Critical Reasoning

Either Perry's faction or Tucker's faction, but not both, will win control of the government. If Perry's faction wins, the nation will suffer economically. If Tucker's faction wins, the nation will suffer militarily.
Given the statements in the passage, which one of the following statements must be true?
(A) It is possible, but not certain, that the nation will neither suffer economically nor suffer militarily.
(B) If the nation suffers economically, it is certain that Perry's faction has won control of the government.
(C) It is certain that the nation will suffer either economically or militarily, and also certain that it will not suffer both.
(D) If the nation suffers militarily, it is possible, but not certain, that Tucker's faction has won control of the government.
(E) If the nation suffers both economically and militarily, it is certain that neither Perry's faction nor Tucker's has won control of the government.
OA D

theCodeToGMAT wrote:Either Perry's faction or Tucker's faction, but not both, will win control of the government. If Perry's faction wins, the nation will suffer economically. If Tucker's faction wins, the nation will suffer militarily.
Given the statements in the passage, which one of the following statements must be true?
(A) It is possible, but not certain, that the nation will neither suffer economically nor suffer militarily.
(B) If the nation suffers economically, it is certain that Perry's faction has won control of the government.
(C) It is certain that the nation will suffer either economically or militarily, and also certain that it will not suffer both.
(D) If the nation suffers militarily, it is possible, but not certain, that Tucker's faction has won control of the government.
(E) If the nation suffers both economically and militarily, it is certain that neither Perry's faction nor Tucker's has won control of the government.
OA D

The cause-effect relationship can be depicted as:
P --> E
T --> M

A) We know that the government would be controlled by either of the two groups, P or T. It implies that the nation will suffer in both the cases. Thus there is absolutely no possibility that the "Nation will not suffer" False

B) P can cause E, i.e One of the reasons for causing E is P, it certainly does not imply that the ONLY reason for E is P. False

C) Clause 1 is true, But clause 2 is not. Any one of the 2 groups will take control and thus cause atleast 1 problem (E or M). There could also be a possibility where P could cause a little bit of M and T could cause a little bit of E (since nothing seems to be stated explicitly). Thus there could be a possibility that the nation suffers both E and M. False

D) Seems good. This answer is subtle and avoids extreme words. T causes M so T is one of the reasons for M but NOT THE ONLY reason. The statement "it is possible but not certain" is another way of saying the same thing. Lets keep it for now.

E) Again, P could cause a partial M or T could cause a partial E, along with their usual E and M. Thus, any one of the two groups could be in power and cause both the problems. False

[spoiler]
Correct answer : D[/spoiler]

What is the Original Source of the question ?

Regards,
Vivek

theCodeToGMAT wrote:Either Perry's faction or Tucker's faction, but not both, will win control of the government. If Perry's faction wins, the nation will suffer economically. If Tucker's faction wins, the nation will suffer militarily.
Given the statements in the passage, which one of the following statements must be true?
(A) It is possible, but not certain, that the nation will neither suffer economically nor suffer militarily.
(B) If the nation suffers economically, it is certain that Perry's faction has won control of the government.
(C) It is certain that the nation will suffer either economically or militarily, and also certain that it will not suffer both.
(D) If the nation suffers militarily, it is possible, but not certain, that Tucker's faction has won control of the government.
(E) If the nation suffers both economically and militarily, it is certain that neither Perry's faction nor Tucker's has won control of the government.
OA D

Possibilities and certainties.

This can be visualized using a venn diagram too. Try it. You might get some info out of it. Anyways let us look at what the question says

Perry's win can lead to economic suffering, Tucker's win can lead to military suffering, not certain, but plausible.

So we cannot assume the mirror effect of this.

By POE, We can eliminate option that use certainty or the mirror effect.

So option D to me. This question reminds me of some logical reasoning questions of other exams I had given few years ago. Almost similar in content.

If I had a dollar for every time someone posted a LSAT question.

faraz_jeddah wrote:If I had a dollar for every time someone posted a LSAT question.

Case I

If you received the dollar. Voila, you are Rich.forget GMAT

Case II
If you gave the dollar, Buddy, GMAT is necessary for you.

[email protected] wrote:Hi vinay1983,

HA. VERY clever.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Gee thanks Rich!

Hi all,

it's a nice Q. I tried solving it w/o using pen and I got D, straight. Just to find the easiest way I tried Venn Diagram, which was actually TOUGH TO DRAW correctly. Once drawn, it's as easy as pie, but drawing proper diagram within time maybe a challenge, IMO. A Double-Matrix is a NO-NO for this Q. It will definitely waste your time.