@avik.ch your knowledge is badly needed for this question...
Although fullerenes- spherical molecules made entirely of carbon-were first found in laboratory , they have since have been found in nature, formed in fissures of the rare mineral Shungites. since laboratory synthesis of fullerenes requires distinctive conditions of temperature and pressure, this discovery should give geologists a test case for evaluating hypotheses about the state of the earth's crust at the time these naturally occuring fullerenes were formed.
Which of the following ,if true, most seriously undermines the argument?
1. confirming that the Shungite genuinely contained fullerenes took careful experimentation.
2. Some fullerenes have also been found in the remains of a meteorite that collided with a spacecraft.
3. The mineral shungite itself contains large amounts of carbon, from which the fullerenes apparantly formed.
4. The naturally occuring fullerenes are arranged in a previously unknown crystalline structure.
5. Shungite itself is formed under distinctive conditions.
Please explain...thanks in advance.
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hi, this is a gmat prep question and hence has been discussed many times in many diff forums ---
so here I am quoting a reply from the great Testluv, a kaplan instructor
[ The author's evidence has established that the labaratory conditions leading to fullerenes are unique. He also tells us that we have now found fullerenes in nature (shungite stuff is red herring).
He is arguing that because lab-fullerene-formation requires unique conditions, we can examine these new natural fullerenes to figure out what the conditions in the Earth's crust were like back when these fullerenes were formed.
He is assuming that fullerenes everywhere (ie, the naturally occuring ones, outside of the labaratory) also come about through unique conditions. (It might just be the case that it is only in the labaratory that unique conditions are required or that they have yet to hit upon other ways of making fullerenes in the lab).
We can use the Kaplan denial test to verify whether we have figured out the assumption correctly: what if, outside of the lab, there are many ways that fullerenes can be formed? Then, what happens to the argument that we can examine these naturally ooccuring fullerenes to figure out what the conditions were like when they were formed? Well because there are many was they could have formed, and who knows what the conditions were like back then: the argument now falls apart. Therefore, we have properly identified a necessary assumption.
..now (and only now) are we ready to go to the answer choices.
Because this is a weaken question, we look for a choice that attacks this assumption. Choice D opens up the possibility of fullerenes forming in ways unknown in the lab, and is correct.
In a harder argument, it is very important to resist the temptation to go to the answer choices prematurely. Gotta analyze the stimulus and figure out how, precisely, the evidence is not good enough to estalish the conclusion. Gotta figure out that assumption!
Make sure you always ask what idea is in the conclusion that is not in the evidence and what idea is in the evidence that is not in the conclusion, and then bridge the gap. This is the classic Kaplan method for arguments.
Applied here:
What idea is in the evidence that is not in the conclusion? "lab fullerenes"
And the idea in the conclusion that is not in the evidence? "naturally occuring fullerenes".
Then bridge the gap: "The author is assuming some sort of similarity between the two. The argument is about unique conditions, so he is assuming that conditions are unique for both lab and natural fullerenes." ] - Testluv
1. Advertisement: Today's clients expect top quality. Every improvement in the standards of service raises client expectations. The company that is complacent and satisfied with the current quality of its products will soon find that its clients are not. At Service Enterprises, meeting or exceeding client expectations is our goal. Which of the following must be true on the basis of the statements in the advertisement above? A. Service Enterprises' competitors will succeed in attracting customers only if those competitors adopt Service Enterprises' goal as their own. B. A company that does not correctly anticipate the expectations of its customers is certain to fail in advancing the quality of its products. C. Service Enterprises goal is possible to meet only if continuing advances in product quality are possible. D. If a company becomes satisfied with the quality of its products, then the quality of its products is sure to decline. E. Service Enterprises' customers are currently satisfied with the quality of its products
I feel its C! i didnt find the answer to this when this was posted earlier!
well this is a must be true question and so first define the scope of the argument and then move on....
A confuses between necessary and sufficient condition, be wary of this kind of choices. Moreover, discussion about competitor is well outside the scope.
B - the arg scope is for companies that anticipates customer expectation - so those who do not is too outside the scope.
D - its a distortion. if the company is satisfied with its produce, its product will soon be perceived as "not satisfactory and good quality" by its customer. So eliminate this - as the argument talks about the "perceived quality" while this option talks about the "absolute quality"
E - there is a difference between a "goal" and what is "achieved". Eliminate.
left with C ---- apply denial test to prove the statement - an inference when negated will not have any value towards the argument. ( but this should be done only when there are 2-3 left which you cannot eliminate ) -
Service Enterprises goal is not possible to meet only if continuing advances in product quality are possible --- woah !! this is exactly opposite to what the argument states !!
Student enrollment at Central High School has declined in each of the past five years by an average of 7.9 percent, although graduation rates have risen. Therefore, the school should focus less on graduation rates and more on trying to attract new students.
The answer to which of the following questions would most likely point out the illogical nature of the conclusion drawn above?
1)What would be the consequences of an increased student dropout rate?
2)What is the average age of students applying to study at Central High School?
3)Are students applying at other high schools more academically committed?
4)Where are graduation rates of regional high schools compiled?
5)How would the school budget be affected by a new student recruitment program?
@james_khan Option 3... If the students applying to other schools are committed towards their studies attracting such students make sense...cause if they are not then a new problem arises...the graduation rate will fall down...so does not make much sense attracting more students and letting the graduation rate fall.. And if the students applying to other schools are committed attracting them makes sense...as more students will enroll and also the graduation level will not fall...
Recently, some critics of the U.S. government have pointed out that this country is the only advanced industrialized nation without a national vaccine laboratory and suggested that this lack makes the American public more vulnerable than other developed nations to infectious diseases, such as avian flu. A government official said these critics were disloyal and thus wrong about the public's vulnerability. To support his claim, the official cited the generally long life span and low infant mortality of United States citizens, relative to all United Nation member nations. Mentioning the high quality of American hospitals, he added that all of the Europeans that he knew preferred to undergo major medical treatments in the United States rather than in the socialized medical systems in place in their home countries.
All of the following are weaknesses or potential weaknesses in the official's argument EXCEPT:
• The high quality of hospitals in the United States is not a factor affecting the public's vulnerability to infectious disease.
• Whether or not the critics are disloyal has no bearing on whether or not they are wrong.
• The Europeans that the official cited are a demographically narrow sample, overwhelmingly composed of wealthy males over the age of fifty.
• The average life span of United States citizens is determined not only by deaths due to infectious diseases but also by deaths due to all other causes.
• Comparing the United States to all United Nations member nations does not address the concern that the U.S. is behind other advanced industrialized nations in a particular way.
The population of Green Island increases from 25,000 to 100,000 during summer, due to the heavy influx of the tourists. To reduce the number of accidents involving mopeds and pedestrians during this period, the town council has decided to revise the limit on the number of mopeds rented out by each of the ten moped rental companies from 50 per day to 30 per day during summer.
Which of the following, if true, weakens the plan of the town council?
1. In a vast number of accidents, owner drivers were involved.
2. The tourists are found to be unaware of the traffic rules on the island, and non-compliance with traffic rules has been the major reason behind most accidents.
3. Many of the locals do not any mopeds.
4. There are more accidents involving other two wheelers like scooters, etc.
5. There was considerable opposition, in the town council, to the move to restrict the number of mopeds rented out by the rental companies.
A recent study has shown that students who attend Engineering colleges with 1:1 student- computer ratio have better placement prospects. Therefore, it is advisable that Engineering aspirants apply to colleges with a very small student population.
Which of the following, if true, identifies the greatest flaw in the reasoning above?
1. A low S/C ratio is the effect of a high placement rate, not its source.
2. Placements should be considered the result of the institutes reputation, rather than the S/C ratio.
3. Avery small student population, by itself, does not ensure a better S/C ratio.
Researchers from a data analysis firm have found that the three most popular combinations -- 1234, 1111, and 0000 -- account for close to 20 per cent of all four-digit passwords. The researchers also found that every four-digit combination that starts with 19 ranks above the 80th percentile in popularity, with those in the upper 1900s coming in the highest. Also quite common are combinations in which the first two digits are between 01 and 12 and the last two are between 01 and 31.
If the statements above are true, which of the following must be true?
Journalist: Well-known businessman Arnold Bergeron has long been popular in the state, and he has often talked about running for governor, but he has never run. However, we have just learned that Bergeron has fulfi lled the fi nancial disclosure requirement for candidacy by submitting a detailed list of his current fi nancial holdings to the election commission. So, it is very likely that Bergeron will be a candidate for governor this year. The answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in evaluating the journalist's argument?
A certain mayor has proposed a fee of fi ve dollars per day on private vehicles entering the city, claiming that the fee will alleviate the city's traffi c congestion. The mayor reasons that, since the fee will exceed the cost of round-trip bus fare from many nearby points, many people will switch from using their cars to using the bus.
Which of the following statements, if true, provides the best evidence that the mayor's reasoning is fl awed?
Although the pesticide TDX has been widely used by fruit growers since the early 1960s, a regulation in force since 1960 has prohibited sale of fruit on which any TDX residue can be detected. That regulation is about to be replaced by one that allows sale of fruit on which trace amounts of TDX residue are detected. In fact, however, the change will not allow more TDX on fruit than was allowed in the 1960s, because .
Dental researchers recently discovered that toothbrushes can become contaminated with bacteria that cause pneumonia and strep throat. They found that contamination usually occurs after toothbrushes have been used for four weeks. For that reason, people should replace their toothbrushes at least once a month. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion above?
When an airplane is taken out of service for maintenance, it is often repainted as well, and during the repainting no other maintenance work can be done on the plane. In order to reduce maintenance time, airline officials are considering using a new nontoxic plastic film instead of paint. The film takes just as long to apply as paint does, but many other maintenance tasks can be carried out at the same time. Which of the following, if true, is further evidence that using the film will help the airline officials achieve their goal?
