A newly discovered painting seems to be the work of one of

[RBBmba@2014]

A newly discovered painting seems to be the work of one of two seventeenth-century artists, either the northern German Johannes Drechen or the Frenchman Louis Birelle, who sometimes painted in the same style as Drechen. Analysis of the carved picture frame, which has been identified as the painting's original seventeenth-century frame, showed that it is made of wood found widely in northern Germany at the time, but rare in the part of France where Birelle lived. This shows that the painting is most likely the work of Drechen.

Which of the following is an assumption that the argument requires?

(A) The frame was made from wood local to the region where the picture was painted.
(B) Drechen is unlikely to have ever visited the home region of Birelle in France.
(C) Sometimes a painting so resembles others of its era that no expert is able to confidently decide who painted it.
(D) The painter of the picture chose the frame for the picture.
(E) The carving style of the picture frame is not typical of any specific region of Europe.

OA:A

Source: OG 2016,CR Qs.8

@Verbal Experts - although I got this one correct, took more than 3 mins to nail it. Could you please suggest some faster and smarter way to get this in 2 mins ?
Also, please shed light on why B is wrong ?

[ceilidh.erickson]

With FIND ASSUMPTION questions, I recommend the following approach:

1. Try to find the logical gap in the argument before looking at the answer choices. Do this by asking, "taking the premises as true, is there a way for the conclusion not to be true?"

2. When looking through the answer choices, use the Negation Test: because the right answer will be an assumption necessary to uphold the conclusion, the opposite of the right answer should break the conclusion.

Premises:
- the German & French painters had the same style
- the frame is made of wood more often found in Germany than France

Conclusion: the painting is most likely the work of the German.

Logical Gaps:
- what if wood was transported from one region to the other?
- what if the painters themselves traveled from one region to the other?
- what if the painting was shipped elsewhere to be framed?
- just because the wood is rare in France, does that mean we don't have any frames from that region made from that wood?
Assumption: The painting, painter, and frame are all from the same region.

Answer choices: Apply the Negation Test.

(A) The frame was made from wood local to the region where the picture was painted.
If the frame were NOT made from wood local to the region where the picture was painted, then knowing the provenance of the frame would give us no information about where it was painted, and thus who the painter was. The conclusion would fall apart --> this must be the necessary assumption!

(B) Drechen is unlikely to have ever visited the home region of Birelle in France.
If Drechen DID visit France, this still wouldn't negate the idea that German wood in frame indicates a German painting. He could still visit that area, but if he mostly painted in and used frames from Germany, the argument would still hold. (If Birelle had visited Germany and possibly acquired German wood, that would be more relevant). The right answer on an Assumption question must be necessary for the conclusion to hold. This answer might slightly strengthen, but it's not necessary.

(C) Sometimes a painting so resembles others of its era that no expert is able to confidently decide who painted it.
Does this HAVE to be true for the argument to hold? No. We're just trying to ascertain the provenance of this particular painting.

(D) The painter of the picture chose the frame for the picture.
If the painter did NOT choose the frame, would the whole argument fall apart? No - someone else could choose the frame, but as long as the frames tend to come from the same region as the paintings, the chain of logic in the argument holds.

(E) The carving style of the picture frame is not typical of any specific region of Europe.
If the carving style WAS typical of a specific region, would the argument fall apart? No, that would actually strengthen the idea that we know where the frame is coming from. It wouldn't do anything to tell us whether the region of the frame indicates the region of the painting, though.

The correct answer is A.

Does that use of the negation test help?

[ceilidh.erickson]

For more on the Negation Test for Find Assumption questions, see:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -problems/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -problems/
https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-use-of-n ... tml#560777
https://www.beatthegmat.com/assumption-b ... tml#694851
https://www.beatthegmat.com/outlaw-fishi ... tml#566447

[Phoenix7]

With FIND ASSUMPTION questions, I recommend the following approach:

1. Try to find the logical gap in the argument before looking at the answer choices. Do this by asking, "taking the premises as true, is there a way for the conclusion not to be true?"

2. When looking through the answer choices, use the Negation Test: because the right answer will be an assumption necessary to uphold the conclusion, the opposite of the right answer should break the conclusion.

Premises:
- the German & French painters had the same style
- the frame is made of wood more often found in Germany than France

Conclusion: the painting is most likely the work of the German.

Logical Gaps:
- what if wood was transported from one region to the other?
- what if the painters themselves traveled from one region to the other?
- what if the painting was shipped elsewhere to be framed?
- just because the wood is rare in France, does that mean we don't have any frames from that region made from that wood?
Assumption: The painting, painter, and frame are all from the same region.

Answer choices: Apply the Negation Test.

(A) The frame was made from wood local to the region where the picture was painted.
If the frame were NOT made from wood local to the region where the picture was painted, then knowing the provenance of the frame would give us no information about where it was painted, and thus who the painter was. The conclusion would fall apart --> this must be the necessary assumption!

(B) Drechen is unlikely to have ever visited the home region of Birelle in France.
If Drechen DID visit France, this still wouldn't negate the idea that German wood in frame indicates a German painting. He could still visit that area, but if he mostly painted in and used frames from Germany, the argument would still hold. (If Birelle had visited Germany and possibly acquired German wood, that would be more relevant). The right answer on an Assumption question must be necessary for the conclusion to hold. This answer might slightly strengthen, but it's not necessary.

(C) Sometimes a painting so resembles others of its era that no expert is able to confidently decide who painted it.
Does this HAVE to be true for the argument to hold? No. We're just trying to ascertain the provenance of this particular painting.

(D) The painter of the picture chose the frame for the picture.
If the painter did NOT choose the frame, would the whole argument fall apart? No - someone else could choose the frame, but as long as the frames tend to come from the same region as the paintings, the chain of logic in the argument holds.

(E) The carving style of the picture frame is not typical of any specific region of Europe.
If the carving style WAS typical of a specific region, would the argument fall apart? No, that would actually strengthen the idea that we know where the frame is coming from. It wouldn't do anything to tell us whether the region of the frame indicates the region of the painting, though.

The correct answer is A.

Does that use of the negation test help?

Hi Ceilidh

Thanks for the clear explanation of how to find the correct option in Assumption questions.
Please let me know, when an assumption question asks "Which of the following is an assumption that the argument requires?", does the "argument" refer to the complete argument (premise+conclusion) or to the conclusion alone?
This seems to be important because, in the above question, if the "argument" refers to the conclusion alone, option A is clearly the best answer. On the other hand, if the "argument" refers to the premise also, which in this case is "A newly discovered painting seems to be the work of one of two seventeenth-century artists... who sometimes painted in the same style as Drechen", then option C could also be a valid assumption. The conclusion, which is basically a speculation, is being drawn based on circumstantial rather than hard evidence because the experts can't conclude who is the artist.

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

when an assumption question asks "Which of the following is an assumption that the argument requires?", does the "argument" refer to the complete argument (premise+conclusion) or to the conclusion alone?

The argument encompasses both the premises and the conclusion. Give Ceilidh's post another read. Another way to think of Assumption questions is to ask what, logically, must be true in order for the premises to lead to the conclusion. C doesn't have to be true given the conclusion and the premises here. An answer that merely could be true for an Assumption question will not be correct.

[zoe]

With FIND ASSUMPTION questions, I recommend the following approach:

1. Try to find the logical gap in the argument before looking at the answer choices. Do this by asking, "taking the premises as true, is there a way for the conclusion not to be true?"

2. When looking through the answer choices, use the Negation Test: because the right answer will be an assumption necessary to uphold the conclusion, the opposite of the right answer should break the conclusion.

Premises:
- the German & French painters had the same style
- the frame is made of wood more often found in Germany than France

Conclusion: the painting is most likely the work of the German.

Logical Gaps:
- what if wood was transported from one region to the other?
- what if the painters themselves traveled from one region to the other?
- what if the painting was shipped elsewhere to be framed?
- just because the wood is rare in France, does that mean we don't have any frames from that region made from that wood?
Assumption: The painting, painter, and frame are all from the same region.

Hi ceilidh, I can do similar assumptions as yours
but I struggled with A and B, honestly speaking, I have confused why A is correct, although I picked up A

IMO, (A) The frame was made from wood local to the region where the picture was painted.
Choice A states that the wood of frame is the same region of the picture. so i can get that wood of frame came either Germany or France.
But the fact that wood of frame was found widely in Germany does not necessary mean the picture was from Germany , and that the region of wood is Germany does not necessary mean the picture was from Germany.
It is highly possible that the wood of the frame and picture were from France, but the frame was found widely in Germany.

So how could A be assumption.

(B) Drechen is unlikely to have ever visited the home region of Birelle in France.
Even Drechen never visited France, it is also entirely possible that Drechen used the frame from France, and wood that found widely in Germany actually came from France.

So I think B is not correct.

Genuinely want your help

thanks in advance

have a nice day
>_~