The government of Lemaria subsidizes its coal mining operations; as a result, coal-based energy prices are relatively low for consumers,...

GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions

Source: Mock

Critical Reasoning

Strengthen

MEDIUM

...

Notes

Post a Query

The government of Lemaria subsidizes its coal mining operations; as a result, coal-based energy prices are relatively low for consumers, and most of the electricity generated in Lemaria is generated in coal burning plants. In an effort to encourage power companies to switch from coal to less polluting fuel, the government's energy commission plans to discontinue subsidies for coal.

Which of the following, if true, lends the most support to a prediction that by enacting the plan the energy commission will achieve its goal?

Most coal that is used in Lemaria is used to generate electricity.

Sources of energy that pollute less than coal are now only slightly more costly in Lemaria than coal is.

Converting a coal-burning power plant to the use of an alternative fuel entails a substantial cost.

The Lemarian government does not currently subsidize any fuels other than coal that can be used to generate electricity.

Previous initiatives by Lemaria's government aimed at reducing pollution from energy production have all been designed to promote a reduction in energy usage by consumers.

Solution

Passage Analysis:

Text from Passage	Analysis
The government of Lemaria subsidizes its coal mining operations	What it says: Lemaria's government gives financial support to coal mining companies What it does: Sets up the background context for the situation What it is: Author's factual claim about government policy
as a result, coal-based energy prices are relatively low for consumers, and most of the electricity generated in Lemaria is generated in coal burning plants	What it says: Because of subsidies, coal energy is cheap and dominates electricity production What it does: Shows the direct consequences of the subsidies mentioned before What it is: Author's explanation of cause-and-effect Visualization: Government subsidies → Cheap coal energy → 70-80% of electricity from coal plants
In an effort to encourage power companies to switch from coal to less polluting fuel, the government's energy commission plans to discontinue subsidies for coal	What it says: The energy commission wants to stop coal subsidies to push companies toward cleaner energy What it does: Introduces the commission's goal and their planned method to achieve it What it is: Author's statement of the commission's plan and objective Visualization: Remove subsidies → Coal becomes more expensive → Companies switch to cleaner fuels

Argument Flow:

The argument flows from describing the current situation (subsidized coal dominates energy) to presenting a plan (remove subsidies to encourage switching to cleaner fuels). We need to find what would make this plan successful.

Main Conclusion:

There isn't actually a conclusion in this passage - it's setting up a scenario where we need to determine what would help the energy commission achieve its goal of getting companies to switch from coal to cleaner energy.

Logical Structure:

This is a plan-evaluation setup rather than a complete argument. The commission assumes that removing subsidies (making coal more expensive) will cause power companies to switch to less polluting alternatives. The question asks us to find evidence that would support this assumption.

Prethinking:

Question type:

Strengthen - We need to find information that makes it more likely the energy commission will achieve its goal of encouraging power companies to switch from coal to less polluting fuel by discontinuing subsidies

Precision of Claims

The key claim is about activity - whether power companies will actually switch from coal to cleaner fuels when subsidies are removed. We need to focus on what would make this behavioral change more likely to happen

Strategy

Since this is a strengthen question, we need to think about what new information would increase our belief that removing coal subsidies will actually cause power companies to switch to cleaner fuels. The plan assumes that making coal more expensive (by removing subsidies) will motivate the switch. We should look for scenarios that support this cause-and-effect relationship or eliminate potential obstacles to the plan working

Answer Choices Explained

Most coal that is used in Lemaria is used to generate electricity.

This tells us that most coal in Lemaria is used for electricity generation, but this doesn't help us predict whether the commission's plan will work. Even if we know coal is primarily used for electricity, we still don't know if removing subsidies will be enough to motivate companies to switch to cleaner alternatives. This doesn't strengthen the likelihood of the plan succeeding.

Sources of energy that pollute less than coal are now only slightly more costly in Lemaria than coal is.

This is exactly what we need to strengthen the plan! If cleaner energy sources are currently only slightly more expensive than subsidized coal, then removing the coal subsidies will make coal more expensive and likely push cleaner alternatives to become the cheaper option. This creates a strong economic incentive for power companies to switch, making the commission's goal very achievable.

Converting a coal-burning power plant to the use of an alternative fuel entails a substantial cost.

This actually weakens the plan rather than strengthening it. If converting coal plants to use alternative fuels requires substantial costs, then power companies will be reluctant to switch even if coal becomes more expensive. The high conversion costs create a barrier that makes the plan less likely to succeed.

The Lemarian government does not currently subsidize any fuels other than coal that can be used to generate electricity.

This tells us the government doesn't subsidize other fuels, but this doesn't help predict success. We still don't know if the relative prices will motivate switching when coal subsidies are removed. Without knowing the price relationships, we can't determine if the plan will work.

Previous initiatives by Lemaria's government aimed at reducing pollution from energy production have all been designed to promote a reduction in energy usage by consumers.

This discusses previous government initiatives focused on reducing consumer energy usage, which is completely different from the current plan that focuses on getting power companies to switch fuel types. This information about past initiatives doesn't help us evaluate whether this new plan will succeed.

Rate this Solution

Tell us what you think about this solution

...

Forum Discussions

Start a new discussion

Post

Previous Attempts

Loading attempts...