Critical Reasoning: Dialog Format
Engineer: Cranes are expensive to hire and must be operated by trained and certified operators, who charge high hourly rates. We could reduce our expenses by hiring more workers instead of using a crane for our current building project.
Site manager: That would not work. Hiring a crane will help us complete the project in the most efficient way.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the site manager's objection to the engineer's proposal?
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice neither strengthens not weakens the site manager's objection as it too general and does not necessarily promote the use of cranes.
The fact that there are many types of cranes does not necessarily mean that there is one that perfectly suits the need of the project in question, or that it will help complete the project in the most efficient way.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice weakens the site manager's objection by presenting a negative aspect of using cranes - they cause more accidents.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice weakens the site manager's objection. Stating that the use of a crane involves paying high insurance premiums only leads us to believe that hiring a crane will result in increased expenses. However, our task is to find a statement that supports the site manager's viewpoint that the use of a crane will increase the efficiency of the project.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]While it may seem to support hiring more crane operators, this answer choice neither strengthens not weakens the site manager's objection. The percentage of rise in wages does little to support either side as we do not know their original wages. For example, though the construction workers' wages rose by more percents, the crane operators wage could be 300% greater to begin with.
Be careful not to confuse a greater trend, that is a rise or drop, with a greater absolute number (the result of that rise or drop).
Fantastic work!
[[snippet]]This answer choice indirectly strengthens the site manager's objection by weakening the proposal made by the engineer. The claim that more workers could compensate for the lack of a crane is weakened by this answer choice which states that there are some things that human workers simply cannot do, no matter how many workers are involved.
