CR Flashcards
Evidence or premises are facts that support the conclusion and are used to build the argument. They will all be statements of fact. Statements of facts are NEVER opinions.
Never argue with the evidence. If it is presented as a fact, it must be considered a fact.
You can argue with opinions
Argument = premise + assumption + conclusion.
Background info is used to ‘get us up to speed’ on anything we need to know to effectively understand the argument.
Conclusion is an opinion.
Background Info + Evidence + Assumption = Conclusion
Assumption is an unstated piece of info that must be true if the logic of the argument is to work. It connects the evidence to the conclusion.
A few : NOT MANY BUT MORE THAN 1
Several : THREE OR MORE but not many
Some : MORE THAN ONE, but possibly all
Many : a version of some but NOT NECESSARILY most
Most : more than 50%
Majority = vast majority : more than 50 %
Minority : less than 50%
Solely : only
Exclusively : only
Uniquely : connected to only one person or thing
Always : all
Many correct answers to CR questions bring in new info that is different from anything said in the passage.
Underscore : to make evident : emphasize, stress
In a recent medical study, all of the study participants who had abused alcohol in the past 5 years were found to be suffering with depression. Thus, it must be the case that abusing alcohol causes depression.
Arguments of this kind have the following possibilities :
1) The author is indeed correct, alcohol abuse causes depression
2) The cause effect relationship is in fact reversed, the depression caused the alcohol abuse in the first place
3) A third factor caused both conditions. For eg : drug abuse
4) The conditions developed independently.
ALL THE POINTS BELOW ARE VVVVV IMPORTANT.
In an Assumption question, DO NOT pick an answer that weakens the argument.
DO NOT pick an answer that strengthens the argument.
DO NOT pick an answer that add an explanation.
DO NOT pick an answer that adds nothing/no info to the argument.
DO NOT pick an answer that is a conclusion supported by what is said in the passage.
You can get quick eliminations this way, eliminate if it: strengthens, adds explanation to some part of the argument or to the whole of it, adds no info, weakens, provides alternate/better plan, IS A CONCLUSION, supports some other conclusion.
The question stem can be in any order. It can start with the conclusion and then go to the premise etc.
Eg : There is often heavy traffic in EE Highway, the number of vehicles present on the highway during peak hours is less than it’s congestion free capacity. Most of the traffic congestion occurs around the toll stations. Therefore, removal of toll stations would solve the traffic congestion problem of EE Highway.
Incorrect : The congestion around toll collection stations is caused by cars entering EE Highway via entrance ramps near the stations rather than by the stations themselves.
The above is not an assumption, it is a weakener.
Fish that swim in water containing PCBs, which are chemicals toxic to many lifeforms, absorb PCBs via their gills. Having entered fish’s systems, PCBs can build up in the fatty tissues of fish that swim in such water. Thus, if PCBs are present in a fish’s fatty tissues, it must be the case that that fish has inhabited water containing PCBs.
Which of the following is NOT an assumption upon which the argument depends :
1) Plants that fish consume do not absorb PCBs from the soil in which they grow
2) Fish in which PCBs have built up in fatty tissues do not represent only a small proportion of fish that have inhabited water containing PCBs.
2) is not an assumption
TRICKY
If it were the case that fish in which PCBs have built up in fatty tissues DO represent only a small proportion of fish that have inhabited water containing PCBs, then an absence of PCBs in a fish’s fatty tissues would NOT reliably indicate that that fish has NOT inhabited water containing PCBs.
However, even in such a case, the presence of PCBs in a fish’s fatty tissues could indicate that that fish has inhabited water containing PCBs.
If, when we negate an answer choice, the negated version of that answer choice severely weakens the argument/the argument falls apart, then that choice must have been an assumption necessary for the argument to work.
However, if you negate and it weakens the argument, that ALONE is not sufficient to make it an assumption. There are options which when negated weaken the argument yet are not the correct answer.
If we negate a potential assumption and the argument is no worse for the wear/unaffected, then that potential assumption must NOT have been necessary.
BOTTOM LINE : You can use negation for quick eliminations but to choose final answer, you might need more.
How to negate :
- negate the main verb. causes -> does not cause
- negate a quantity work. all -> not all
- get rid of a ‘not’. not required -> required
- put ‘it is not the case that’ before the statement.
Concluding that a plan will work does NOT require assuming that there is not a better or alternative plan. A plan does not have to be the best possible plan or only possible plan in order for it to work.
Very important :
An argument that concludes that a plan will work does not depend on the assumption that there is NOT another plan that would work even better.
This is nuance to this. It does not depend on the assumption that there is NOT another plan that would work even better/as well.
HOWEVER, if the argument says something along the lines of ‘this is the only way’ or ‘something MUST be done to achieve something and there is no other way’ or ‘something is the best way to do something’, then the assumption that some other plan will NOT work is required as an assumption.
Pick the assumption :
CEO of Starbucks sees that baristas are chatting with customers rather than working for around 8% of their time. Hence, they can increase profitability by reducing labor costs by staffing shops with up to 8 percent fewer people.
1) Most people who patronize coffee shops do not cite social relationships that they have with the staff as key reasons for choosing a particular shop
2) Understaffing of Starbucks would not at times result in customers’ waiting in excessively long lines
1) is correct
2) Reducing by 8% need not lead to UNDERSTAFFING which is a quite extreme situation. CEO believes that UPTO 8% reduction will lead to a more equitable level of staffing.
Weaken the argument questions :
Never try to weaken an argument by attacking the premises/evidence upon which the conclusion rests. Don’t attack the background info either.
The correct answer to a Weaken the Argument question will show that the conclusion does NOT necessarily follow from the premises, even though the premises are taken to be true.
We do this by attacking the ASSUMPTIONS.
VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT : To weaken an argument, all we must do is cast a reasonable amount of doubt that the argument is sound. We need NOT destroy the argument. We can subtly cast doubt as well.
You can’t weaken an argument by attacking the premise. Any option that does that is wrong.
Eg : An ice rink makes money from admissions and food and drinks during it’s daytime and evening sessions. Most people do not buy food during the daytime sessions. Hence, the rink has decided to only sell drinks during daytime sessions.
Option : Sometimes when people buy drinks, they decide to buy food as well.
This option attacks the premise that most people do not buy food during the day hence this cannot be a correct option.
Weakening Answer Type : Exposes a False dichotomy by offering a third alternative
A false dichotomy occurs when an argument assumes that, just because one conclusion is impossible, another conclusion must be true i.e. when an author incorrectly limits the number of possible conclusions to two.
Weakening answer type : Exposes that correlation does not mean causation or exposes the cause and effect claim.
There can be alternate reasons for the existence of correlation/cause and effect claim :
1) A causal relationship exists but is the reverse of what is stated in the argument (X causes Y rather than Y causes X)
2) A third factor causes both the given factors in the argument, but there is no cause and effect relationship between the two variables (Z causes both X and Y)
3) The correlation could be a mere coincidence, and there is no cause and effect relationship between the variables.
Weakening Answer Type : Exposes that the sample selected to make a generalization is not a representative sample.
The results of the studies that indicate x did not all show it with the same statistical significance.
‘not same’ doesn’t mean more or less, it can be very close to each other as well.
In other settings, not same need not mean very different, it can be slightly different as well.
While X and Y descended from common ancestors, they have evolved separately for thousands of years.
Just because they have evolved separately doesn’t mean they have evolved away, they can still be similar. DONT ASSUME STUFF
Weakening Answer Type : Can weaken by indicating that the items in a comparison are different in key ways, hence the comparison is faulty.
Percentages don’t tell you about the magnitude often unless you know the underlying quantities.
This year, A’s salary went up by 50 % while B’s went down by 15%, we can’t comment on who makes more until we know their actual salaries.
A frameshift answer choice to a weaken question casts doubt on a conclusion other than the conclusion of the argument, and it may mislead us into believing that the two conclusions are the same. Don’t fall for such a trick.
In context of weakening the argument questions, there can be choices that say something valid and pertinent to what the passage discusses YET not affect the argument.
Eg : Several commonly used pesticides have been linked to increased incidence of cancer in exposed people. By banning the pesticides and switching to organic farming, we can make food safer to eat.
Incorrect but valid choice : Because organically farmed food is more costly than food grown via the use of pesticides, many people would prefer to be able to choose which to buy.
in context of weakening the argument questions, DO NOT select answer choices that appear to undermine the premises of the argument. PREMISES ARE FACTUAL AND INVIOLATE.
Undermining opinions is fine.
VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT : To weaken an argument, all we must do is cast a reasonable amount of doubt that the argument is sound. We need NOT destroy the argument. We can subtly cast doubt as well. Many of the higher difficulty question will just cast doubt and not outright destroy.
Example :
Question : Global warming is caused by increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide which comes from use of fossil fuels. Olivine rock which can be mined in large quantities when powdered and added to ocean water can absorb carbon dioxide in large quantities. Therefore, adding powdered Olivine rock to the oceans is an effective approach to combating global warming.
Answer : The process of mining and powdering of rock currently requires extensive use of heavy machinery powered by fossil fuels.
Is it possible that even though the mining/powdering process uses fossil fuels which will emit CO2, after adding the olivine to ocean, we still have a net reduction of CO2 -> Yes, it’s possible but like we said, we don’t need to destroy, we just need to cast a doubt that it might not be effective at combating global warming since there’s a possibility that there might be a net increase too. We just need to ‘weaken’.
Be careful when sentences contain ‘some’, ‘some’ or even ‘many’ would not contradict/weaken a statement about the average of something. By the nature of ‘average’ there will always be a group greater than and a group less than.
Eg : Goji berry increases the average lifespan of Indians by 100 years.
Does not weaken : Some people live up to the age of Goji berry eating Indian without ever having eaten goji berries.
Does not weaken : Many people live up to the age of Goji berry eating Indian without ever having eaten goji berries.
Many can be 4 people and they are being compared with the average lifespan of 1 billion Indians so it’s pretty impact-less. As long as it’s insignificant compared to 1 billion, the argument is not weakened.
‘Indians are rich’ doesn’t NECESSARILY mean ‘all Indians are rich’, it can mean ‘Indians on the whole i.e. as an a group of people are rich’. Use context and meaning to decide.
Just because people spend more time on X rather than Y doesn’t mean X is more effective, it can be that people spend more time on X but pay more attention while doing Y.
Pay close attention when percentages are given in the question and/or the option choices. They can mingle to strengthen/weaken.
Eg : Air conditioners consume a lot of electricity and each summer, the power generation systems at Bhilai are strained. Fortunately, recent innovations have led to the design of air conditioners that use 30% less power per unit of air cooler than any other air conditioner. Hence, once these are available, the strain on Bhilai’s power generation systems will be relieved.
Correct Answer : Most people at Bhilai do not use ACs since the monthly cost to power them in about 20% more than what they’re willing to spend.
At first the correct answer seems useless but observe that if the ACs reduce power consumption by 30% and currently most people do not use ACs since the monthly cost to power one is 20% then the new ACs will lead to a net reduction in their costs : 120*70 = 8400
Hence, most people will be able to afford ACs further increasing the power requirement and strain.
Common ways to strengthen an argument :
1) Provide a premise to support or add support to the conclusion [You add support to the conclusion, not a premise. You can just add a premise. Reinforcing an already established premise is useless]
2) Explicitly state an assumption upon which the argument depends.
3) Address an issue that could affect the validity of the conclusion
4) Rule out an alternative cause of an effect
5) Confirm a conclusion by changing ,adding or eliminating a variable.
What does NOT STRENGTHEN :
1) Options that clarify/magnify/confirm
2) Options that explain stuff
IMPORTANT : It is not necessary for the premise provided by the correct answer to prove that the conclusion is definitely correct. The support provided by the answer choice just has to make the conclusion more likely to be true.
When as assumption upon which an argument relies is uncontroversial (universally accepted to be true), the presence in the argument of that unstated assumption has NO impact on the strength of the argument.
When an argument relies upon a controversial assumption, that assumption is a point of weakness in the argument. Since the assumption is effectively a premise in the argument , if it were false, then the conclusion would not be fully supported and the argument would not be sound.
Even though the end product might be eco friendly, its manufacturing process might not be. This is an important point targeted in questions.
Imagine that Tesla cars are very eco friendly but the mining and processing required to make its batteries produces more greenhouse gases than the non electric cars it hopes to replace, then it’s effectively the same in terms of harm to the atmosphere.
When an argument uses cause and effect reasoning, by eliminating even one credible alternative cause for the observed effect, we can strengthen the support for the conclusion.
NOTE : This is only for cause and effect reasoning and you are eliminating alternative CAUSE not alternative approach.
Eg : If bats are exposed to noise at levels greater than 50 db, they are unable to navigate to feed themselves. Hence, they starve to death. Over the past year, there has been a 75 percent increase in the number of dead bats found within a 2 km radius of JPMT. Therefore, it is likely that there has been noise above 50 db near JPMT.
Correct answer : When many of the dead bats were tested for the presence of pathogens associated with diseases that kill bats, only 2% tested positive.
Since, the answer rules out what could be a very plausible alternative cause for the bats’ deaths, it has strengthened the argument.
IMPORTANT : Some incorrect answers to Strengthen questions are incorrect because their only function is to seem to confirm/magnify/clarify the validity of the premises. Since the premises are already considered facts, these answers are waste and incorrect.
Eg : Premise : Around 65 mil years ago, a giant asteroid wiped out majority of the species. The asteroid released a large amount of soot into the atmosphere causing mass extinctions.
Incorrect answer : The giant asteroid wiped out 75 percent of the species.
This just clarifies that it was indeed a majority that was wiped out which DOES NOT STRENGTHEN.
Eg : The ancient Mayan city of Tikal collapsed suddenly. The residents of Tikal to maintain the city cleared 2/3rd of the forests in the area. It is hypothesized that Tikal collapsed because of the drought caused by the forest clearing.
Incorrect answer : Clearing of forests to make way for city development was a common practice for Mayans
Incorrect : In order to sustain their lifestyle, residents of Tikal would have to fell majority of the trees in the Tikal area.
We know that 2/3rd of the forests were fell, the above answers just add more info which is useless from a strengthening POV
Don’t get tricked into choosing a choice that explains part of the passage rather than supports the conclusion of the argument.
THESE OPTIONS ARE VERY TRICKY, DON’T FALL FOR IT.
Eg :
Crime in Mumbai has decreased over the last 40 years, this might partly be because of the reduction of lead in the air and water which would otherwise affect cognitive functioning on entering the human body.
Incorrect : The adding of lead to gasoline for automobiles in Mumbai has been phased out over the past 4 decades.
EXPLAINS WHY LEAD IN THE AIR HAS REDUCED. BUT WE ALREADY KNOW IT HAS REDUCED SINCE IT IS GIVEN IN THE STEM. THIS IS USELESS.
Incorrect : Lead in water can be absorbed in the stomach if water with lead is consumed.
EXPLAINS HOW LEAD ENTERS THE HUMAN BODY, BUT WE ALREADY KNOW IT DOES
Correct : In Maha cities where most water is still transported using lead pipes, crime rates haven’t changed over the last 40 years.
In questions like ‘all of the following strengthen the argument EXCEPT’, the correct answer NEED NOT weaken the argument. It just needs to not strengthen which could also mean ‘not have any effect on the argument’.
When you’re talking about the effectiveness of something, the likelihood of it DOES NOT matter.
Fluenzy : Our spanish course is best. Our students scored on average 87 points more than other coaching class students. Hence, using Fluenzy is the best way to master Spanish.
Incorrect : Spanish teachers feel that Fluenzy grads tend to speak near perfect Spanish and demonstrate deep mastery of Spanish language.
Even if every expert feels Fluezy grads are very skilled at Spanish, this fact WOULD NOT strengthen the argument that Fluenzy in particular was the cause of those skills. It could be the motivation of the students who could be using supplements to learn that was the deciding factor
Resolve the paradox :
The correct answer will present additional info that reconciles two seemingly incompatible statements, showing how they can exist together harmoniously.
Learn to recognize the keywords that indicate a contrast between the two seemingly contradictory facts.
For resolving the paradox questions, the most crucial step (just like identifying the conclusion) is identifying what you have to explain.
One thing that helps is observing which direction the correct answer has to explain. Does it have to explain an increase/decrease/sideways movement?
Something that was true all along would not explain any increase or decrease in some other thing.
Much = some but not all
Much =/= All
has not increased = stayed same OR decreased (‘stayed same’ as an additional possibility is important to note)
If there are two counteracting forces in an answer choice, it’s possible that it answers a paradox regarding why something hasn’t changed
Knowing that X causes Y does not mean that X is necessary for Y to happen.
If there is X and something on top of it that makes it better/worse than Y. Removing that ‘something’ will make it EQUAL to Y and not better/worse than Y.
If we can interpret an answer choice in multiple ways, it cannot help us to explain the paradoxical situation. -> VERY VERY IMPORTANT
Some options will explain both an increase and a decrease, since this takes us in multiple ways, it is WRONG.
Resolve the paradox :
Fees for parking in BKC has increases. BMC has improved public transport (lmao) by adding bus routes and by increasing the number of trains that run per hour. However, the no. of people using public transport to travel in BKC has decreased.
Is this option correct/incorrect :
Many people who live in BKC do not consider the cost savings they can achieve by using public transport worth the hassles of using it.
Incorrect.
We have no reason to believe that BKC people who don’t consider the cost savings from using public transportation worth the hassles didn’t already have the opinion before the improvements to public transport. So, they likely weren’t using it before and they’re still not using it now.
This would NOT explain a DECREASE.
BE CAREFUL OF OPTIONS THAT STATE GENERAL TRUTHS NOT TIED TO EVENTS IN THE STEM.
The following choices are incorrect on resolve the paradox questions :
1) Choices that explain the wrong thing
2) When the paradox involves a difference between two things but an answer choice shows how the two are similar. This is fine ONLY IF it shows that the paradox is not actually a paradox. In ALL other cases, it is incorrect.
3) Choice that makes the situation more paradoxical
4) Choice that seems to contradict one of the two facts -> This is not allowed since the facts that make are present in the stem are considered irrascible
5) Discusses the facts that make up the apparent paradox without explaining how they can coexist -> very tough to detect
4 and 5 are VV IMPORTANT.
Cause and effect reasoning error :
1) The fact that some event X occurred before some event Y does not necessarily indicate that event X caused event Y or event Y caused event X to alter/end.
2) The simultaneous occurrence of the two events does not necessarily indicate that one causes the other.
3) The fact that two variables show a correlation does not allow us on the basis of that fact alone to conclude that a cause effect relationship links them.
You can weaken a cause and effect claim by :
1) Showing that the relationship is reverse of what was concluded
2) By showing that there exists an alternate cause for the effect -> Tricky, this applies even when i don’t say X is the only cause of Y. Even if I say X causes Y and an alternate cause is discovered, it weakens.
3) By finding a third variable that causes both of the observed events.
4) By showing that the effect does not occur when the supposed cause occurs.
5) By showing that the effect occurs even when the supposed cause does not occur -> This applies on a case by case basis. For Example : if the argument is that a particular cause is THE cause then it will obviously be weakened by the case where the effect persists when the cause is removed.
Health experts : The prevalence of dementia is 1 in 3 for people aged over 85. Neurons exposed to herpes viruses in the lab have formed protein plaques of the type associated with dementia. Now it is clear that the cause of dementia is herpes virus.
Weakening Option : Not all protein in the neurons of people experiencing dementia clumps into plaques.
The above tricky option is a pseudo weakener, it appears to contradict the premise that dementia forms neural protein plaques similar to herpes virus plaques by trying to say that it does not form plaques for all the neural proteins. But that doesn’t matter since we know from the premise that dementia does form plaques for the protein which is similar to herpes virus plaque. Further, premises are inviolate. Hence, this option is incorrect.
You can strengthen a cause and effect claim by :
1) Ruling out alternative causes
2) Showing that when the cause is not present the effect does not occur
3) Showing that the relationship cannot be reversed.
Since every year DPS students score more marks in 10th board exams than KPS students, the teachers at DPS are more effective in teaching than KPS teachers.
Strengthening option : Some teachers at DPS have received awards for excellence in teaching.
The above DOES NOT strengthen since it is a general statement. We are talking about teachers at large at DPS being more effective than the teachers at large at KPS. The fact that some won awards does not lend weight to the above. Further, we do not know about KPS teachers’ situation. It might be the case that they also won equal or even more awards than DPS teachers. Don’t select ambiguous options as correct.
Recently bee populations have been declining worldwide. Since this decline has occurred simultaneously with the increased use of neo pesticides on crops, which results in the presence of neo in crop plants’ nectar and pollen which bees use, it is the use of neo pesticides that underlies the decline in bee population.
Strengthen answer : The current decline in bee populations involves a greater percentage of bees than were involved in similar declines in bee populations that occurred in the past.
VERY VERY IMPORTANT AND TRICKY
The option DOES NOT strengthen the argument.
We do not know for sure if neo pesticide indeed causes bee decline since there could be some other factor which actually causes the decline which has also increased recently as compared to before which would ALSO be in line with this option.
If, in a stem, two conclusions A and B are given and we need to support( or weaken) A over B. Then, we can do this by weakening (or supporting) B since this will strengthen (or weaken) A by making B less (or more) likely -> This comes up in difficult question and is V IMPORTANT.
Experiencing something and getting diagnosed with the same thing can happen at different timestamps. One can have depression from childhood and get diagnosed with it as an adult.
When you have questions that revolve around a scientific study, be careful when checking general comments. Since, they may seem useful but not actually affect the conclusion.
Eg : Ingredient X is an inactive agent used to increase the shelf life of antibacterial hand soaps. People claim that X causes rare skin infections. As evidence, numerous studies have shown that people who frequently use antibacterial hand soaps with X are significantly more likely to experience these rare skin diseases than people who do not use such hand soaps.
We need to strengthen.
1) Most of the people who participated in the study cited did not wash their hands more frequently than does the average user of soaps containing X
VV IMPORTANT
This statement may seem like it is strengthening by eliminating a possible alternative clause (over washing is causing issues and not X) but it is not. It just says that ‘most’ do not wash their hands more frequently, if the population not using X in the study doesn’t wash hands more frequently while the group using X washes it more frequently, then over-washing can still be the cause of skin infections. If ALL the people in the study have the SAME frequency of handwashing and still people using X get issues then X still remains the cause.
Unlike questions in other types of GMAT questions, which may not be fully supported by the facts given, the correct answer to an inference question is a conclusion that is fully supported by the facts given and thus must be true ALWAYS (and not sometimes/under some conditions)
Basic guidelines for Inference questions :
1) Never bring in outside information/knowledge. Do not fall for answer options that state facts that are true but are not inferences supported by the facts in the stimulus.
2) IMPORTANT : An inference NEED NOT summarize the passage or provide a main conclusion to an argument. GIVEN AN ARGUMENT, AN INFERENCE IS SIMPLY ANY CONCLUSION THAT CAN BE PROPERLY DRAWN, IT NEED NOT BE THE MAIN CONCLUSION.
3) Do NOT seek to predict answers to inference questions.
4) Do NOT confuse assumptions with inferences. Assumption serves as a bridge between the premises and the conclusion. Inference is an unstated conclusion that must be true if the premises provided are true.
5) If a statement or condition, when negated, contradicts basic information contained in the original passage, then this statement MUST BE important (important, need not be the answer always)
In Inference questions, look out for answers that present info from the original argument in a distorted fashion. It only takes a small change to render incorrect an otherwise correct answer. The correct answer will sometimes use different words to discuss the same ideas while trap answers will use the same words to discuss ideas that are different from those in the stimulus. Hence, don’t word match.
Tricky : We must be careful to not select answers that are out of proportion with the information presented in the stimulus.
Progression of words :
Some -> many -> most -> All
Never -> Seldom -> rarely -> sometimes -> often
Eg : ‘not guaranteed’ means a probability of less than 100% while ‘unlikely’ means a probability of less than 50%
Change in TENSE can also make an answer out of proportion to the stimulus.
Inference questions may include incorrect answer choices that say things that are true in the real world but are not supported by the statements in the stimuli. There choices are NOT correct.
In the US, a customer has to pay sales tax to a state only when goods purchased are purchased from a retailer with a physical presence in the state in which the customer is located. Since many online purchases are made by customers in one state from retailers with physical locations only in other states, in many cases, customers do not pay sales tax on online purchases.
Pick the inference :
1) It is possible that an online retailer located in the US would never have to charge sales tax on any purchases made from it.
2) Customers usually make online purchases from retailers without physical locations in the states in which the customers are located.
TRICKY
1) Is correct. If ALL the customers are from a state without the online retailer’s physical presence, then no sales tax needs to be paid.
2) Out of proportion. While the passage says that ‘many online purchases….’, ‘many’ could be a small percentage of all online purchases. So, the fact that ‘many’ online purchases… DOES NOT necessarily mean that customers USUALLY make online purchases…
While surgery to treat cataracts restores vision clarity quickly, it is somewhat expensive. At the same time, there are relatively inexpensive holistic methods that some people who experience cataracts could use to clear their vision within a reasonable timeframe, just as effectively though not as quickly as surgery does. Nevertheless, even people experiencing cataracts who could clear their vision within a reasonable timeframe via use of holistic methods generally opt for surgery instead.
Pick the inference :
1) People are more concerned about the time involved in dealing with cataracts that the expense involved.
2) More money is spent in the process of solving problems involving cataracts than necessarily has to be spent to solve them.
Very tricky
2) is correct.
1) makes an assertion about people’s concerns because the passage defines only what people choose not what motivates them. For all we know, PEOPLE ARE NOT EVEN CONSIDERING THESE FACTORS WHEN GOING FOR SURGERY. IT COULD ALSO BE ABOUT THE EASE OF ACCESS TO THESE HOLISTIC METHODS.
IMPORTANT AND USEFUL CONSIDERATION : PEOPLE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE AWARE OF THE EXISTENCE OF HOLISTIC METHODS HENCE THEY ARE NOT OPTING FOR THEM. WE ARE JUST TALKING ABOUT CHOICES NOT THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THEM.
Correct answers to inference questions can be :
1) Drawn from the entire passage by using it’s entirety to conclude something.
2) Drawn from a small portion of the passage.
If margin on product A is 10% and that on B is 20% and the average margin has increased this year over the last, then it NEED NOT BE that B sold more this year compared to A in absolute numbers than last year, all we need is that the RATIO of B to A was greater this year than that of last year.
There are multiple ways in which the average margin can increase without the raw numbers of B increasing :
1) Sales of B stays same and sales of A decrease
2) Sales of both decreased but sales of A decreased more