Frieda: Lightning causes fires and damages electronic equipment. Since lightning rods can prevent any major damage, e...

Victoria on August 26, 2019

Hi @Marissa-Avnaim,

Let's start by going through the stimulus.

Frieda argues that every building should have a lightning rod. Why? Because "lightning causes fire and damages electronic equipment" and "lightning rods can prevent any major damage."

Erik responds by telling Frieda that her "recommendation is pointless." Why? Because while "lightning occasionally causes fires," "faulty wiring and overloaded circuits cause far more fires and damage to equipment than lightning does."

We are looking for the answer choice which shows why Erik fails to demonstrate why we should not implement Frieda's recommendation. Why does Erik fail to demonstrate this? Because he does not address Frieda's recommendation; he simply points to a larger problem.

Answer choice B is incorrect because it is not required that Erik provide an alternative solution. An argument to not implement a recommendation is still valid even if an alternative solution is not provided.

Answer choice C is incorrect because Erik does not appeal to Frieda's emotions.

Answer choice D is incorrect because Erik does not compare overloaded circuits and faulty wiring. He compares both of these to lightning.

Answer choice E is incorrect because Erik does not discuss causing inconvenience in his response.

Answer choice A is correct because Erik has not shown any reason why Frieda's recommendation should not be implemented. Erik simply states that faulty wiring and overloaded circuits are a bigger problem. This does not mean that we shouldn't install lightning rods on every building nor does it provide a reason for why we should or should not do so.

Hope this is helpful! Please let us know if you have any further questions.