Consider the following scenario often found in Logical Reasoning questions asking to resolve an apparent discrepancy.
Premise A: Last year, the city of Oakhaven banned heavy commercial trucks from driving through the downtown district in order to reduce road wear and tear.
Premise B: Over the following year, the total amount of severe pavement damage on downtown roads increased by .
Match each candidate explanation below to the exact logical role it plays in relation to this apparent discrepancy.
- To comply with the ban, delivery companies replaced each large truck with ten smaller vans, significantly increasing the total cumulative vehicle weight on downtown roads.Reconciles the paradox by demonstrating how the action in Premise A inadvertently caused the outcome in Premise B.
- The city council enacted the truck ban primarily because downtown residents had organized a massive petition against the noise pollution caused by commercial vehicles.Acts as a one-sided trap by explaining the motivation for Premise A while completely ignoring the outcome in Premise B.
- The structural integrity of asphalt roads naturally degrades over time due to constant exposure to ultraviolet radiation and normal weather fluctuations.Acts as a one-sided trap by offering a general mechanism for Premise B that fails to account for the sudden change despite Premise A.
- Concurrent with the truck ban, the city entirely repaved the downtown district using a revolutionary new polymer-asphalt blend designed to be twice as durable as standard materials.Deepens the apparent discrepancy by introducing a new factor that should have made Premise B even less likely to occur.
Answer
The statement about replacing trucks with vans reconciles the paradox. The statement about the noise petition is a one-sided trap explaining Premise A. The statement about ultraviolet radiation is a one-sided trap explaining Premise B. The statement about the new polymer-asphalt deepens the discrepancy.
By explicitly analyzing the logical function of each statement, we can see that a true resolution must bridge the two conflicting premises. Traps in paradox questions frequently rely on one-sided explanations that provide background for one premise while leaving the actual contradiction unaddressed.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Identifying the precise logical role of trap answers in paradox questions, specifically recognizing explanations that account for only one side of the discrepancy.
Estimated Time:2m 0s