In Acadia National Park, there is a large network of gravel carriage roads that are closed to vehicular traffic but open to a variety of other uses. In an attempt to substantially limit the damage that occurs to the carriage roads from overuse during the course of a year, park officials are imposing strict rules during the spring season. From March 15th to May 1st, when the roads are especially soft and more easily damaged, horses and bikes will be prohibited from all carriage roads, and walkers and runners will only be allowed on certain sections.
In assessing whether the park officials' plan to limit the damage to the carriage roads will be successful, it would be most useful to know which of the following?
A. Whether bikes and horses cause more damage to the carriage roads than walkers and runners do.
B. Whether snowmobilers are allowed to use the carriage roads during the winter months.
C. Whether a considerable percentage of carriage road usage occurs from March 15th to May 1st.
D. Whether some sections of the carriage roads are more susceptible to damage from overuse than others.
E. Whether a substantial percentage of visitors to the park ride their bikes on the carriage roads during their visit.
I agree with the OA. However, I don't understand why A is not correct. If we do the variance test in A, and we confirm that bikes and horses cause more damage than walkers and runners, we can conclude that the plan makes sense.
Also, why not E?
OA is ___C__.
Target Test Prep is 20% off right now!
Use code FLASH20
Available with Beat the GMAT members only code
MORE DETAILS
Roads
This topic has expert replies
-
metallicafan
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 142
- Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:55 am
- Thanked: 5 times
- Followed by:3 members
-
snigdha1605
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:41 pm
- Thanked: 3 times
Hmmm...I dont understand how the OA is C. Can anyone explain?
Isn't C already mentioned in the argument. The roads are "especially" soft and easily damaged during that time. The use of especially indicates that this is the period when the roads are highly susceptible to damage.
WHat we need to evaluate is if during this period the plan will be successful. If prohibiting bikes/horse would cause more or less damage than allowing walkers and runners. Hence my answer would be A
Can an expert plz give more concrete reasoning for the OA to be C ?[/spoiler]
Isn't C already mentioned in the argument. The roads are "especially" soft and easily damaged during that time. The use of especially indicates that this is the period when the roads are highly susceptible to damage.
WHat we need to evaluate is if during this period the plan will be successful. If prohibiting bikes/horse would cause more or less damage than allowing walkers and runners. Hence my answer would be A
Can an expert plz give more concrete reasoning for the OA to be C ?[/spoiler]
-
vivekchandrams
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Wed May 01, 2013 9:32 am
- Thanked: 16 times
- GMAT Score:690
IMO C
Hope all are down to A, C and E.
E - it discusses only about bikes. No mention of horses. So knowing something about bikes alone wouldn't help. So, eliminate
A - that is a more obvious option. Bike and horses obviously can cause more damage than what humans alone can. If C weren't present then the next best option would have been A.
C - It helps us whether the plan works. If the carriage roads remain almost unused during the mentioned period, then there is no considerable benefit of prohibiting an occasional horse/bike. Hence knowing the carriage road usage helps us to know whether the plan made has considerable effect in saving the carriage road.
Hence, C
Pls hit 'thank' button if you find my post useful.
Hope all are down to A, C and E.
E - it discusses only about bikes. No mention of horses. So knowing something about bikes alone wouldn't help. So, eliminate
A - that is a more obvious option. Bike and horses obviously can cause more damage than what humans alone can. If C weren't present then the next best option would have been A.
C - It helps us whether the plan works. If the carriage roads remain almost unused during the mentioned period, then there is no considerable benefit of prohibiting an occasional horse/bike. Hence knowing the carriage road usage helps us to know whether the plan made has considerable effect in saving the carriage road.
Hence, C
Pls hit 'thank' button if you find my post useful.
-
tarunjohri
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 6:18 pm
metallicafan wrote:In Acadia National Park, there is a large network of gravel carriage roads that are closed to vehicular traffic but open to a variety of other uses. In an attempt to substantially limit the damage that occurs to the carriage roads from overuse during the course of a year, park officials are imposing strict rules during the spring season. From March 15th to May 1st, when the roads are especially soft and more easily damaged, horses and bikes will be prohibited from all carriage roads, and walkers and runners will only be allowed on certain sections.
In assessing whether the park officials' plan to limit the damage to the carriage roads will be successful, it would be most useful to know which of the following?
The question is asking you what additional information would be really helpful in evaluating if the plan to block roads is worthwhile or going to be successful.
A. Whether bikes and horses cause more damage to the carriage roads than walkers and runners do.
This information is already given in the passage where in the officials feel that the bikes and horses cause more damage. So repeating this would not give us any new information because we already know the answer to this question.
B. Whether snowmobilers are allowed to use the carriage roads during the winter months.
Out of Scope
C. Whether a considerable percentage of carriage road usage occurs from March 15th to May 1st.
This is important because if there is zero usage then there is no need for such a plan at all.
D. Whether some sections of the carriage roads are more susceptible to damage from overuse than others.
Already mentioned in the passage and hence some roads are blocked for all while some are open for runners.
E. Whether a substantial percentage of visitors to the park ride their bikes on the carriage roads during their visit.
Substantial is subjective and hence leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Hence this information would not be helpful in itself. It would need to be validated by information on the condition and durability of the roads. Hence immediately, this information would be useless.
Hence Ans is C.[/i]
-
binit
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 111
- Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2015 11:00 pm
- Thanked: 8 times
- Followed by:1 members
Hi all,
This is an old post, but I thought my input might help somebody. Here's my approach: (Bold parts sh be stressed)
Q Stem: In assessing whether the park officials' plan to limit the damage to the carriage roads will be successful, it would be most useful to know which of the following?
What is the park officials' plan?
Pls re-read the part of the passage and find the exact line: to substantially limit the damage that occurs to the carriage roads from overuse during the course of a year, park officials are imposing strict rules during the spring season. You got anything fishy?? If no, pls read the line again.
To protect damage occurring whole year they basically limit the usage during spring - this plan clearly assumes that most of the damage has to occur during the spring season. That's what C checks.
A and E may also be valid checks, but not as important as C.
~Binit.
This is an old post, but I thought my input might help somebody. Here's my approach: (Bold parts sh be stressed)
Q Stem: In assessing whether the park officials' plan to limit the damage to the carriage roads will be successful, it would be most useful to know which of the following?
What is the park officials' plan?
Pls re-read the part of the passage and find the exact line: to substantially limit the damage that occurs to the carriage roads from overuse during the course of a year, park officials are imposing strict rules during the spring season. You got anything fishy?? If no, pls read the line again.
To protect damage occurring whole year they basically limit the usage during spring - this plan clearly assumes that most of the damage has to occur during the spring season. That's what C checks.
A and E may also be valid checks, but not as important as C.
~Binit.
-
bubbliiiiiiii
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 979
- Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:38 am
- Location: Hyderabad, India
- Thanked: 49 times
- Followed by:12 members
- GMAT Score:700
What is source and Official explanation of this question?metallicafan wrote:In Acadia National Park, there is a large network of gravel carriage roads that are closed to vehicular traffic but open to a variety of other uses. In an attempt to substantially limit the damage that occurs to the carriage roads from overuse during the course of a year, park officials are imposing strict rules during the spring season. From March 15th to May 1st, when the roads are especially soft and more easily damaged, horses and bikes will be prohibited from all carriage roads, and walkers and runners will only be allowed on certain sections.
In assessing whether the park officials' plan to limit the damage to the carriage roads will be successful, it would be most useful to know which of the following?
A. Whether bikes and horses cause more damage to the carriage roads than walkers and runners do.
This is indirectly stated in the passage by mentioning restrictions on bikes and horses over walkers and runners at a point when the roads are most susceptible to damage. Thus, this information in redundant.
B. Whether snowmobilers are allowed to use the carriage roads during the winter months.
I have no idea of what snowmobilers are! Since this is not discussed I think this is out of scope.
C. Whether a considerable percentage of carriage road usage occurs from March 15th to May 1st.
Although it is mentioned in the question stem how to protect these roads during spring, it is not mentioned whether they are actually used. It could be that these restrictions aren't of use as there is no biker involved! Thus, correct. I was tempted to A unless I read this option and this appeared more logical to me.
D. Whether some sections of the carriage roads are more susceptible to damage from overuse than others.
We are talking about the carriage roads in all not in parts. Thus, eliminate.
E. Whether a substantial percentage of visitors to the park ride their bikes on the carriage roads during their visit.
This is very similar to A. However, I was able to eliminate it because even if bikers ride their bike or not the roads are still open to damage based on the question whether horses are allowed or not. Thus, eliminate.
Regards,
Pranay
Pranay
