Thread: sterilizations

Certain instruments used in veterinary surgery can be made either of stainless steel or of nylon. In a study of such instruments, 10 complete sterilizations of a set of nylon instruments required 3.4 times the amount of energy used to manufacture that set of instruments, whereas 50 complete sterilizations of a set of stainless steel instruments required 2.1 times the amount of energy required to manufacture that set of instruments.
If the statements above are true, each of the following could be true EXCEPT:
(A) The 50 complete sterilizations of nylon instruments used more energy than did the 50 complete sterilizations of the stainless steel instruments.
(B) More energy was required for each complete sterilization of the nylon instruments than was required to manufacture the nylon instruments.
(C) More nylon instruments than stainless steel instruments were sterilized in the study.
(D) More energy was used to produce the stainless steel instruments than was used to produce the nylon instruments.
(E) The total cost of 50 complete sterilizations of the stainless steel instruments was greater than the cost of manufacturing the stainless steel instruments.