A landlord needed to replace the air-conditioning unit in a small rental home. The salesperson at the appliance store...

Skylar on November 14, 2019

@Adri Happy to help!

We are looking for the answer that provides a principle that the passage most closely conforms to. The answer could be either about the salesperson or the consumer, as long is it provides a principle that is well illustrated by the passage.

(E) is correct not because it focuses on the consumer, but because it illustrates a principle that is seen in the passage. It says that "when a consumer [here, the landlord] is choosing a home appliance [here, the air conditioning unit], that consumer should choose the least powerful product [here, FreezAll] that meets his or her needs." This follows the logic of the passage exactly.

(C) is incorrect not becuase it focuses on the salesman, but because it illustrates a principle that is the opposite to what is seen in the passage. It states, "a salesperson should always recommend that a customer buy the product that represents the best value." However, the salesperson in this case does the opposite of this. The salesperson does not recommend Sno-Queen, even though it "was the most powerful unit for the price," but instead recommends the less-powerful but good enough FreezAll. Note that this logic is all under the assumption that being the most powerful translates to having the most value. If this is not true and some other unknown factor like long-lastingness played into the calculation of value, (C) would still be wrong because we do not have enough information to say which unit is most valuable to know if the passage conformed to the principle.

Does that help? Let us know if you have any additional questions!