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Difficulty: MediumNecessary Assumption

Architect: We should construct the new civic center using engineered mass timber instead of traditional concrete and steel. Engineered timber is just as structurally sound as concrete and steel, but it has a significantly lower lifecycle carbon footprint. Therefore, by using engineered timber rather than concrete and steel, the city will reduce the overall environmental impact of the civic center's construction.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the architect's argument depends?

  1. The harvesting and processing of engineered mass timber do not produce other negative environmental consequences that outweigh its carbon footprint advantage over concrete and steel.Answer
  2. B
    A building material's lifecycle carbon footprint is the single most important factor determining its overall environmental impact.
  3. C
    Constructing the civic center with engineered mass timber will not require a larger overall budget than using traditional concrete and steel.
  4. D
    Buildings constructed with engineered mass timber are structurally identical to those built with traditional concrete and steel.
  5. E
    Traditional concrete and steel cannot be manufactured using novel methods that significantly lower their lifecycle carbon footprints.

Answer

The correct answer states that the harvesting and processing of engineered mass timber do not produce other negative environmental consequences that outweigh its carbon footprint advantage.
The architect concludes that using mass timber will reduce the overall environmental impact based solely on the premise that it has a lower carbon footprint. This assumes there are no other extreme negative environmental impacts associated with mass timber that would cancel out the carbon benefits. If we apply the Negation Test (imagining that mass timber DOES produce negative environmental consequences that outweigh its carbon advantage), the conclusion that it reduces overall environmental impact collapses. Thus, this is a strictly necessary assumption.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the conclusion and the premises.
Premise: Timber is as structurally sound as concrete/steel and has a lower carbon footprint. Conclusion: Using timber reduces overall environmental impact.
Deconstructing the argument is necessary to pinpoint the logical gap between the evidence and the final claim.
2
Locate the logical gap.
The architect equates 'lower carbon footprint' with 'lower overall environmental impact.'
Carbon footprint is just one subset of environmental impact. The argument ignores potential negative trade-offs.
3
Apply the Negation Test to the options.
Negating the correct statement creates this proposition: 'Mass timber DOES produce other negative environmental consequences that outweigh its carbon advantage.' This completely destroys the conclusion.
By definition, an argument's conclusion cannot survive if a necessary assumption is proven false.

Key Concept

Necessary Assumption (Ruling Out Alternate Disadvantages)
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Topics

Necessary Assumption

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