Jupiter vs. Mars: Scientists suspect that Europa, a moon

[demet.san]

CR guide, 5th Edition, pg. 166

Scientists suspect that Europa, a moon orbiting Jupiter, may contain living organisms. However, the government recently scrapped an unmanned science mission to Europa and replaced it with a project aimed at landing an astronaut on Mars. Polls show that the public is far more fascinated by space travel than by discovering life elsewhere in the universe. Critics argue that the government's decision making process places a greater emphasis on popularity than it does on the importance of scientific research.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen a contention by the government that the new project is a better use of its funds?

(A) In the first year of the project, the government will spend 30% of its total budget on developing a space shuttle that can travel to Mars; that figure is expected to drop to 0% after five years.
(B) The government cannot be absolutely certain of the chances for success of either project.
(C) Some scientists are convinced that a mission to Europa would add immeasurably to our understanding of the universe.
(D) A new telescope that has just become available to scientists promises to yield more information than the planned mission to Europa was designed to provide.
(E) Most people feel that a shuttle to Mars is the next logical step in the development of a system that will allow humans to travel even further in the solar system.

Official answer: D
My answer: E

Option E confirms what the Government thinks, so it strengthens the government's stance (the government came to the conclusion based on polls, but polls could have some bias associated with them, so this option is not exactly the same information given in the question).
Regarding option D, the new telescope could cost more than the mission to Europa, so how does it strengthen the government's contention for sure?

[RonPurewal]

Option E confirms what the Government thinks

no, it doesn't.
read the first three words again: this choice confirms nothing at all. it just indicates what "most people feel", which doesn't have any necessary connection to what's actually true. ("most people felt" that the earth was flat, too, until just a few centuries ago -- but that certainly wouldn't have confirmed anyone's contention that the earth was flat.)

Regarding option D, the new telescope could cost more than the mission to Europa, so how does it strengthen the government's contention for sure?

choice d says that the telescope is already available to scientists, so a cost comparison is irrelevant. i.e., the telescope already exists; regardless of the cost, that money has already been spent.

if choice d is true, then the Europa mission would be an utterly pointless waste of funds, because it would be inferior to the data from a telescope that already exists. so, even if the mission were relatively cheap, it would still be an unwise use of funds, because it would have zero value added.

[JbhB682]

Hi Ron - just following up on this ...

Is the conclusion, the last line for this ? i.e. critics argue that the govt's decision making process places a greater emphasis on popularity than it does on the importance of scientific research ...

If so, while E is talking about "most people", would it not be stronger than D because E is talking about what people feel which is what the conclusion is drawn upon ...

D doesn't have anything to do with people's attitude towards this project which i think is important as the conclusion is drawn upon that

thank you

[RonPurewal]

choice E neither strengthens nor weakens anything.

choice E basically just says: a bunch of people think of the Mars project as "step 1" of trying to realize any larger ambitions for space travel.
...but, the whole point of the debate is the relative MERITS of space travel vs. a more directly research-oriented project—an issue to which choice E doesn't contribute either way.

__

ANALOGY:
Alyssa spends most of her disposable income on handbags. Her grandmother thinks she should put the money into investments instead.

if Alyssa says, "well, if I'm going to acquire lots of fashionable accessories, I need to start with handbags"—you can see why this doesn't help, right? it doesn't touch the actual issue.
choice E is the same.

[RonPurewal]

D doesn't have anything to do with people's attitude towards this project which i think is important as the conclusion is drawn upon that

nope. in fact, any choice dealing with popularity could be eliminated immediately.

the task is to "strengthen a contention by the government that the new project is a better use of its funds". there's going to be some variety in how different people conceptualize a "good use of money", of course—but, NO reasonable definition of a "good use of money" will have anything to do with popularity.