A Tough CR Question: Choices seem pretty similar

Question

I came across this question and the choices I have to choose between are B and D. Now How do I choose between these two choices???
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During the period in which there are no competitive races, two runners--Runners A and Runners B--take part in an experiment measuring their VO2 max, the volume of oxygen an athlete can use. During these sessions, the runners engaged in moderate aerobic activity, or a sustained heart rate between 146-154 beats per minute. At the end of the sessions, Runner A had a greater VO2 max than Runner B. Therefore, once the two runners begin identical intensive training--sessions involving over 168 beats per minute-- for the race season, Runner A will continue to have the greater VO2 max, assuming that neither become injured and that both train with similar intensity

A) Runner A and Runner B had similar VO2 maxes uponentering the study.
B) Regarding their VO2 maxes, runners respond equally to intensive training.
C) Intensive training involves sessions in which athletes maintain a heartbeat over 168 beats per minute.
D) The amount one trains does not influence one’s VO2 max.
E) During the experiment, Runner A did not always have the greater VO2 max than Runner B.
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VivianKerr · Answer

What is the actual question-stem? Can you double-check the phrasing of the question. I can't tell what it's asking.

ddg · Answer

Hi Vivian, Thanks for replying. I checked the question, it is a practice question from Magoosh. Its asking about the relation between intense activity and VO2 levels I guess

VivianKerr · Answer

That's the problem -- it's not asking anything. There's no "question" at the end of the paragraph.

If it was a fill in the blank, then the answer choices would make a complete sentence with the last sentence of the passage, but they don't.

Here's the complete last sentence:

Therefore, once the two runners begin identical intensive training--sessions involving over 168 beats per minute-- for the race season, Runner A will continue to have the greater VO2 max, assuming that neither become injured and that both train with similar intensity

Here's a truncated version:

Therefore, Runner A will have greater VO2 max, assuming that X and that Y.

It's a statement.

If we tried to add an answer choice to the end, notice how it makes no sense:

Therefore, Runner A will have greater VO2 max, assuming that X and that Y Runner A and Runner B had similar VO2 maxes uponentering the study.

This is a run-on sentence and is illogical. Something is missing from this question, or this is an incredibly poor formatting job from Magoosh. Magoosh makes pretty good material, so I find this really odd. I'm recommend you DM a Magoosh tutor. There is no "question" to this question, and it is profoundly unlike most GMAT CR.

Vivian Kerr
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binit · Answer

Hi ddg, the question is incomplete. It is NOT asking anything at the end of the passage. If it asks to strengthen, I would go for B. ~Binit.

pawan750 · Answer

VivianKerr wrote:That's the problem -- it's not asking anything. There's no "question" at the end of the paragraph.

If it was a fill in the blank, then the answer choices would make a complete sentence with the last sentence of the passage, but they don't.

Here's the complete last sentence:

Therefore, once the two runners begin identical intensive training--sessions involving over 168 beats per minute-- for the race season, Runner A will continue to have the greater VO2 max, assuming that neither become injured and that both train with similar intensity

Here's a truncated version:

Therefore, Runner A will have greater VO2 max, assuming that X and that Y.

It's a statement.

If we tried to add an answer choice to the end, notice how it makes no sense:

Therefore, Runner A will have greater VO2 max, assuming that X and that Y Runner A and Runner B had similar VO2 maxes uponentering the study.

This is a run-on sentence and is illogical. Something is missing from this question, or this is an incredibly poor formatting job from Magoosh. Magoosh makes pretty good material, so I find this really odd. I'm recommend you DM a Magoosh tutor. There is no "question" to this question, and it is profoundly unlike most GMAT CR.

Hi,

following is the complete question

During the period in which there are no competitive races, two runners--Runners A and Runners B--take part in an experiment measuring their VO2 max, the volume of oxygen an athlete can use. During these sessions, the runners engaged in moderate aerobic activity, or a sustained heart rate between 146-154 beats per minute. At the end of the sessions, Runner A had a greater VO2 max than Runner B. Therefore, once the two runners begin identical intensive training--sessions involving over 168 beats per minute-- for the race season, Runner A will continue to have the greater VO2 max, assuming that neither become injured and that both train with similar intensity.

Which of the following is an assumption upon which the argument rests?

A-runner A and Runner B had similar VO2 maxes uponentering the study.
B-Regarding their VO2 maxes, runners respond equally to intensive training.
C-Intensive training involves sessions in which athletes maintain a heartbeat over 168 beats per minute.
D-The amount one trains does not influence one’s VO2 max.
E-During the experiment, Runner A did not always have the greater VO2 max than Runner B.

binit · Answer

IMO B.

Ian Stewart · Answer

The argument is essentially:

• A has better VO2-max than B after moderate activity

• So A will have better VO2-max than B after intensive activity

We're comparing two different situations - moderate activity and intensive activity. We're assuming the comparison in the first situation will still hold in the second, or in other words we're assuming that if someone has better VO2 in moderate training, he or she will continue to have better VO2 in intensive training.

None of the answers says that exactly. Answer B is the only one that's close to being right, so I assume it's the "OA", but it's not a correct answer either. Answer B is incorrect, because it says "runners respond equally to intensive training". If something is an assumption, it needs to be true for the argument to hold. And we don't need to assume they respond equally to intensive training for the argument to be true. The argument is still true if high-VO2 runners in moderate training respond better than low-VO2 runners to intensive training.

Really the question ought to ask something more like "the argument above is logically sound if which of the following is true?", which is not the same as asking for an "assumption".

For online GMAT math tutoring, or to buy my higher-level Quant books and problem sets, contact me at ianstewartgmat at gmail.com

ianstewartgmat.com

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A Tough CR Question: Choices seem pretty similar

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