Q9 - Very powerful volcanic eruptions send large amounts of

[julia.lynch]

I originally answered B for this question; can someone thoroughly explain to me why B is incorrect and E is correct? Thank you!

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type: Evaluate

(This is a rare question type, but it belongs in the Assumption Family ... it essentially puts Assumptions into "whether or not" form)

Argument Core:

Conclusion:
If atmospheric volcanic ash caused China's weird weather in 43 B.C., then Mt. Etna's erupted ash must have spread over great distances

Premise:
There was weird weather in China the year after Mt. Etna erupted

In order to assess assumptions/objections to arguments, we frequently assume the opposite of the conclusion.

For example, if an author concludes that "harvard is better than stanford", it's our job to consider how we could argue that "harvard is NOT better than stanford".

However, when you disagree with a conditional conclusion, it's a little trickier.

Consider this conditional:
if we go to Six Flags, we will have a good day.

How do you argue with claim?

Is it fair to talk about having a good day WITHOUT going to Six Flags?

No. The only way to hurt that claim is to say "if we go to Six Flags, we will NOT necessarily have a good day".

So argue with this author, we need to first understand our position:
we need to accept that the weird Chinese weather WAS caused by volcanic ash in the atmosphere but argue that the ash from Mt. Etna did NOT travel over great distances.

It seems like the only way to make that idea coherent is to argue that the weird Chinese weather was caused by volcanic ash from some different, closer source.

(A) Modern equipment is totally irrelevant. We're trying to assess the cause of something in the past.

(B) This would only help elaborate the details of the EFFECT. But the conclusion is assessing the CAUSE. This answer choice has nothing to do with whether the ash in the Chinese atmosphere came from Mt. Etna or some other source.

(C) What's happening in Sicily is not our concern. We're looking to figure out whether the ash in China's atmosphere came from Mt. Etna or from elsewhere.

(D) This works! This helps us assess where the ash in China's atmosphere came from.

(E) We only care about this eruption, not subsequent ones.

(D) is the correct answer

Hope this helps