#22 - The temperature in Taychester is always at least 10

[Administrator]

Please post your questions below! Thank you!

[nschlesi]

Hi, I do not understand why B is the correct answer. The fact that the temperature in Charlesville drops steeply at night does not seem to adequately explain why the residents would be spending more on heating than Taychester residents would. After all, if the temperature in Taychester is "always at least 10 degrees lower" than in Charlesville, then wouldn't Taychester's temperature be even lower at night? I thought the paradox existed because residents in Charlesville spent more on heating even though the temperature was warmer...

I chose D and although I understand that it isn't an airtight answer, it seems to better resolve the paradox than B. It doesn't contradict the stimulus by saying that Charlesville is actually colder than Taychester, it just provides a reason as to why the residents of Charlesville might have to spend more on heating.

[Adam Tyson]

Your analysis of both of those answers is good, nschlesi! The issue is that the question stem is not asking for an answer that resolves the paradox, but for the one answer that does NOT resolve it! It's a Resolve-Except question, meaning the four wrong answers will resolve it and the right answer won't.

As you correctly deduced, answer B doesn't help, but in this case that makes it the right answer! Pay careful attention to the question stem, and don't miss the "except" aspect of it. When faced with an Except question, the stem is describing the four wrong answers, and you should select the one answer that does not do what the stem describes. For example, "each of the following, if true, undermines the argument above EXCEPT" means that the four wrong answer WILL weaken the argument, and the correct answer WILL NOT weaken it.

Easy mistake to make, but one that is easily correctable by careful reading. That's crucial on this test, just as it is in law school and in the practice of law. Be careful out there!

[ShannonOh22]

I'm having trouble seeing how B does NOT resolve the paradox...if Charlesville's temperature drops "steeply" at night, would that not explain the increase in heat expenses...? I equated it to the desert - temps are really high during the day, but it cools down substantially at night - sometimes a difference of 50+ degrees over a single 24 hour period. While the daytime temps between the two cities may stay at a 10 degree difference, if Charlesville's temperature drops significantly at night, that would account for turning the heat up right?

Also...I chose E on this one because a difference of 10 degrees doesn't seem to constitute an entirely different "climate"...obviously E isn't the correct answer, but can someone please explain why?

Thank you in advance for your help!

[Paul Marsh]

Hi Shannon! Answer choice (B) doesn't resolve the paradox because of the word "always" in the stimulus. Taychester is always at least 10 degrees colder, day or night. That means even if Charlesville's temperatures drop way down at night, Taychester's nighttime temperatures are still at least 10 degrees lower! So (B) doesn't do much to explain why the Taychester residents are spending so much less on heating despite always having lower temperatures.

Answer choice (E), on the other hand, offers an explanation - Taychester residents have better insulated houses! As anyone from my hometown of Chicago can tell you, your heating bills are going to go way up in the winter if your insulation isn't up to snuff. Difference in insulation gives one reason as to how the Taychester residents can spend less on heating even though the temperatures are chillier. Hope that helps!

[lina2020]

Hi PowerScore, would you please explain how answer choice C helps resolve the paradox: "Utility rates in Taychester are lower than utility rates in Charlesville"? If the utility rates are lower in Taychester, I would imagine they would be more inclined to spend money on heating..

[Adam Tyson]

Don't make any assumptions that aren't supported by the information provided, lina2020. There is nothing in answer C to suggest that people with lower utility rates will decide to raise the thermostat! The information in that answer helps resolve the paradox of why people in Taychester pay less overall than people in Charlesville because it simply costs less to run the heat there. Do lower costs for heat help to explain lower total expenditures for heat? Absolutely! This answer may not be a complete solution, especially since Taychester is colder and we don't know how much lower the rates are or at what temperature people in either place like to set the temperature in their homes, but it doesn't have to be a complete solution. It only has to help!

[mahsan]

Hi,

I was between A and B for this one and chose A because my reasoning was that even if heat loss in Taychester was less than in Charlesville, it's still always 10 degrees cooler in Taychester.

Am I misinterpreting or going beyond the scope of what A is suggesting?

[Adam Tyson]

If heat loss in Charlesville is higher than in Taychester, mahsan, then perhaps people there need to run the heat more often or at higher temperatures to compensate for that loss, compared to the people in Taychester who don't need to compensate as much. It might not make up the difference, but then again, it might! That's all the answer has to do - just help. Just MAYBE that explains why the folks in Charlesville pay more. Maybe in Taychester they can run the heat just for a little while, and then turn it off for most of the day while their home retains that heat. Meanwhile, in warmer Charlesville, they keep the heat running all day long because even though it is warmer than Taychester, the Charlesville homes are not retaining that heat as well. It's basically the same as answer E in that way.

[cd1010]

Is it ok to say that another reason why B is wrong is because it is not comparative? I'm not sure if this point is generalizable, or particular to this question. The stimulus is presenting a paradoxical issue relating to two cities. In B, we're only presented with information regarding one city, but no additional info about how this new point relates to the other. Sure, "temperatures in Charlesville drop steeply at night", but we don't know by how much, and how much relative to the temp in Taychester. And as the explanation said, T is always colder anyway.