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Difficulty: MediumStrengthening Arguments

A city plans to introduce high-speed automated optical sorting machines at its primary municipal recycling facility to process post-consumer textile waste. Currently, textile recycling is limited because manual sorting cannot efficiently distinguish between pure cotton and synthetic-blend fabrics. City officials claim that deploying these optical sorters will double the annual volume of pure cotton recovered and sold to textile manufacturers. Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for the city officials' claim?

  1. A
    Operating high-speed optical sorting machines requires frequent calibration stops that reduce the facility's total daily processing hours.
  2. The volume of textile waste delivered to the facility currently contains more than enough uncollected pure cotton to support a doubling of recovered output.Answer
  3. C
    Textile manufacturers have recently increased their demand for recycled synthetic fibers to produce athletic performance apparel.
  4. D
    Manual sorting techniques for paper and plastic recycling in the same facility achieved high purity rates prior to automation.
  5. E
    The municipal recycling facility was originally constructed to handle only rigid plastics and glass containers.

Answer

The argument is most strengthened by establishing that the incoming waste stream contains a sufficient volume of pure cotton to allow the recovered output to double.
The city officials' claim relies on the assumption that the main bottleneck to recovering pure cotton is sorting efficiency rather than raw supply. Showing that incoming waste already contains sufficient pure cotton eliminates the possibility of a supply shortage, thereby directly strengthening the conclusion that output can double.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the premise and conclusion of the argument.
Premise: Manual sorting fails to distinguish pure cotton from synthetic blends. Conclusion: Automated optical sorting will double the volume of pure cotton recovered and sold.
Understanding the logic gap helps determine what assumption or missing link is necessary to support the conclusion.
2
Evaluate potential weaknesses or unstated assumptions in the reasoning.
The argument assumes that technology is the only limiting factor. If incoming waste lacks enough pure cotton, improved sorting technology alone cannot double output.
A valid strengthening statement must address a potential bottleneck or validate a core underlying assumption.
3
Select the option that confirms the necessary supply condition.
Confirming that the raw waste already contains enough uncollected pure cotton proves that doubling output is physically viable.
This directly strengthens the feasibility of the city officials' claim.

Key Concept

Strengthening Causal & Plan-Based Arguments by Confirming Key Assumptions
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Topics

Strengthening Arguments

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