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Expression of IdeasVery hardRecommendation supported by yearly costs

Expression of Ideas practice question

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: - The school's minibus needs either a repair or a replacement. - The repair would cost $8,000 and is expected to keep the bus running for 2 more years. - A replacement would cost $30,000 and is expected to last 10 years. - A replacement would use 30% less fuel, saving about $1,200 a year.

The student wants to make a recommendation and support it with information from the notes. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A. The school should replace the minibus: spread over ten years the replacement costs about $3,000 a year before fuel savings of $1,200, against $4,000 a year for a repair that lasts only two.Correct
  2. B. The repair would cost $8,000.
  3. C. The school should repair the minibus, because $8,000 is much less than $30,000.
  4. D. The school should stop running a minibus altogether.

Answer: A. The school should replace the minibus: spread over ten years the replacement costs about $3,000 a year before fuel savings of $1,200, against $4,000 a year for a repair that lasts only two.

A recommendation supported by yearly costs computed from the notes: 30,000/10 − 1,200 against 8,000/2.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The repair would cost $8,000.
A figure with no recommendation.
C. The school should repair the minibus, because $8,000 is much less than $30,000.
This compares up-front costs only, ignoring that the repair lasts two years and the replacement ten.
D. The school should stop running a minibus altogether.
Nothing in the notes supports giving up the bus.

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