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Difficulty: MediumResolving Paradoxes and Apparent Discrepancies

Over the past two years, an agricultural cooperative in an arid valley replaced traditional flood irrigation with an advanced drip-irrigation system across all its member farms. Although the new system reduced water usage per cultivated acre by 30 percent, total agricultural water consumption across the valley rose substantially during the same period. This increase occurred despite stable weather conditions and no changes in non-agricultural water demands.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy described above?

  1. A
    Traditional flood irrigation lost a much larger volume of water to evaporation than the new drip-irrigation system does.
  2. B
    Farmers in the valley switched to newly developed crop varieties that require even less water per plant than traditional varieties.
  3. The lower water cost per acre made farming profitable enough for member farms to expand their total cultivated land significantly by planting previously uncultivated acreage.Answer
  4. D
    Local industrial facilities in the surrounding area implemented strict water-recycling protocols during the same period.
  5. E
    The capital equipment costs of installing and maintaining the automated drip system exceeded the financial projections of many farm owners.

Answer

The correct answer is that the lower water cost per acre made farming profitable enough for farmers to expand their total cultivated land significantly by planting previously uncultivated acreage.
The correct answer resolves the paradox by bridging the rate-versus-total-volume gap. Total agricultural water consumption depends on both the water required per acre and the total number of acres farmed. If the per-acre water savings lower operating costs enough to induce farmers to cultivate significantly more land, total water usage across all land can increase even as each individual acre uses 30 percent less water.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the two contradictory empirical facts presented in the stimulus.
Fact 1: Water usage per cultivated acre decreased by 30%. Fact 2: Total agricultural water consumption in the region increased substantially.
Resolving a paradox requires finding a factor that allows both stated premises to remain true simultaneously.
2
Analyze the mathematical relationship between the rate (per acre) and the total volume.
Total Water Consumption = (Water Usage per Acre) × (Total Number of Acres). If per-acre usage drops, total volume can only increase if the total number of acres increases by a greater proportion.
Recognizing the underlying rate versus absolute total relationship highlights what missing variable is required.
3
Evaluate the answer choices to identify which one provides the necessary reconciling factor.
The option stating that farmers expanded their total cultivated land accounts for the increase in total water volume while preserving the fact that each acre used less water.
This supplies the missing cause for the overall volume increase without disputing either stated premise.

Key Concept

Resolving Paradoxes: Rate vs. Total Volume Discrepancy
Estimated Time:1m 40s
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Topics

Resolving Paradoxes and Apparent Discrepancies

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