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- Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:57 pm
#71259
Complete Question Explanation
Must Be True, Numbers and Percentages. The correct answer choice is (C).
The stimulus gives us two strong pieces of information that can be combined to create the inference in the correct answer choice. First, we're told that from 1960 through 2010, the commercial fishing industry harvested "a greater percentage of the total amount of fish, by weight, in the world’s oceans in each succeeding year during that time."
Although we know that the percentage of fish harvested increased in each year, we don't necessarily know that the total harvest increased each year. For the industry's total harvest to increase each year, the total weight of fish in the sea would either have to remain the same or to increase. And if total harvest declined (or even stayed the same), then we would know that the total weight of fish in the sea would have to be declining. Because if that weight were staying the same or increasing, the increasing percentage harvested by the industry would have to lead to an increase in the harvest.
Second, we're told that the fishing industry's harvest "did not increase after 1995." Accordingly (as the above analysis states), the total weight of fish in the sea had to be declining each year from 1995 to 2010 (our prephrase). If that total weight were not declining, the increasing percentage of harvest each year would've naturally led to an increase in the harvest size each year.
Answer choice (A): The only measurements we get in the stimulus are of "fish, by weight." The stimulus never tells us the absolute number of fish (either in the sea, or being harvested by the industry). Thus, the information in the answer choice is "new information," and we cannot be certain about it.
Answer choice (B): This information goes beyond what the stimulus tells us, because we only know what changes the technical sophistication of the industry's equipment experienced, and what those changes enabled, during the years between 1960 and 2010. We do not know what happened to that technical sophistication, or what it enabled, after 2010.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer. It matches our prephrase. For the industry's harvest to stay the same each year from 1995 to 2010, even though it was capturing a greater percentage of the weight of fish in the sea in each of those years, the total weight of fish in the sea had to decline. For example, let's say the industry caught 70% of the weight of fish in the sea in 1995 and 85% of the weight of fish in the sea in 2010. And let's also say that in each of those years the industry had the same total harvest of 1,000,000 pounds. Then the total weight of fish in the sea in 1995 would've been a little over 1.4 million pounds, and the total weight of fish in the sea in 2010 would've been a little less than 1.2 million pounds (a decline).
Answer choice (D): This answer choice goes beyond what the stimulus states. We only know that the harvest did not increase after 1995. We have no way of knowing if it declined.
Answer choice (E): This information goes beyond what the stimulus tells us. We only know what happened to the technical sophistication of commercial fishing equipment between 1960 and 2010. We know nothing about what happened to that sophistication before 1960.
Must Be True, Numbers and Percentages. The correct answer choice is (C).
The stimulus gives us two strong pieces of information that can be combined to create the inference in the correct answer choice. First, we're told that from 1960 through 2010, the commercial fishing industry harvested "a greater percentage of the total amount of fish, by weight, in the world’s oceans in each succeeding year during that time."
Although we know that the percentage of fish harvested increased in each year, we don't necessarily know that the total harvest increased each year. For the industry's total harvest to increase each year, the total weight of fish in the sea would either have to remain the same or to increase. And if total harvest declined (or even stayed the same), then we would know that the total weight of fish in the sea would have to be declining. Because if that weight were staying the same or increasing, the increasing percentage harvested by the industry would have to lead to an increase in the harvest.
Second, we're told that the fishing industry's harvest "did not increase after 1995." Accordingly (as the above analysis states), the total weight of fish in the sea had to be declining each year from 1995 to 2010 (our prephrase). If that total weight were not declining, the increasing percentage of harvest each year would've naturally led to an increase in the harvest size each year.
Answer choice (A): The only measurements we get in the stimulus are of "fish, by weight." The stimulus never tells us the absolute number of fish (either in the sea, or being harvested by the industry). Thus, the information in the answer choice is "new information," and we cannot be certain about it.
Answer choice (B): This information goes beyond what the stimulus tells us, because we only know what changes the technical sophistication of the industry's equipment experienced, and what those changes enabled, during the years between 1960 and 2010. We do not know what happened to that technical sophistication, or what it enabled, after 2010.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer. It matches our prephrase. For the industry's harvest to stay the same each year from 1995 to 2010, even though it was capturing a greater percentage of the weight of fish in the sea in each of those years, the total weight of fish in the sea had to decline. For example, let's say the industry caught 70% of the weight of fish in the sea in 1995 and 85% of the weight of fish in the sea in 2010. And let's also say that in each of those years the industry had the same total harvest of 1,000,000 pounds. Then the total weight of fish in the sea in 1995 would've been a little over 1.4 million pounds, and the total weight of fish in the sea in 2010 would've been a little less than 1.2 million pounds (a decline).
Answer choice (D): This answer choice goes beyond what the stimulus states. We only know that the harvest did not increase after 1995. We have no way of knowing if it declined.
Answer choice (E): This information goes beyond what the stimulus tells us. We only know what happened to the technical sophistication of commercial fishing equipment between 1960 and 2010. We know nothing about what happened to that sophistication before 1960.
