Q22 - The temperature in Taychester is always

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Explain/Resolve EXCEPT

Stimulus Breakdown:
FACT 1: The temp in T is always colder than the temp in C.
YET, FACT 2: Average resident of C spends more on winter heating than avg resident of T.

Answer Anticipation:
Given that Charlesville is the warmer city, why do their residents pay more for winter heating?
Maybe they like it warmer.
Maybe their utility companies just charge more money.
Maybe their houses are worse.
Maybe fewer people live in each house, so there's less body heat and less economy of scale?

Correct Answer:
B

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) This helps to explain … C may have warmer temps, but they experience more heat loss, thus they might need to run their heater more.

(B) CORRECT. This is irrelevant. The information told us that T is "ALWAYS at least 10 degrees lower", so I don't care how cold it gets at night in C. It's still coldER in T.

(C) This helps to explain … C might not have run the heater as much / as hard, but if their utility rates are higher, they could still end up spending more.

(D) This helps to explain … the people in C are spoiled by their warmer outdoor temps and so they tend to set their thermostats higher than do the people in T

(E) This helps to explain … the houses in T are better insulated, so their heating systems work more efficiently and thus they don't need to spend as much.

Takeaway/Pattern: The challenge of Paradox-EXCEPT questions is that the four stories that help explain can often involve thinking in completely different ways. In this case, the correct answer seems nicely useless as long as we noted when we read the stimulus that it's ALWAYS colder in Taychester.

#officialexplanation

[YudeS218]

I am confused.

From some kind of common sense, I think the meaning of "the temperature in T is always at least 10 degrees lower than C" is that the daily temperature, to be more specific, every day's daily temperature, T is at least ten degrees lower than C; not necessarily means that in every single minute T has to be ten or more degrees lower than C.

Therefore, B may help explain because although C's temperature drops dramatically at night, the daily temperature of C is still ten degrees higher than T, and because of its cold night, more heating expenses might be incurred, therefore.

[JinZ551]

What does ''heat loss due to wind'' mean?
Does it happen indoor or outdoor?

[JenniferK632]

I'd like to second this question, if that's ok. I know we're supposed to accept premises as given, but answer choices too? I immediately chose (A) by thinking that we were comparing indoor temperatures of houses, not general city temperatures outdoors.

What does ''heat loss due to wind'' mean?
Does it happen indoor or outdoor?

[dmitry]

Yes, we definitely want to take the answers as given, as well. Note that the question stem itself says "Each of the following, if true . . . " That's standard wording for these, as for Strengthen, Weaken, and others.

As for the content of A, I can see how an answer about wind would make us think about indoor vs. outdoor, but we don't need to expand our question outdoors to connect this answer. Since the scenario deals only with heating expenses, we just have to ask if wind could cause heat loss on a house. And sure, it can, the same way it does on our bodies, by carrying off the heat we are producing. So A is suggesting that homes in Charlesville may need to run the heat more to make up for the excess heat that is carried off on the wind. Tricky, but admissible!