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Difficulty: HardConfusing Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

To earn the Global Eco-Standard certification, a textile manufacturer is required to source at least 80 percent of its organic cotton from certified sustainable farms. Apex Apparels recently completed a comprehensive audit establishing that over 85 percent of the organic cotton used in its manufacturing line originates from certified sustainable farms. Therefore, Apex Apparels will definitely be awarded the Global Eco-Standard certification this year.

Which of the following best describes the flaw in the argument's reasoning?

  1. A
    It relies on an unrepresentative sample of apparel manufacturers to draw a broad conclusion about industry-wide certification standards.
  2. B
    It assumes without justification that achieving the certification will automatically result in an increase in Apex Apparels' market share.
  3. It treats a requirement that must be satisfied to obtain the certification as a condition that guarantees the certification will be granted.Answer
  4. D
    It mistakes a correlation between sustainable cotton sourcing and corporate profitability for a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
  5. E
    It infers that failing to meet the cotton sourcing threshold would have no negative impact on Apex Apparels' overall brand reputation.

Answer

The argument treats a condition that is necessary for obtaining the certification as though it were sufficient to guarantee receiving the certification.
The argument establishes that sourcing at least 80 percent certified organic cotton is a necessary requirement ('is required to') for obtaining the Global Eco-Standard certification. Fulfilling a single necessary prerequisite does not guarantee that the certification will be granted, because Apex Apparels may fail to satisfy other unmentioned requirements (such as environmental compliance or waste management). The reasoning incorrectly treats this necessary prerequisite as a sufficient condition.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the premises and main conclusion of the argument.
Premise 1: Sourcing at least 80% organic cotton from sustainable farms is required for certification. Premise 2: Apex Apparels sources 85%. Conclusion: Apex Apparels will definitely be awarded the certification.
Deconstructing the argument into premises and conclusion is essential for identifying logical leaps.
2
Analyze the conditional logic in the premise.
The phrase 'is required to' introduces a necessary condition (Certification → ≥80% Sustainable Cotton). Meeting the necessary condition (≥80% Sustainable Cotton) does not logically establish that the condition is sufficient to trigger the conclusion.
Differentiating between necessary prerequisites and sufficient guarantees tests validity.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the statement that accurately reflects this logical error.
The statement asserting that the argument treats a mandatory requirement as a guarantee precisely captures the confusion between necessary and sufficient conditions.
The correct option must describe the specific structural flaw without introducing out-of-scope concepts.

Key Concept

Confusing Necessary and Sufficient Conditions
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Confusing Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

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