditions and real-world conditions. If pesticides dissipate more slowly in furnished rooms, then a result of 'just under eight hours' in the plywood test might actually translate to over eight hours in real houses, meaning the pesticide wouldn't meet regulations. This information is crucial for evaluating whether the test accurately predicts regulatory compliance.

Whether people who apply anti-termite pesticide standardly wear protective equipment that prevents them from being exposed to the pesticide

This focuses on applicator safety during the application process, but doesn't help us evaluate whether the dissipation time measured in the test accurately reflects what happens in real houses. The regulation is about dissipation time, not application safety procedures.

Whether people whose house is being treated with anti-termite pesticide generally know that they should remain out of their house during the hours immediately after the pesticide's application

This deals with whether people follow safety protocols, but doesn't address whether the test environment accurately predicts real-world dissipation times. Knowing about evacuation procedures doesn't help us evaluate the validity of the testing method.

Whether there are anti-termite pesticides that are toxic to humans that, when subjected to the manufacturers' test, dissipate completely from the air in the boxes in well under eight hours

This tells us about other pesticides' performance in the same test, but doesn't help evaluate whether the test environment accurately represents real house conditions. We're not comparing different pesticides; we're evaluating whether the test itself is a good measure.

Whether anti-termite pesticides that are not toxic to humans tend to take longer to dissipate than those that are toxic

This compares toxic vs. non-toxic pesticides, but doesn't address the gap between test conditions and real-world conditions. The toxicity level doesn't help us evaluate whether plywood box results predict real house performance.

Rate this Solution

Tell us what you think about this solution

...

Forum Discussions

Start a new discussion

Post

Previous Attempts

Loading attempts...