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11. Mr. Ice sells ice cream for $1 each. Mr. Freeze sells a different ice cream for $3 each. On one
Sunday, at the end of the day’s business, Mr Ice had sold three times as many ice creams as
Mr Freeze. Interestingly, they had both also made the same amount of profit for that day.
Which of the following can be inferred from the above statements?
(A) The total cost incurred by Mr Freeze for that day was three times that incurred by Mr
Ice.
(B) Mr Ice’s ice cream is more popular than Mr. Freeze’s ice cream.
(C) The total cost incurred by Mr Ice for that day was three times that incurred by Mr.
Freeze.
(D) Mr Freeze’s ice cream sells in smaller numbers because of its higher selling price.
(E) Both Mr Ice and Mr Freeze incurred the same costs for that day.
Answer: E
Explanation:
The stimulus states that Mr Ice sold three times as many ice creams as did Mr Freeze.
Note that the selling price of Mr Freeze’s ice cream is three time that of Mr Ice’s ice cream.
So, this means that both of them made the same amount of dollar sales for that day. The
stimulus also states that they made the same profits at the end of that day. Thus, if sales and
profits are the same, the costs have to be the same as well. E is the correct answer.
12. The main purpose of business is to maximize shareholder value over the long term by selling
goods or services. Thus, employees who use funds for anything other than to increase their
sales are simply cheating the shareholders.
Which of the following is an assumption made in drawing the conclusion above?
(A) Most business owners would agree with the above definition of the purpose of a
business.
(B) Increasing sales is not the only way to maximize shareholder value.
(C) Spending money on making the workplace more comfortable for employees will not
lead to increased worker productivity and in turn increased business profits.
(D) The only function of a business is to maximize returns for its shareholders.
(E) According to this definition, many employees could be accused of cheating.
Answer: C
Explanation:
The argument assumes that the only way to maximize owner’s value is by increasing sales.
This can lead us to several passive assumptions. C contains one such assumption. Notice
that if you negate C, the argument will fall apart.
(A) Whether business owners agree with this definition is irrelevant.
(B) This weakens the argument whereas we need to find an assumption.
(C) The correct answer.
(D) This is directly stated in the argument so cannot be its assumption.
(E) This could be an inference but is definitely not an assumption.
13. The Bakers football team has been struggling for form all through the past two years in
which it has not even managed to reach the semi-finals of any major football tournament.
To arrest this decline, the team management has now decided to reappoint its former coach,
Charles Keith, who had been sacked two years back.
Which of the following options gives reason to believe that the team management’s strategy
may not work?
(A) Several of the team’s most successful players have left the team in the past two years.
(B) The team has been receiving a lot of negative press for its poor performance in the
past two years.
(C) Charles Keith had been sacked two years ago by the team management on account of
corruption charges, which couldn’t eventually be proved.
(D) The team that Charles Keith has been coaching for the past two years hasn’t been
performing really well either.
(E) The continuous string of poor performances has led to a loss of morale among several
of the members of the football team.
Answer: A
Explanation
The argument assumes that the only reason for the decline in the Baker football team’s
performance is the sacking of Charles Keith. However, there could be other reasons for this
decline as well and to weaken the argument, we need to highlight one such reason, which A
does. The cause of the decline may not be the departure of the coach but that of several of
its best players. If this were the case, re-hiring the coach will not arrest the decline.
(B) The appointment of the coach is precisely to counter this negative press by improving
the performance of the team.
(C) The reason for Charles Keith’s sacking is not our concern.
(D) There could be several reasons for this. Maybe this team is made up of amateurs or is
not motivated enough.
(E) Same as B.
14. A jewellery manufacturer produces rings in two metals—gold and platinum. The
manufacturer has noted that, over the last three years, the gold rings have consistently
outsold the platinum ones by a large margin, even though the designs available in both
the metals are exactly the same. This has led the manufacturer to conclude that consumers
prefer gold to platinum.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(A) Over the last three years, diamond rings have outsold both gold and platinum ones.
(B) Jewellery buyers give more importance to design than to the metal used.
(C) Platinum is easier to maintain than is gold.
(D) Platinum rings take longer to produce than do gold rings.
(E) Gold rings cost considerably less than do platinum ones.
Answer: E
Explanation:
The argument concludes that just because gold rings sell more than platinum rings, customers
prefer the metal gold to the metal platinum. But there can clearly be other reasons why
customers prefer gold rings to platinum ones—maybe the gold rings are cheaper or have
better designs or are easier to resell. Any such option can weaken the argument. E highlights
the cost aspect and should be the correct answer.
(A) The argument is only concerned with gold and platinum rings. Diamond rings are
outside the scope of the argument.
(B) This does not necessarily suggest that customers don’t pay attention to the metal used
or that gold rings have better designs than platinum ones. Maybe the second item on
the customers’ preference checklist, after the design, is the metal used.
(C) So then platinum rings should be selling more, why are gold rings selling more?
(D) The amount of time it takes to produce a ring in either metal is irrelevant.
(E) The correct answer.
15. It is not correct on the part of the district administration to ban the sport of drag racing.
After all, only 50 people have been injured in the last one year while drag racing whereas
more than 400 people have been injured while playing baseball. The administration should,
thus, ban baseball instead.
The argument above is flawed because:
(A) It compares two different types of sports.
(B) It does not take into account the treatment cost of the injuries.
(C) It fails to take into account the total number of people who drag race and the total
number of people who play baseball.
(D) It does not take into account injuries caused in other sports such as boxing.
(E) It uses inaccurate data to support its conclusion.
Answer: C
Explanation:
The argument is only looking at 50 and 400 as absolute numbers whereas it should look at
them as percentages. For example, if 100 people drag race and 50 are injured, that is a 50%
injury rate. As against this, if 10,000 people play football and 400 are injured, that is only a
4% injury rate. Thus, C is the flaw in the argument.
(A) There is nothing wrong in comparing two different things, as long as they are both
types of sports.
(B) The cost of treatment is outside the scope of the argument.
(D) Other sporting activities are also outside the scope of the argument.
(E) There is nothing in the argument to suggest that it uses inaccurate data.
16. Almost all arguments against the theory of evolution stem from the fact that it is very difficult
to prove how a group of non-living elements can combine together and give rise to life.
However, just because something cannot be proved with certainty today doesn’t mean that the
possibility isn’t there. Remember, there was a time when almost the whole world believed the
Earth was the centre of the universe until Galileo came by and proved otherwise.
The statements above, if true, best support which of the following assertions?
(A) At one point of time, Galileo was the only person who believed that the earth was not
the centre of the universe.
(B) A majority of scientists do not agree with the theory of evolution.
(C) It is difficult to prove the theory of evolution with certainty.
(D) When Galileo stated that the sun and not the earth was the centre of the universe, he
was called insane by his compatriots.
(E) Everything that, at one time, seems impossible will, at some point in the future,
become possible.
Answer: C
Explanation:
Let’s look at each option and eliminate:
(A) We can’t say this for sure. There may have been more people who believed so but were
scared of speaking up.
(B) We know for sure that some scientists do not agree with the theory of evolution.
However, whether they are in majority or not is something we do not know.
(C) The correct answer; this almost paraphrases the opening lines of the stimulus.
(D) While a lot of you may know that this is true, this cannot be inferred from the
stimulus.
(E) Extreme generalization. May not be true for everything and the argument never
suggests this anyway.
17. 30 years ago residents of Pandora County used to buy an average of 10 books every year.
Today, the residents of Pandora County buy an average of three books every year. Therefore,
it can be concluded that book sales in Pandora County must have fallen over these 30 years.
The argument above rests on which of the following assumptions?
(A) The residents of Pandora County used to have more free time 30 years ago than they
do now.
(B) The residents of Pandora County have many more activities that vie for their attention
today than 30 years back.
(C) The population of Pandora County hasn’t increased significantly in the last 30 years.
(D) The literacy rate hasn’t significantly changed in Pandora County over the past 30
years.
(E) Those residents of Pandora County who used to read 30 years ago have now not
become too old to read.
Answer: C
Explanation:
The argument concludes that since the average number of books purchased per person
in Pandora County has decreased over the past 30 years, the total book sales in Pandora
County must have also decreased. But what if the population of Pandora County has
increased several times in the past 30 years? So, earlier if 100 people were buying 10 books
each to give a total sale of 1000 books, today 500 people may be buying 3 books each to give
a total sale of 1500 books.
A) How much time each resident spends reading has no connection with how many
books are sold.
(B) Irrelevant to the argument.
C) The correct answer.
(D) While the literacy rate may seem relevant, this option may or may not be true but it
doesn’t have to be true for our conclusion to be true.
(E) Irrelevant to the argument.
18. Which of the following most logically completes the argument below?
A new palm vein scanning technology is being developed by scientists that could be used
with laptops or other tablet devices. This technology involves the use of a biometric sensor
that can scan the unique pattern of veins in a person’s palm to verify their identity. This
technology could do away with the problem of remembering multiple passwords to access
different websites. However, the technology would require new biometric sensors to be built
into computers but this should not be a hindrance in the success of the new technology,
because___________________________.
(A) the new technology is bound to be extremely popular with computer users
(B) the biometric sensors do not cost a lot of money and are available in plentiful supply
(C) most people have forgotten one or more of their passwords at some point in their lives
(D) there is almost always a market for innovations such as these
(E) the biometric sensors can be easily and cost effectively built into computers
Answer: E
Explanation:
Since the leading word is because, we need to strengthen the conclusion that the requirement
of biometric sensors to be built into computers will not be a problem. E does this best and
is the correct answer.
(A) The technology may be popular but if this technology is very expensive then most
people may not be able to afford it.
(B) Even if the biometric sensors themselves are cheap, their installation in computers
could be very expensive.
(C) Irrelevant fact.
(D) The market may not be there if these innovations become very costly.
(E) The correct answer.
19. Those who claim that the Kribki Company is poorly managed often cite, as evidence, the
fact that the Kribki Company has twice as many complaints listed against it on a popular
complaint website than its nearest competitor. However, this data does not necessarily prove
that the Kribki Company is poorly managed because ____________________.
Which of the following best completes the argument above?
(A) the Kribki Company also has a lot of loyal customers who have great things to say
about it
(B) the website on which the complaints are listed started operations only one year ago
whereas the Kribki Company has been in the business for more than three decades
(C) the Kribki Company has twice as many people manning its customer service
department than its nearest competitor
(D) the Kribki Company has six times as many customers as its nearest competitor
(E) the Kribki Company does eventually manage to resolve the complaint of most of its
customers
Answer: D
Explanation:
Note that the option that goes in the blank has to show that the Kribki Company is not
poorly managed despite the evidence cited in the argument. If the Kribki Company has six
times as many customers as its nearest competitor but only twice as many complaints, then
in percentage terms the Kribki Company is actually much better managed than its closest
competitor. Thus, D is the correct answer.
(A) The evidence still stands that the number of complaints against the Kribki Company
is twice that against its nearest competitor.
(B) This has no bearing on the argument.
(C) This still does not explain the fact as to how the number of complaints against the
Kribki Company is twice that against its nearest competitor.
(E) While it may eventually be resolving the complaints of its customers, this still shows
that the Kribki Company is poorly managed.
20. Angel dusting is a process wherein an ingredient, which would be beneficial in a reasonable
quantity, is instead added by manufacturers to their products in an insignificant quantity so
that they can make the claim that their product contains that ingredient, and mislead the
consumer into expecting that they will gain the benefit of that ingredient. For example, a
cereal may claim it contains “10 essential vitamins and minerals”, but the amounts of each
may be only 1% or less of the Reference Daily Intake, providing virtually no benefit or
nutrition.
If the above statements are true, which of the following could be an example of Angel
dusting?
(A) A laptop that claims to have the longest battery backup, actually has a backup just
10% longer than is provided by its closest competitor.
(B) A book that claims to cover all the concepts of Organic Chemistry actually provides
just one example of each concept.
(C) A vitamin capsule that claims to contain 23 vitamins and amino acids contains less
than 3% of each.
(D) A protein shake that claims to contain a magic ingredient that can make muscles
grow faster, only contains 20% of this ingredient’s daily recommended intake.
(E) An apartment that claims to have used Italian marble for its flooring has used exactly
one slab of Italian marble and the remaining ninety-nine slabs of regular marble.
Answer: E
Explanation:
E is the correct answer. If the advertising suggests that the use of Italian marble has been
done in the entire apartment and, in fact, only one out of hundred tiles is made of Italian
marble, then it is as good as not having Italian marble in the flat at all.
(A) This does not suggest that the laptop has a short battery backup.
(B) The book claims to cover all the concepts, which it apparently does; it never claims to
provide several examples of every concept.
(C) Irrelevant. We have no idea whether 3% of these vitamins and amino acids is adequate
or inadequate. Even if the 23 ingredients are equally divided, each will comprise
around 4% of the capsule, so 3% is not as low as it sounds. In any case, we don’t have
any reference data.
(D) Again, we don’t have any reference data. It is possible that 20% of the magic ingredient
coming from one source is a very good thing because the other sources contain less
than 1% of the daily recommended intake of this ingredient.
(E) The correct answer. This option is the best of the lot because it gives you a reference
figure of 99 tiles. If the apartment had five slabs of marble and one of them was
Italian marble, then this may not necessarily be an example of Angel dusting, but the
use of one tile out of 99 is definitely an example of Angel Dusting. This is the best
option in our lot.
21. In the year 2000, olive oils made up just 40% of the liquid oils market, with standard oils
taking 52% and speciality oils accounting for the remainder. But now, fuelled by health
concerns and a general move towards premium products, the tables have turned. Today, the
olive oil sector is worth some $104 million and alone accounts for an estimated 51% of the
total market.
Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the information
above?
(A) In 2000, the total worth of the olive oil sector was less than $104 million.
(B) The total sales of the standard oils at present time are lower than their sales in 2000.
(C) Olive oil is healthier than all other liquid oils available in the market.
(D) The market share of the standard oils category today must have declined from what
it was in 2000.
(E) The total worth of the specialty oil category today is higher than what it was in 2000.
Answer: D
Explanation:
Since this is an Inference question, let’s look at each option and eliminate.
(A) This does not necessarily have to be the case. What if the total market for liquid oils
has shrunk? Then, even though olive oil could have a larger share of this market, in
absolute terms, its total worth may have gone down.
(B) Again this may not be the case if the total market for liquid oils has expanded
significantly.
(C) Extreme option. There could be healthier oils than olive oil available in the market.
(D) The correct answer. In 2000, the market share of the standard oils category was
52% and currently, the market share of olive oils is 51%. So, then the market share of
standard oils category currently cannot be more than 49%, which is lower than 52%.
(E) This may not be the case if the overall market for liquid oils has shrunk.
22. The consumption of tobacco in the country has fallen drastically in the past one year.
During the same period of time, the government has been running a sustained advertising
campaign to educate citizens about the ill effects of chewing tobacco. Thus, the government’s
advertising campaign has proved to be a resounding success.
Which of the following options most weakens the argument above?
(A) The government has had to spend a huge amount of money on this advertising
campaign, an amount that it will eventually recover from the general public in the
form of new taxes.
(B) More and more tobacco consumers in the past one year have now shifted to consuming
relatively harmless substances such as chewing gum.
(C) The consumption of alcoholic drinks has increased in the country in the past one year.
(D) Tobacco prices have more than tripled in the country in the past one year.
(E) All the major tobacco companies are still in business in the country.
Answer: D
Explanation:
This argument is testing you on Causality. The argument assumes that there can be no other
reason (other than government’s advertising campaign) for the drop in tobacco consumption
in the country. Option D provides you one such reason and so, weakens the argument.
(A) The point still stands that the reason for the fall in tobacco consumption in the
country could be the government’s advertising campaign. How the government
decides to recover this money is outside the scope of the argument.
(B) What new products the tobacco consumers have shifted does not make any difference
to the causality mentioned in the argument.
(C) Alcoholic drinks are outside the scope of the argument.
(E) There could be several reasons for this, but this has no bearing on the causality
mentioned in the argument.
23. Jim Rogers: It’s very difficult for foreigners to do business in India because India doesn’t
like foreigners and keeps them away. The biggest proof of this is Walmart, which has many
stores in China, but not a single fully-owned store in India, simply because India doesn’t like
overseas businessmen.
Which of the following is an assumption made in drawing the conclusion above?
(A) There is nothing that can make India like foreign businessmen.
(B) The fact that Walmart has many stores in China proves that China loves foreigners.
(C) The limited size of the Indian market hasn’t stopped Walmart from entering India.
(D) Any foreign company other than Walmart is also not present in India.
(E) China’s policies are probably more favourable towards foreigners than are India’s
policies.
Answer: C
Explanation:
The argument concludes that the reason Walmart does not have any stores in India is because
India does not like foreigners. However, there could be other reasons as well for Walmart
not doing so. Thus, in arriving at its conclusion, the argument assumes that there could be
no other reason for Walmart not entering India, such as Walmart itself not wanting to enter
India. C points out one such passive assumption in the argument and is the correct answer.
(A) Irrelevant to the argument and not necessary for the argument to be true.
(B) Whether China loves foreigners or not is not our concern.
(C) The correct answer.
(D) The argument never talks about any other company so this cannot be an assumption
in the argument.
(E) This may or may not be an inference but is definitely not an assumption
.
24. Which of the following most logically completes the argument?
A recent experiment has revealed that a person stands the best chance of surviving a plane
crash if he or she is sitting at the back of the aircraft. A Boeing 727 was crashed on purpose
into the Sahara desert, and various aspects of the impact were analysed. One of the findings
of this experiment was that dummies placed at the back of the airplane suffered much less
damage than the ones placed at the front. Thus, when traveling by airplanes, you would be
much better off sitting at the back, assuming __________________.
(A) that all the seats at the back of the plane haven’t already been booked
(B) that the plane will be flying over the Sahara desert
C) that the plane is manufactured by Boeing and has been part of the test described in
the stimulus
(D) that the plane does not crash on its tail
(E) that these results apply to airplane crashes in general, and not just to those of old 727s
into sand.
Answer: E
Explanation:
Since the leading word is assuming, we need to find the assumption in the argument. The
argument obviously assumes that what holds true for the crash test will hold true for other
plane crashes as well. E states this and is the correct answer.
(A) This is irrelevant to the decision at hand. The idea is whether it makes sense to sit at
the back, not whether one actually gets to sit there.
(B) Irrelevant. It could be any other desert. The assumption has to be whether this would
apply to non deserts as well.
(C) If the plane has already been part of the test, that is, it has already been crashed, it
won’t be flying again anyway.
(D) While this may look logical, the argument does not mention anything about how the
plane used in the experiment actually crashed—on its tail, its front, its belly, etc. So
then we cannot necessarily assume this fact.
(E) The correct answer.
25. According to some people, income tax should be done away with in the US since there are
several other ways to collect taxes. A few countries in Europe have successfully abolished
income taxes by raising other taxes such as sales tax. Of course this makes products more
expensive but with the added amount of money you would receive on your paycheck, you
will still be better off than you were paying income taxes.
Which of the following, if true, provides the most support for the argument above?
(A) The prices of products in European countries, when converted into US dollars at
current rates are very similar to their prices in the United States.
(B) The increase in prices of products because of the increased sales tax rate will not more
than offset the benefit of not paying any income taxes.
(C) The legislative body in the United States has stated that it will support the move to
abolish income tax.
(D) Apart from increasing sales tax, the government can also increase other special taxes
such as those on petroleum products.
(E) The government has enough funds in reserve currently to be able to absorb any shock
because of lowered tax collection.
Answer: B
Explanation:
The argument concludes that the increase in the prices of products because of an increase
in the sales tax rate will not adversely affect the consumers because their salaries will also
increase due to the abolition of income tax. However, what if this increase in the prices
of products was much more than the increase in people’s salary? Then the situation will
negatively impact the people. The argument obviously assumes this will not be the case. B
states this and so strengthens the argument.
(A) The situation in European countries has no bearing on the situation in the US.
(B) The correct answer.
(C) This is an additional point and not relevant to the reasoning provided in the argument.
(D) Other taxes are outside the purview of the argument.
(E) The question is not whether the government will be able to bear the shock of abolition
of income tax but whether such a move will be beneficial for the people.
26. The reason for Kim’s excellent performance in her final college tests is that she used to study
for eight hours every day.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
(A) The fact that Kim took classes from the Teaching Company is not the reason for her
excellent performance in her college tests.
(B) In addition to studying for eight hours every day, Kim also did not miss a single class
in her college.
(C) In addition to her excellent performance in the college tests, Kim also won several
awards for her performance in extracurricular activities such as debates and dramatics.
(D) Both of Kim’s parents are geniuses.
(E) Some of Kim’s friends, who used to study for much less duration than her, also
performed very well on their final college tests.
Answer: A
Explanation:
The argument assumes that there can be no other reason for Kim’s excellent performance on
her college tests except for the fact that she studied for eight hours every day. A gives one
such reason that she took classes from the Teaching Company and, therefore, should be the
correct answer. In case you are confused, go through the topic ‘Passive Assumptions’ in the
Assumption chapter in this book. A is a passive assumption.
(B) This could weaken the argument by suggesting that there could be another reason for
Kim’s excellent performance on the college tests—that she attended all the classes in
college.
(C) This tells us nothing about the causality mentioned in the original argument.
D) Same as B.
(E) This does not affect the causality in the original argument. There could be different
reasons for the success of her friends but Kim’s success is on account of her studying
for eight hours every day.
27. A study of 1000 American citizens has found that 70 per cent of them would not work
for a company with bad reputation even if they were unemployed and that nearly 90 per
cent of them would consider leaving their current jobs if they were offered another role
with a company that had an excellent corporate reputation. Of those willing to work for a
company with a bad reputation, the research found that, on average, it would take doubling
an employee’s salary for them to make such a jump.
If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusions is most strongly
supported by them?
(A) At least 10% of the people in the survey would not mind working for a company with
a bad reputation but would also consider leaving their current jobs to join another
company with excellent corporate reputation.
(B) The survey is representative of the worker pool across the United States.
(C) At least 25% of the people in the survey would agree to do an unethical act if their
salary was substantially increased.
(D) For US workers, higher salary takes precedence over the reputation of the company
they work for.
(E) If a company in the US expects to attract the best talent, it must either have an
excellent corporate reputation or be ready to pay high salaries.
Answer: A
Explanation:
According to the stimulus, 300 of the 1000 people would be willing to work for a company
with a bad reputation. Also, 900 people would consider leaving their current jobs if they
were offered a role with a company that had an excellent corporate reputation. Since the
total number of people is only 1000, it has to be the case that (300-100) 200 people will be
such that they would belong to both the above groups. A states this best and is the correct
answer. Don’t be confused by the fact that A mentions 10% and not 20% (200 out of 1000);
notice that A uses the term at least 10%, that is, at least 100 people.
(A) The correct answer.
(B) The argument only talks about the pool of 1000 people who were surveyed and does
not conclude anything for workers across the United States.
(C) The argument never really describes what constitutes an unethical act.
(D) We cannot really conclude this for all workers in the United States.
(E) Extreme inference. There could be a third situation as well apart from these two.
28. One way in which companies can increase their productivity is by making use of
telecommuting. Many office workers waste a lot of time in their cars or other modes of road
transport every morning trying to reach office, and a lot of them spend their day attending
video conferences and typing emails, activities which could easily be carried out from the
comfort of their homes. So it makes sense for companies to encourage their employees to
use telecommuting services and work from home rather than travel to the office every day.
In order to evaluate the above argument, it would be useful to determine each of the
following EXCEPT:
(A) Whether the cost of telecommuting will more than offset the increased productivity
that comes about from its use.
(B) Whether the day to day work of most companies involves physical interaction
amongst their employees.
(C) Whether a large part of the work of an average employee can be conducted using
telecommuting services.
(D) Whether the use of telecommuting service will lead to increased revenues for the
companies adopting this service.
(E) Whether the general traffic situation is likely to dramatically improve in the future.
Answer: D
Explanation:
Let’s look at each of the options and check whether it is relevant to the argument.
(A) Relevant. If there is no cost benefit of telecommuting, then companies may not want
to make use of it.
(B) Relevant. If employees’ work requires physical interaction then telecommuting may
not make sense.
(C) Relevant. If most of an employees’ work entails coming to the office then it may not
make sense to use telecommuting.
(D) Irrelevant. Even if the revenues remain the same, the cost could go down because of
telecommuting leading to increased profits from the same revenue base. So it does
not matter whether the revenues go up or not.
(E) Relevant. If the traffic situation improves dramatically in the future, then it might
take care of the problem associated with coming to work.
29. Buyers of used cars must love the color white. Of all the used cars sold in the country this
year, as many as 60% were white.
Which of the following most weakens the argument?
(A) The color white is easier to maintain and hides scratches really well, unlike other
colors such as black.
(B) White has been the most preferred car color of new car buyers in the country for
several decades now.
(C) The prices of used cars do not vary on the basis of the color of the cars.
(D) There are more new cars sold in the country than used cars.
(E) The huge depreciation costs on new cars make it very attractive to buy used cars in
the country.
Answer: B
Explanation:
The argument assumes that all or a majority of these 60% of buyers actually want to buy the
white cars. However, what if white is the color in which used cars are most often available
for sale? Then the used car buyers won’t really have a choice but to buy whatever color is
available, in this case white. Thus, they would have to buy the white cars even if they may not
necessarily love the colour white. B provides one such possibility. If most new car buyers
prefer to buy white cars then obviously most used cars available for sale will also be white
since it is these new cars that eventually end up in used car lots.
(A) Why people love the color white is not our concern in the argument.
(C) If anything, this strengthens the argument by suggesting that lower price is not the
reason people prefer to buy white cars.
(D) The number of new or used cars sold in the country is not of any concern to us.
(E) Again, why people prefer to buy used cars is not our concern; why they prefer to buy
white cars is.
30. Researchers have found that one in five patients hospitalized for heart attack experiences a
major depression. According to the cardiologists who conducted the research, the depressed
patients are 55 percent more likely than other heart attack patients to need hospital care for
a heart problem again within a year and three times as likely to die from a future attack or
other heart-related conditions.
If the statements above are true, which of the following must be true?
(A) If a person dies of a heart attack, there is a high probability that he may have been
suffering from depression as well.
(B) If a patient needs to be re-hospitalised for a heart related problem within a year of his
earlier heat attack, it is very likely that he may be suffering from depression.
(C) There are some similarities between symptoms of depression and symptoms of a
heart attack in a patient.
(D) Depressed people are more likely to die of a heart attack than are people who do not
suffer from depression.
(E) Suffering from a heart attack can lead to depression in some people.
Answer: B
Explanation:
Since this is an Inference question, let’s look at each option and eliminate.
(A) This may or may not be the case. The argument never states that there is a causal
link between all depression and heart attack cases. It just states that those depression
patients who have already had a heart attack have a high chance of suffering or dying
from a heart ailment.
(B) The correct answer. This is definitely true because for such a patient, there is a 55%
chance that he may be suffering from depression.
(C) The argument never makes any mention of the symptoms of a heart attack or of
depression.
(D) Same as A; there is no direct link between depression and heart attacks for regular
people.
(E) While this may look good, the argument never states what is the reason for this
depression—heart attack or something else.
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