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- Fri May 13, 2016 11:39 am
#24518
Complete Question Explanation
Resolve the Paradox. The correct answer choice is (A)
The first statement is that Japanese produced room air conditioners tend to be more reliable than US produced room air conditioners.
The second statement is that the average lifetime of a room air conditioner is equal, regardless of whether produced in the US or Japan.
You are asked to reconcile the statements, and you should look for other factors as well as the fact that air conditioners could be more or less reliable while having equal lifetimes.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. If reliability is simply a function of how often a unit needs repair, there is a distinction between lifetime and reliability. Units can have equal lifetimes, but the less reliable ones will require more repairs over their lifetimes.
Answer choice (B): You should not assume that plant locations outside of the US would allow the US machines to actually be better than the first statement proposes. That would attack the first statement rather than reconcile it to the second. You are supposed to explain why reliability and lifetime are different, not choose a response that might indicate that they ought to be more similar.
Answer choice (C): If the frequency at which units are damaged during shipping and illustration is equal between the US and Japan, that could help explain why the lifetimes are equal, but it does not explain why one is more reliable. All it does is eliminate the possibility that any reliability differences might not be because of damage during installation, so this choice is wrong.
Answer choice (D): If room air conditioners have been manufactured for a longer time in the US than in Japan, that might make it harder to understand why the US does not make more reliable machines. This choice in any case does not explain why reliability is different from lifetime, so this choice is wrong.
Answer choice (E): This response explains why the Japanese machines are more reliable, but not why there is a difference between reliability and lifetime, so this choice is wrong.
Resolve the Paradox. The correct answer choice is (A)
The first statement is that Japanese produced room air conditioners tend to be more reliable than US produced room air conditioners.
The second statement is that the average lifetime of a room air conditioner is equal, regardless of whether produced in the US or Japan.
You are asked to reconcile the statements, and you should look for other factors as well as the fact that air conditioners could be more or less reliable while having equal lifetimes.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. If reliability is simply a function of how often a unit needs repair, there is a distinction between lifetime and reliability. Units can have equal lifetimes, but the less reliable ones will require more repairs over their lifetimes.
Answer choice (B): You should not assume that plant locations outside of the US would allow the US machines to actually be better than the first statement proposes. That would attack the first statement rather than reconcile it to the second. You are supposed to explain why reliability and lifetime are different, not choose a response that might indicate that they ought to be more similar.
Answer choice (C): If the frequency at which units are damaged during shipping and illustration is equal between the US and Japan, that could help explain why the lifetimes are equal, but it does not explain why one is more reliable. All it does is eliminate the possibility that any reliability differences might not be because of damage during installation, so this choice is wrong.
Answer choice (D): If room air conditioners have been manufactured for a longer time in the US than in Japan, that might make it harder to understand why the US does not make more reliable machines. This choice in any case does not explain why reliability is different from lifetime, so this choice is wrong.
Answer choice (E): This response explains why the Japanese machines are more reliable, but not why there is a difference between reliability and lifetime, so this choice is wrong.