Expression of IdeasVery hardRecommendation weighing cost against time
Expression of Ideas practice question
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- A café must choose between two coffee roasters.
- Roaster A costs $2,000, roasts 5 kg an hour, and needs replacing every 3 years.
- Roaster B costs $9,000, roasts 20 kg an hour, and lasts about 12 years.
- The café roasts 30 kg of coffee a day.
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?
- A. The café should buy roaster B: over twelve years it costs only $1,000 more than buying roaster A four times, and it roasts the day's 30 kg in an hour and a half instead of six hours.Correct
- B. Roaster A costs $2,000.
- C. The café should buy roaster A, because $2,000 is far less than $9,000.
- D. The café should buy both roasters and run them together.
Answer: A. The café should buy roaster B: over twelve years it costs only $1,000 more than buying roaster A four times, and it roasts the day's 30 kg in an hour and a half instead of six hours.
A recommendation supported by the lifetime cost (4 × $2,000 = $8,000 against $9,000) and the daily roasting time (30/5 = 6 hours against 30/20 = 1.5).
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Roaster A costs $2,000.
- A figure, no recommendation.
- C. The café should buy roaster A, because $2,000 is far less than $9,000.
- This compares only the up-front prices, ignoring that roaster A must be bought four times and takes four times as long.
- D. The café should buy both roasters and run them together.
- Nothing in the notes supports buying both.
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