Some people fear that global warming will cause the large ice formations in the polar seas to melt, thereby warming t...
AnkitMFebruary 19, 2016
B vs. D
Hi, I arrived at the choices B and D, and ultimately chose B since the conclusion wouldn't necessarily follow. I was wondering why B is incorrect. Doesn't it tell us that the conclusion is not likely to be true, and that the melting process could have begun since we are basing the conclusion just off temperatures? Maybe the sea level did increase, therefore the melting process could have been likely. Thanks in advance.
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@AnkitM the scientists' contention is "it is unlikely that the melting process has begun."
Their support? " . . . water temperatures in the polar seas are the same today as they were a century ago."
We are being asked to undermine this contention, so this is a Weaken question.
(B) states, "The overall effect of the melting process will be an increase in the global sea levels." This is completely irrelevant.
People are worried about the ice formations melting because it will warm the waters of the polar seas.
The scientists' contention is that this has not yet occurred because the water temperatures in the polar seas are the same today as they were a century ago. Sea levels have no relevance to this argument.
(D), on the other hand, weakens the scientists' contention by pointing out that just because the water temperatures in the polar seas are the same today as they were a century ago that doesn't necessarily mean the large ice formations haven't started melting because "the temperature of water that contains melting ice tends to remain constant until all of the ice in the ice-and-water mixture has melted."
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
