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Question

Difficulty: MediumApplying the Negation Technique

Conservationist: The drastic drop in local almond yields over the last two years was caused by the introduction of a new pesticide that devastated the native honeybee population, which had been the primary pollinator of the almonds. To solve this problem, we should release the Blue Orchard mason bee into our almond orchards. The Blue Orchard mason bee is highly resistant to this new pesticide. Therefore, releasing the Blue Orchard mason bee will successfully restore almond yields to their previous levels.

Which of the following statements, if logically negated, would fatally undermine the conservationist's central conclusion? Select all that apply.

  1. The Blue Orchard mason bee is capable of effectively pollinating almond trees.Answer
  2. B
    The Blue Orchard mason bee is the only insect species resistant to the new pesticide that can pollinate almonds.
  3. The new pesticide has not directly damaged the almond trees in a way that significantly reduces their capacity to produce almonds.Answer
  4. D
    The almond orchards will achieve higher crop yields than they did before the native honeybee decline.
  5. E
    The introduction of the Blue Orchard mason bee will improve the overall ecological health of the almond orchards.

Answer

The statements confirming that the mason bee can effectively pollinate almond trees and that the pesticide did not independently damage the trees' production capacity.
The correct statements represent unstated necessary assumptions in the conservationist's argument. When we apply the negation technique to them, the logical chain breaks. If the Blue Orchard mason bee cannot effectively pollinate almond trees, their introduction will fail to restore yields. Likewise, if the pesticide has already directly damaged the trees' capacity to produce almonds, merely replacing the pollinator will not achieve the desired outcome.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the argument's conclusion and premises.
Conclusion: Releasing the Blue Orchard mason bee will restore almond yields. Premises: Yields dropped because a pesticide killed the primary pollinator (native honeybee), and the mason bee is resistant to this pesticide.
Understanding the core argument structure is required to find unstated logical gaps in the reasoning.
2
Apply the negation technique to each answer choice.
Mentally negate each option to test if its falsity would make the conclusion impossible.
A necessary assumption is a statement that must be true for the conclusion to hold; therefore, its logical opposite must destroy the conclusion.
3
Evaluate the impact of the negated choices on the conclusion.
If the mason bee cannot pollinate the trees, or if the trees themselves are severely damaged by the pesticide, yields cannot be restored. Negating the other options does not prevent yields from returning to their previous levels.
This isolates the assumptions strictly required by the argument's internal logic, distinguishing them from statements that might merely strengthen the argument.

Key Concept

Applying the Negation Technique to Necessary Assumptions
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Topics

Applying the Negation Technique

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