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Difficulty: MediumStrengthening Arguments

A water utility company in a drought-prone city plans to install automated pressure-regulating valves across its subterranean pipe network. The utility argues that by dynamically reducing water pressure during low-usage overnight hours, it will significantly decrease the total volume of water lost through minor background pipe leaks across the city.

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for the water utility company's argument?

  1. In unmanaged pipe networks, water pressure naturally reaches its daily peak during overnight hours, when low residential demand causes a surge in baseline pressure.Answer
  2. B
    Automated pressure-regulating valves require higher daytime operating pressure to maintain baseline flow, which slightly increases leakage during peak morning hours.
  3. C
    Installing similar automated valves in neighboring agricultural irrigation districts reduced total seasonal water consumption by twelve percent.
  4. D
    The city's primary water treatment facility recently upgraded its filtration infrastructure to process higher daily volumetric throughput.
  5. E
    Minor background pipe leaks account for a smaller overall percentage of total lost water than catastrophic main ruptures.

Answer

The argument is most strongly supported by the fact that in unmanaged pipe networks, water pressure naturally reaches its daily peak during overnight hours when residential demand is low.
The argument concludes that reducing water pressure during low-usage overnight hours will significantly decrease total water loss from background pipe leaks. The option explaining that water pressure naturally reaches its daily peak during overnight hours due to low residential demand directly supports this claim. It demonstrates that overnight hours are precisely when unmanaged pipes experience the highest stress and leakage rates, meaning targeted overnight pressure reduction will prevent a substantial volume of lost water.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the conclusion and premises of the argument
Premise: Automated pressure valves will reduce water pressure during overnight hours. Conclusion: This action will significantly decrease total water lost through minor pipe leaks across the city.
Strengthening requires finding a premise that reinforces the logical connection between the proposed action (overnight pressure reduction) and the expected outcome (significant reduction in total leak volume).
2
Evaluate the underlying assumption and logical gap
The argument assumes that overnight hours are a significant contributor to overall leakage or that pressure reduction overnight will yield substantial volume savings.
If pressure is not particularly high overnight or if overnight leakage is negligible, reducing overnight pressure would not produce a significant overall decrease.
3
Select the choice that validates the underlying mechanism
Establishing that water pressure naturally surges to its daily peak overnight confirms that overnight hours account for a major portion of pipe leakage, making overnight pressure management highly impactful.
Connecting low demand to high baseline pressure validates why targeting overnight hours specifically yields a significant reduction in total lost water.

Key Concept

Strengthening Arguments by Confirming Key Operational Assumptions
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Strengthening Arguments

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