Strengthen with Sufficient Premise Questions - - Question 5

Impact craters caused by meteorites smashing into Earth have been found all around the globe, but they have been foun...

Samir-Ghani August 12, 2019

Question 5

I am having difficulty understanding this problem, would someone be able to help me please?

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Ravi August 21, 2019

@Samir-Ghani,

Let's take a look. This is a strengthen with a sufficient premise
question. We're looking for a premise that, if true, would make the
argument valid.

The conclusion in the stimulus is attempting to explain why there is a
greater abundance of craters in geologically stable regions. It says
it's because these regions have lower rates of destructive geophysical
processes. In order to make the argument valid, it would be great if
we could eliminate alternative explanations for the phenomenon. There
are possible alternative reasons for these craters being in these
reasons. It could be pure coincidence. However, if we knew for certain
that these craters weren't in these regions by coincidence (or some
other type of explanation), then this would make the argument in the
stimulus valid.

(D) says, "Actual meteorite impacts have been scattered fairly evenly
over the Earth's surface in the course of Earth's geological history."

If (D) is true, then it guarantees the conclusion, as it rules out an
alternative explanation (that the areas with a greater concentration
of impact craters have just been hit with more meteorites). This
eliminates coincidence as an alternative explanation, making the
argument valid.

Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions!