Computer scientist: For several decades, the number of transistors on new computer microchips, and hence the microchi...

shunhe on May 31, 2020

Hi @jingjingxiao11111@gmail.com,

Thanks for the question! This is a deceptively simple one because the correct answer choice is literally going to just parrot information in the stimulus here. Let’s take a look at the stimulus. We’re told by a computer scientist that the number of transistors on new computer microchips has doubled every 18 months for several decades. But since the mid-1990s into the next decade, each such doubling in computing speed was accompanied by a doubling in cost.

Now we are asked for which one of the following can be properly inferred from the computer scientist’s statements. In other words, this is a must be true question, and the correct answer choice is going to be any answer choice that is directly supported by the passage. Obviously, a rephrasing of one of the sentences in the passage is going to be supported by the passage. And this is what the correct answer choice (D) is. (D) tells us that from the mid 1990s into the next decade, a doubling in the cost of fabricating new computer microchips accompanied each doubling in the number of transistors on the microchips. This is basically just restating the last sentence of the stimulus, but because it is such a restatement, it can be inferred from the passage, and so (D) is the best answer here. A bit weird, but you’ll get one like this every once in a while.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.