PrepTest 140, Section 3, Question 12
Consumer advocate: Even if one can of fruit(53 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- AThe heavier of(20 more words not shown)
- BThe weight of(21 more words not shown)
- CNothing stops unscrupulous(11 more words not shown)
- DSome canning companies(12 more words not shown)
- EThe heavier of(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A heavier can might just give me more water to pour down the drain.
Think of canned peaches. The weight can come from peaches, from the liquid they're packed in, or even from the container itself. The advocate develops the liquid explanation: water can account for more than half the contents' weight, and companies can put different amounts of water in their cans. So weight alone doesn't guarantee more fruit or vegetables.
I'd be cautious about the claim that 'nothing stops' a company from adding extra water. If I open a can and find hardly any peaches, I may stop buying that brand. But even that possible customer reaction doesn't turn a heavier can into a guarantee of more food. And the question isn't asking us to attack the argument; it's asking for its conclusion.
What we’re looking for
What do the statements about water help establish? The opening warning: the heavier can doesn't necessarily contain more food. The rest explains why that warning makes sense.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This restates the opening warning. Extra weight needn't be extra food because water contributes to the weight too. The advocate's observations about water and canning practices support that claim, making it the conclusion.
- B
This is a supporting fact about how much of the contents' weight can be water. It explains why a can's total weight might mislead us about the amount of food. The argument uses B to support A; B is not the overall point.
- C
This is another supporting statement. The opportunity to add different amounts of water helps explain why heavier cans needn't contain more food. Even if we question the absolute wording, its role remains evidence offered for the opening claim.
- D
The argument says companies could include different amounts of water; it doesn't establish that particular companies actually include less food in equal-weight cans. More importantly, the stated conclusion compares a heavier can with a lighter one and denies that greater weight guarantees more food. D isn't that claim.
- E
Extra water is a possible explanation for the weight difference. But the conclusion concerns how much food the cans contain. E stays with the supporting explanation and leaves out the warning the advocate draws from it.
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