QUESTION TEXT: Farmer: Crops genetically engineered to…
QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption
CONCLUSION: Using genetically modified (GMO) crops will help wildlife.
REASONING: GMO crops don’t need pesticides, and pesticides sprayed on crops hurt wildlife.
ANALYSIS: The author is assuming that the GMO crops won’t harm wildlife, or will harm them less than pesticides do.
___________
- CORRECT. If this isn’t true, then GMO crops will not be better than pesticides.
Negation: GMO crops will cause at least as much harm as pesticides. - This is a silly statement. “Even slightly” could mean one micro-gram less pesticides. This sort of answer could never impact anything.
- It doesn’t matter if GMO crops are never sprayed with pesticides. It only matters whether they are sprayed less often.
Negation: GMO crops are sprayed with pesticides, but only 0.000000001% as much as regular crops. - It doesn’t matter how much crops cost. Cost would affect whether GMO crops are used, but the stimulus is only about what happens if they are used. That’s a different question.
- Ugh, what a complex answer.
We’re trying to prove that GMO crops will help. This answer adds a necessary condition for GMO crops helping. That’s no good. Adding an extra necessary condition makes it harder to do something.
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Annie says
This one confuses me. On prediction, I really honed in on the fact that it says the genetically altered crops will help wildlife RECOVER. So the assumption I was looking for was that planting altered crops will reduce spraying, and if spraying is reduced, wildlife will recover. How does less harm equate recovery? Thanks!