PrepTest 142, Section 1, Question 7
A landlord needed to replace the air-conditioning unit(55 more words not shown)
The salesperson's advice to the(11 more words not shown)
- AWhen the prices(22 more words not shown)
- BWhen a consumer(26 more words not shown)
- CA salesperson should(13 more words not shown)
- DWhen advising customers(24 more words not shown)
- EWhen a consumer(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Same price, less power? Why choose that one?
Perhaps the stronger unit is louder or uses more electricity. Either could help explain the advice, but neither is given. We shouldn't invent a downside just to make the salesperson sound sensible.
What we’re looking for
What we do know is that the FreezAll is powerful enough for this small home. The salesperson prefers it to the more powerful Sno-Queen despite the equal prices. For the principle question, find a rule that favors having enough power without choosing extra power simply because it's available. We can identify that rule without deciding whether it is the best shopping advice.
Working the answers
- A
Even if both units meet the landlord's needs, this doesn't tell us to choose the FreezAll. It would fit advice that either one is fine. The salesperson instead recommends one specific unit, so we need the feature that explains that preference.
- B
This requires the less powerful unit to be cheaper before recommending it. These units have identical prices, so that requirement is not met. B would rule out the salesperson's advice rather than support it.
- C
What counts as the best value? Equal prices don't establish equal value, and greater power doesn't automatically establish better value for a particular buyer. Nothing tells us that the FreezAll is the better value. This general instruction leaves the actual choice unexplained.
- D
We know nothing about either unit's commission. The salesperson's stated reason concerns how much power the landlord needs. We cannot assume a hidden difference in commissions to make this principle fit the recommendation.
- ECorrect
Choose the least powerful product that still meets the need. The FreezAll is the less powerful of the two units, and the salesperson says it is adequate for the home. E therefore explains the choice directly. It doesn't need the FreezAll to cost less, use less energy, or make less noise; those were possible explanations we considered, not facts supplied by the passage.
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