Q17 - A new silencing device

[armeniandude424]

A No clue how the answers for 17 and 20 are what they are, and I don't know why the better answer for 23 is not E and the better answer for 24 is not A. Please help me out here

[bbirdwell]

A No clue how the answers for 17 and 20 are what they are, and I don't know why the better answer for 23 is not E and the better answer for 24 is not A. Please help me out here

FYI - I've separated these questions, each into its own post.

For #17, the essential facts are:
1. a new device eliminates noise that appliances make.
2. this device is unlike conventional devices.

The conclusion is that the use of the device will lower electric consumption, and we need to help strengthen that idea.

(A) yep. The old design caused the vacuum to function with lower efficiency. If this is true, then the new device helps the vacuum to function with higher efficiency. It is reasonable to infer that the more-efficient vacuum will use less electricity.

None of the other answers are even close.
(B) says nothing about "how much" electricity it uses.
(C) so what?
(D) Govt standards have no bearing on the argument.
(E) Says nothing about electricity usage. If anything at all, would potentially weaken.

[armeniandude424]

Thanks

[gplaya123]

I chose D because I thought "allow higher elec. use = lower cost?" I guess this is a bad inference...

Never thought efficiency = usage of elec.

Anyway Here is my reasoning to eliminate others:

B) Make it worse.
C) I think this is would be a good answer if we assume that the new silenced one actually no longer has those features. Less features could be inferred as less cost. Again, always, answer choice that needs additional assumptions is a bad choice.
D) I clearly have committed the equivocation fallacy as shown above.
E) Worse, because heavier means more elec.