In the past most airline companies minimized aircraft weight to minimize fuel costs. The safest airline seats were heavy, and airlines equipped their planes with few of these seats. This year the seat that has sold best to airlines has been the safest one - a clear indication that airlines are assigning a higher priority to safe seating than to minimizing fuel costs.Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?a)Last years best-selling airline seat was not the safest airline seat on the market.b)No airline company has announced that it would be making safe seating a higher priority this year.c)The price of fuel was higher this year than it had been in most of the years when the safest airline seats sold poorly.d)Because of increases in the cost of materials, all airline seats were more expensive to manufacture this year than in any previous year.e)Because of technological innovations, the safest airline seat on the market this year weighed less than most other airline seats on the market.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer?

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a)
Last year's best-selling airline seat was not the safest airline seat on the market.
b)
No airline company has announced that it would be making safe seating a higher priority this year.
c)
The price of fuel was higher this year than it had been in most of the years when the safest airline seats sold poorly.
d)
Because of increases in the cost of materials, all airline seats were more expensive to manufacture this year than in any previous year.
e)
Because of technological innovations, the safest airline seat on the market this year weighed less than most other airline seats on the market.

Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer?

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In the past most airline companies minimized aircraft weight to minimi...

The option that most seriously weakens the argument above is (E) Because of technological innovations, the safest airline seat on the market this year weighed less than most other airline seats on the market.

The argument states that the best-selling airline seat this year is the safest one, implying that airlines are prioritizing safety over minimizing fuel costs. However, option (E) weakens this argument by introducing the fact that the safest seat on the market is lighter than most other seats due to technological innovations.

If the safest seat is lighter, it means that airlines can prioritize safety without significantly increasing the weight of the aircraft. This suggests that the decision to choose the safest seat may not necessarily be a trade-off between safety and fuel costs, as technological advancements have made it possible to prioritize safety without incurring significant fuel cost penalties.

Therefore, option (E) weakens the argument by presenting an alternative explanation for the best-selling seat choice, which is not necessarily indicative of a higher priority on safe seating over minimizing fuel costs.

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In the past most airline companies minimized aircraft weight to minimi...

Explanation:

Issue: The argument concludes that airlines are assigning a higher priority to safe seating over minimizing fuel costs based on the fact that the safest airline seat has sold best this year.

Weakener:

Technological Innovation:
- If the safest airline seat on the market this year weighed less than most other airline seats, it implies that the focus on safe seating does not necessarily conflict with the goal of minimizing fuel costs.
- This weakens the argument by suggesting that airlines can prioritize safe seating without significantly increasing the weight of the aircraft and fuel costs.
Therefore, option E weakens the argument by providing an alternative explanation for why airlines are prioritizing safe seating without necessarily sacrificing the goal of minimizing fuel costs.

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In the past most airline companies minimized aircraft weight to minimize fuel costs. The safest airline seats were heavy, and airlines equipped their planes with few of these seats. This year the seat that has sold best to airlines has been the safest one - a clear indication that airlines are assigning a higher priority to safe seating than to minimizing fuel costs.Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?a)Last years best-selling airline seat was not the safest airline seat on the market.b)No airline company has announced that it would be making safe seating a higher priority this year.c)The price of fuel was higher this year than it had been in most of the years when the safest airline seats sold poorly.d)Because of increases in the cost of materials, all airline seats were more expensive to manufacture this year than in any previous year.e)Because of technological innovations, the safest airline seat on the market this year weighed less than most other airline seats on the market.Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer?

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