Critical Reasoning

Advertisement: Do you want to be more energetic and physically fit? Take a daily supplement of Vita-Plus, a vitamin combination containing additional proprietary ingredients. Our Study using hundreds of volunteers show that just after 1 week of taking 2 capsules daily, participants report being more energetic and alert on average than the average level reported by national institute of health survey of all Americans

Which of the following will most strengthen the advertisements claim that vita-plus supplements make one more energetic and alert.

1) Those who voluntarily choose to take 2 capsules daily reported energy levels even greater than those who took only 2 capsules
2) The volunteers were randomly selected from all those who a newspaper advertisement and were willing to pay for the cost of Vita Plus capsules
3) At the beginning of the study, the volunteers' reports on alertness showed levels on average no different from the average level reported by National institute of health.
4) Some of the volunteers were given capsules that solely contained cellulose, an inert substance with no vitamins or health inducing substance. Those volunteers also reported increased levels of alertness and energy
5) Some of the volunteers were given capsules that solely contained cellulose, an inert substance with no vitamins or other health inducing substances. Those volunteers reported no increase in alertness or energy

The argument is focused on effectiveness of the capsule. so the answer should be the one that stregthens it.

E does it.

What is OA?
I would go with C.

Since this is a study/survey sort of Argument, the soundness of the survey or sample taken should be picked as the answer choice. C does that.

IMO................C

This is a causal argument
Vita Plus -> more energetic
To strengthen this argument we have to show that vita plus does indeed cause a gain in energy.

The only choice that does that is C.
At the beginning of the study, the volunteers' reports on alertness showed levels on average no different from the average level reported by National institute of health.


If the sample was biased then this would show something other than vitaplus would be the cause of increased energy.

choice c definitely is not the right answer. It is talking about the condition before the survey and does not address the capsule.

Ok check this:

What's the conclusion?

The advertisers claim that : vita-plus supplements make one more energetic and alert.

Option c does not strengthen this.

whereas e shows that the health inducing substance does increase energy or alertness.

pre-gmat wrote:Ok check this:

What's the conclusion?

The advertisers claim that : vita-plus supplements make one more energetic and alert.

Option c does not strengthen this.

whereas e shows that the health inducing substance does increase energy or alertness.

E has num of problems

1. its talking about Some people----could be 1% or 99 %
if it would have been Most -- it would have some bearing
2. It is saying capsule contained no vitamins, thus ----> no energy gain...
this is oppposite to the stimulli, which says
capsule intake ---> high energy

C has no problems
As aditi pointed out, in a servey we need to bolster the evidence by showing that the survey is sound

imo:C

how can we find out the diference between the one who has taken capsule and one who has not?

only when both were same at the start ,we can find out the the effect of capsule.

As both were same before taking the capsule we can say that capsules are beneficial for those who take them,,

thanks

Folks,
This has been posted before. It looks like the official answer is E) but no one has confirmed the source.

Surprise surprise C) is its contender atleast in some of the posts

https://www.beatthegmat.com/what-is-the- ... -t275.html

Neha, whats the source?

I answered my own question about the source(Nova GMAT prep). The explanation given seems to be more scientifc than logical.

It says that in a test an inert substance is given first followed by the actual capsule/vitamin and if the results show a positive impact (i.e the inert substance did not produce a positive result but the actaul capsule/vitamin did) then it shows that the capsule/vitamin given was the reason for the alertness....

You are right .. The source is Beat The Gmat Forum itself.. I was also banking on C but when I saw that E was the answer I posted it again for better explaination.. Can we get an expert to answer this one? How do we get one?

choice E says that even when 6 out of 10 people found themselves more energetic than average level reported by national institute of health survey of all americans, 4 of the lot didnt find themselves energetic enough after consuming inert(vitamin less) capsules .

This states the fact that vitamins in the capsules are the reason for increased energy of participants and hence E

C must be the answer !
If the volunteers was already more energetic and alert than average (I mean before the study), we can't be sure that the pills are effective.
However, if the volunteers are just as energetic and alert as other people before the study (as C says), and they become more energetic AFTER they took the pills, this must be due to the effect of the pills.
Hence C strengthen the argument.

The comparison is between "Take a daily supplement of Vita-Plus, a vitamin combination containing additional proprietary ingredients" and taking the capsule without any additional ingredient.

E strengthens it.