Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumWeakening Arguments

To reduce financial losses caused by perishable produce spoilage, a regional supermarket chain plans to replace its standard delivery trucks with high-speed refrigerated vans, cutting transit time from distribution warehouses to retail stores by 40 percent. Company executives argue that because fruits and vegetables degrade continuously while in transit, this faster transport schedule will significantly decrease the proportion of produce that spoils before reaching store shelves. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the executives' argument?

  1. The vast majority of produce spoilage occurs during backroom holding periods at retail stores prior to shelf placement due to inadequate store refrigeration capacity.Answer
  2. B
    High-speed refrigerated vans maintain more consistent internal storage temperatures during transit than standard delivery trucks do.
  3. C
    The initial capital expenditure required to purchase the new fleet of vans exceeds the expected monetary savings from reduced food waste over the first two years.
  4. D
    Competing grocery chains have successfully lowered their logistics expenses by outsourcing delivery routes to independent third-party carriers.
  5. E
    Produce shipments transported during winter months experience minimal spoilage regardless of the type of vehicle utilized.

Answer

The argument is most seriously weakened by the statement that the vast majority of produce spoilage occurs during backroom holding periods at retail stores prior to shelf placement due to inadequate store refrigeration capacity.
The executives assume that transit time is a major driver of overall produce spoilage before shelf placement. The correct option demonstrates that the vast majority of spoilage happens after transit while produce waits in store backrooms with poor refrigeration. Because transit is not the primary point of failure, cutting transit time will not significantly decrease the proportion of produce that spoils.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the premise and conclusion of the argument.
Premise: Produce degrades continuously during transit, and high-speed vans will reduce transit time by 40%. Conclusion: Faster transport will significantly decrease the proportion of produce that spoils before reaching shelves.
Understanding the precise logical link between the premise (transit time reduction) and the conclusion (spoilage reduction) is required to identify unstated assumptions.
2
Identify the central assumption.
The argument assumes that transit duration is a primary cause of total pre-shelf spoilage, and that eliminating transit time will substantially impact total spoilage rates.
A weakening statement must target this underlying assumption by showing that transit time reduction will not produce the expected outcome.
3
Evaluate the choices to find new information that undermines the central assumption.
The correct choice reveals that the primary location of spoilage is backroom store holding areas, not transit. Thus, reducing transit time leaves the main source of spoilage completely unaddressed.
Demonstrating an unaddressed major bottleneck undermines the claim that the plan will achieve its intended goal.

Key Concept

Plan-to-Goal Weakening and Bottleneck Identification
Rate this question

Topics

Weakening Arguments

More questions from this topic