Q14 - Insufficient rain can cause

[mcarmody]

I'm having troubles seeing the differences between answer choices D and E. I chose D and I'm still confused as to how either outweighs the other in this instance.

[timmydoeslsat]

We really have an argument that says this:

A can cause B.

B happened.

Therefore, A caused B.

Answer choice D shows the flaw of inferring one event caused another simply due to it being able to cause it.

Answer choice E is about sufficient and necessary conditions. We are talking about cause and effect in this stimulus.

Even if you wanted to play ball with this answer choice, we are talking about how A is sufficient to cause B. The argument never claims that it is necessary B. It infers from the fact that it is sufficient as a cause to the fact that it is necessary as a cause. This answer choice has it backwards.

[jimmy902o]

I fully understand and agree with your point about answer choice E, and agree that the stimulus never claims the rain was necessary for the price rise.


However, I am having a tough time trying to figure out we can be sure that the argument concludes a causal relationship... it says "it plays in important role". For me, this language is much to weak to derrive a causal conclusion. Very frustrating!! Any tips about how to be more sure about this next time?

[sebastiamr21]

Look more closely at this language

"Insufficient rain can cause" and then see how it jumped to "thus, the weather must have..."

This lines perfectly up with D.

I was also considering E initially but after close evaluation I was able to match up the parts of D. E was sort of confusing but as the previous post says it was backward.

[Carlystern]

I chose (D) between (A) and (D) because it used the word "infers" and this question is a "most strongly supported" which is an inference question. However, option (A) used "concludes" which would insinuate there was an argument core.

Am I correct that both answers are depicting similar concepts, but the "infers" aspect of the correct answer, (D), is one of the reasons it's correct?

I didn't choose (E) because it addressed "increase in agricultural prices" and not "faltering crops"?

[maryadkins]

This answer choice has it backwards.

Yes! (E) has things backwards.

Think about it this way: I say, "A banana peel can cause a person to slip and fall. Anna slipped and fell, so there must have been a banana peel on the ground."

What's the problem?

Just because the banana peel CAN cause a slip and fall doesn't mean it always causes them (it could have been a shifty stair or a slippery patch of ice). The flaw this argument is making is that it's assuming just because one thing CAN cause something else, it always does. (D) says as much.

(E) confuses things. If we applied the banana peel analogy to (E), we'd say the argument assumes that just because every time anyone ever slips, it's because of a banana peel, that every single time there's a banana peel, they'll slip on it. This is also a flawed argument, but it's not the flaw in this case. For it to work, we'd have to be told that weather (the banana peel) is ALWAYS what causes faltering crops and rising prices.

As for the others:

(A) isn't wrong because of the reason you gave:

I chose (D) between (A) and (D) because it used the word "infers" and this question is a "most strongly supported" which is an inference question.

Read it again"”this is a flaw question, not an inference question.

(A) is wrong because we were never told there was insufficient rain before the crisis. All we know is that crops faltered and prices went up"”that doesn't mean there was insufficient rain.

(B) isn't what the core is about. We're looking for something that addresses why there needed to be insufficient rain in order to have had a crisis at all.

(C) isn't true. The same crisis is referred to both times.

Hope this helps!