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A good CR_ Main point.

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A good CR_ Main point.

by gmat_perfect » Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:09 am
It is probably within the reach of human technology to make the climate of Mars inhabitable. It might be several centuries before people could live there, even with breathing apparatuses, but some of the world's great temples and cathedrals took centuries to build. Research efforts now are justified if there is even a chance of making another planet inhabitable. Besides, the intellectual exercise of understanding how the Martian atmosphere might be changed could help in understanding atmospheric changes inadvertently triggered by human activity on Earth.

The main point of the argument is that

(A) it is probably technologically possible for humankind to alter the climate of Mars
(B) it would take several centuries to make Mars even marginally inhabitable
(C) making Mars inhabitable is an effort comparable to building a great temple or cathedral
(D) research efforts aimed at discovering how to change the climate of Mars are justified
(E) efforts to change the climate of Mars could facilitate understanding of the Earth's climate

[spoiler]OA: D[/spoiler]
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by Maciek » Fri Sep 03, 2010 5:58 am
Hi!

There are two key words in the passage that help us locate author's main point
It is probably within the reach of human technology to make the climate of Mars inhabitable. It might be several centuries before people could live there, even with breathing apparatuses, but some of the world's great temples and cathedrals took centuries to build. Research efforts now are justified if there is even a chance of making another planet inhabitable. Besides, the intellectual exercise of understanding how the Martian atmosphere might be changed could help in understanding atmospheric changes inadvertently triggered by human activity on Earth.
"but" introduces clause of contrast
we can use "besides" to add more points or arguments
clause of contrast includes author's main point

Hope it helps!
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Maciek
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by diebeatsthegmat » Thu Sep 09, 2010 2:03 am
gmat_perfect wrote:It is probably within the reach of human technology to make the climate of Mars inhabitable. It might be several centuries before people could live there, even with breathing apparatuses, but some of the world's great temples and cathedrals took centuries to build. Research efforts now are justified if there is even a chance of making another planet inhabitable. Besides, the intellectual exercise of understanding how the Martian atmosphere might be changed could help in understanding atmospheric changes inadvertently triggered by human activity on Earth.

The main point of the argument is that

(A) it is probably technologically possible for humankind to alter the climate of Mars
(B) it would take several centuries to make Mars even marginally inhabitable
(C) making Mars inhabitable is an effort comparable to building a great temple or cathedral
(D) research efforts aimed at discovering how to change the climate of Mars are justified
(E) efforts to change the climate of Mars could facilitate understanding of the Earth's climate

[spoiler]OA: D[/spoiler]
]
for the good of god! i do not understand the CR i chose B but suprised its D the answer ? how come???? did you get the explanation for this CR,gmatperfect?
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by David@VeritasPrep » Thu Sep 09, 2010 5:19 am
As I have mentioned before, on the GMAT it is very rare to have a question ask for the "main point." If you go through any of the Official Guides you will see lots of questions that say, "Which of the following conclusions can be properly drawn?" But "Main Point" is more a specific type of LSAT question.

You can use these questions to practice for the GMAT if you think of them as inference questions or if you think of this as stretching your mind by working unusual types of problems.

"DiebeatstheGMAT" -- For something to be the main point it must be the main conclusion. You can use the "Why? Test" to determine if an answer choice is the main conclusion. Take each answer choice and ask (using B) for example, "Why would it take several centuries to make Mars even marginally inhabitable?" If this is the main conclusion then the rest of the argument should answer this question. If there is no answer from the stimulus than this is a premise. You see that is the difference between a premise and a conclusion. A premise is simply stated and must be accepted with no support from any other portion of the stimulus. A conclusion is supported so when you ask "why?" there is an answer.

In the case of answer choice B, this is a premise- nothing else in the argument explains why it would take several centuries to make Mars habitable. It cannot be the main point if it is not a conclusion! I suspect that many people select answer choice A. This seems to be something that argument is in favor of, but if you apply the "WHY? Test" you see that there is no support in the rest of the stimulus. This is also a premise, sort of an opinion that must be accepted because it is a premise.

Answer Choice D with the "Why? Test" applied goes like this, "Why are research efforts aimed at discovering how to change the climate of Mars are justified? The stimulus answers this in two ways 1) b/c it is probably within reach of technology to succeed in making the climate of Mars inhabitable and 2) The research efforts will help in understanding atmospheric changes here on earth.

I hope that you can see that D is the main point because the rest of the argument actually supports this statement as revealed by the "Why? Test."
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by diebeatsthegmat » Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:31 am
David@VeritasPrep wrote:As I have mentioned before, on the GMAT it is very rare to have a question ask for the "main point." If you go through any of the Official Guides you will see lots of questions that say, "Which of the following conclusions can be properly drawn?" But "Main Point" is more a specific type of LSAT question.

You can use these questions to practice for the GMAT if you think of them as inference questions or if you think of this as stretching your mind by working unusual types of problems.

"DiebeatstheGMAT" -- For something to be the main point it must be the main conclusion. You can use the "Why? Test" to determine if an answer choice is the main conclusion. Take each answer choice and ask (using B) for example, "Why would it take several centuries to make Mars even marginally inhabitable?" If this is the main conclusion then the rest of the argument should answer this question. If there is no answer from the stimulus than this is a premise. You see that is the difference between a premise and a conclusion. A premise is simply stated and must be accepted with no support from any other portion of the stimulus. A conclusion is supported so when you ask "why?" there is an answer.

In the case of answer choice B, this is a premise- nothing else in the argument explains why it would take several centuries to make Mars habitable. It cannot be the main point if it is not a conclusion! I suspect that many people select answer choice A. This seems to be something that argument is in favor of, but if you apply the "WHY? Test" you see that there is no support in the rest of the stimulus. This is also a premise, sort of an opinion that must be accepted because it is a premise.

Answer Choice D with the "Why? Test" applied goes like this, "Why are research efforts aimed at discovering how to change the climate of Mars are justified? The stimulus answers this in two ways 1) b/c it is probably within reach of technology to succeed in making the climate of Mars inhabitable and 2) The research efforts will help in understanding atmospheric changes here on earth.

I hope that you can see that D is the main point because the rest of the argument actually supports this statement as revealed by the "Why? Test."
yes, now it does make more sense for me... B is actually a fact stated in the passage...
thank you, david
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by paddle_sweep » Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:26 pm
David@VeritasPrep wrote: You can use the "Why? Test" to determine if an answer choice is the main conclusion. Take each answer choice and ask (using B) for example, "Why would it take several centuries to make Mars even marginally inhabitable?" If this is the main conclusion then the rest of the argument should answer this question. If there is no answer from the stimulus than this is a premise. You see that is the difference between a premise and a conclusion. A premise is simply stated and must be accepted with no support from any other portion of the stimulus. A conclusion is supported so when you ask "why?" there is an answer.
Excellent tip. Thanks.
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