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?
- ATraditional flood irrigation lost a much larger volume of water to evaporation than the new drip-irrigation system does.
- BFarmers in the valley switched to newly developed crop varieties that require even less water per plant than traditional varieties.
- 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.Cevap
- DLocal industrial facilities in the surrounding area implemented strict water-recycling protocols during the same period.
- EThe capital equipment costs of installing and maintaining the automated drip system exceeded the financial projections of many farm owners.
Cevap
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.
Adım Adım Çözüm
Anahtar Kavram
Resolving Paradoxes: Rate vs. Total Volume Discrepancy
Tahmini Süre:1m 40s