The Brooklyn Museum has a totem pole that was too tall to be stored in the museum's temperature-controlled storage vault. Fortunately, the totem pole can now be stored in the temperature-controlled vault thanks to the efforts of restoration artists, who have discovered a way to separate the pole into two parts for storage purposes. The artists' method allows the totem pole to be reassembled later without any noticeable change in its appearance.
The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?
A. Neither of the two separated parts of the totem pole is too tall to fit into the vault.
(A) is correct. The argument is concerned primarily with the totem pole being too tall to fit into the vault, a problem which could be corrected by separating the pole into two or more segments. However, if those segments are themselves too tall to fit into the vault, or even if one of them is, then separating the pole into segments won't solve the problem.
B. The totem pole can be separated into two equal-sized parts.
(B) is incorrect because the segments do not have to be equal-sized in order to fit into the vault. For example, if the vault ceiling is 10 feet high and the pole is 12 feet high, a pair of 6-foot segments would fit, but so would an 8-foot segment and a 4-foot segment.
C. The procedure for separating the two parts of the totem pole will not cost more than it would cost to replace the totem pole if it deteriorated.
(C) is incorrect because it is beyond the scope of the argument. The argument is only concerned with how to fit the totem pole into the vault. Whether the procedure for separating the pole into segments is cost-effective is a separate question. Even if the procedure does cost more than the totem pole is worth, it is still possible that separating the pole into segments will allow it to fit into the vault.
D. Placing the two parts of the totem pole into the vault would not require them to remove other key artifacts from the vault.
(D) is also incorrect for the same reason as (C); it is beyond the scope of the argument. The argument is not concerned for the well-being of other key artifacts, and again, whether removing such artifacts from the vault is worthwhile in the interests of preserving the totem pole is a separate question. Even if they do have to remove other artifacts from the vault, it is still possible that separating the pole into segments will allow it to fit into the vault.
E. The vault can be set to the proper temperature required to preserve totem pole.
(E) is incorrect because the argument is concerned only with the size of the vault, not any other characteristics. While this is an important consideration, the stimulus is proposing a solution to the height problem, nothing more. Even if the vault can't be set to the proper temperature, it is still possible that separating the pole into segments will allow it to fit into the vault.
