Q20 - In Brazil, side-by-side comparisons

[b91302310]

In this question, I think every answer more or less weaken the argument. For (C), if trees become less effectively pollinated, the bees will have less honey and the commercial honey production will decline. Does it an over-inference?

Could anyone explain it?

Thanks.

[giladedelman]

Thanks for posting!

Your suspicion is justified: you're really over-inferring to try to make answer (C) work.

We're told that in Brazil, Africanized honeybees have been shown to be superior honey producers compared to native honeybees. From this, the argument concludes that domestic commercial honey production won't decline in the United States if Africanized bees replace local ones.

(C) does not weaken this argument. We have no basis for inferring from the fact that "certain types of ornamental trees will be less effectively pollinated" that commercial honey production will decline. We don't know that less effectively pollinated trees will yield less honey, we don't know that these trees will not be offset by other trees that yield more honey, etc. Above all, we can be pretty sure that "ornamental" trees have nothing to do with "commercial" honey production. That's what ornamental means: just for decoration.

Does that answer your question?

[yama_sekander]

i can see how C is irrelevant, but i am wondering why A would be relevant as well. in my mindset, the conclusion states that if local honeybees are displaced by african honeybees, then there will be no decline in production. therefore, since answer A talks about how the bees are not frequently used in the US industry, who cares? its going to be displaced anyways. therefore, how would this weaken the conclusion?

[giladedelman]

Careful. The argument says that a comparison of native Brazilian bees and Africanized bees showed the latter to be more effective honey producers. Then it concludes that commercial honey production won't decline if local bees in the U.S. are displaced by Africanized bees. But how do we know that the Africanized ones are better than the U.S. ones? The argument is assuming that the U.S. bees are similar to or the same as the Brazilian ones. For all we know, the ranking could look like this:

1. American bees
2. Africanized bees
3. Brazilian bees

So if, as (A) suggests, the native Brazilian bees aren't the same kind used in the U.S., then the fact that the Africanized ones are better doesn't mean they're going to be better in the U.S.

You dig?

[cvfh17]

can somebody explain ME why is answer B?? THANKS

[sumukh09]

can somebody explain ME why is answer B?? THANKS

The answer is A. B would definitely weaken the conclusion.

[youmin.moon]

Guys, I understood the answer and other choices, but I don't quite follow how (E) can weaken the passage. I don't understand how foraging habits and better producing are related. Can anyone help me out with this? Thanks.

[tommywallach]

Hey Youmin,

Bees produce honey by foraging pollen/nectar from local flowers. If they can't forage, they can't produce.

-t

[onguyen228]

The author makes an assumption that if the Africanized honeybees in comparison with the native brazil honeybees were superior producers, then the Africanized honeybees in comparison with the U.S. native honeybees will be superior producers in the context of domestic commercial honey production.

(A) If the native Brazilian honeybees are not of the same variety as the native U.S. honeybees, then the Africanized honeybees being more superior producers than the Brazilian honeybees is not enough evidence to prove that they will be superior producers than the native U.S. honeybees. The author depends on the assumption that native Brazilian HB are the same as native U.S. HB. Being both natives doesn't make them the same.

Illustration:
African HB > Brazilian HB (Premise)
Brazilian HB =/= U.S. HB (new development from AC (A))
African HB >??? U.S. HB (this can't be proven)

(B) points out a factor other than superior honey production that possibly affect the commercial honey production. The author assumes that superior production is the only factor that matters and overlooks whether or not African HB are compatible to be used in commercial production. In this case, it may not be economically productive.

(C) The key word here is "certain." Just because certain types of trees will produce less effective pollinating flowers, doesn't prove honey production will decline. These certain types of trees may only make up 1% of the sources these bees collect from or it may not even be the type these bees use.

Lets say that it was safe to assume that less effective pollination from trees would cause a decline in commercial honey production. It would be an exaggeration to believe that some trees being less effectively pollinated would cause a decline in commercial honey production.

(D) Obvious weaken answer. If beekeeping is abandoned then commercial honey production should decline.

(E) This AC makes a distinction between the two environments that the author assumes to be similar or overlooks details from the two. The Africanized HB were superior producers in Brazil due to the fact that the environment was more suitable for foraging, unlike "MOST" areas in the U.S.