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My grandfather says that

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My grandfather says that

by sanju09 » Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:26 pm
My grandfather says that, most of the new clothes that he has purchased have fallen apart in a very short time. He also points out that most of the vintage clothes that he bought are still in excellent condition, even thought they were more than 15 years old when he bought them. So he concludes that clothes made today are inferior in terms of how long they last as compared to vintage clothes.

Which of the following is a major weakness in his conclusion?

(A) It does not take into account the fact that raw materials available then were of much better quality
(B) It does not take into account the fact that, if prices are adjusted for inflation, the vintage clothes would turn out to be much more expensive than today's clothes
(C) It confuses the number of clothing items sold with the ratio of items that are useless today
(D) It does not take into account the stitching pattern
(E) It fails to take into account clothes made over 15 years ago that are no longer fit for sale


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by beatthegmatinsept » Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:57 pm
sanju09 wrote:My grandfather says that, most of the new clothes that he has purchased have fallen apart in a very short time. He also points out that most of the vintage clothes that he bought are still in excellent condition, even thought they were more than 15 years old when he bought them. So he concludes that clothes made today are inferior in terms of how long they last as compared to vintage clothes.

Which of the following is a major weakness in his conclusion?

(A) It does not take into account the fact that raw materials available then were of much better quality
(B) It does not take into account the fact that, if prices are adjusted for inflation, the vintage clothes would turn out to be much more expensive than today's clothes
(C) It confuses the number of clothing items sold with the ratio of items that are useless today
(D) It does not take into account the stitching pattern
(E) It fails to take into account clothes made over 15 years ago that are no longer fit for sale


[spoiler]Source: freegmattest.net[/spoiler]
Confused.. I was able to eliminate A, D and E. Between C and E, I'd go for E. But I am really not sure.
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by reply2spg » Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:18 am
IMO e
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by ashish2104 » Fri Aug 13, 2010 5:00 am
IMO C.

C mentions ratio of n(clothes sold)/ n(items useless today). As per the argument structure any choice that links old and new clothes is the basis of the conclusion. This choice exploits the confusion made in linking old and new clothes.

For E,I dont understand how it will weaken the argument. Even if old clothes are no longer fit for sale, the conculsion that today's clothes are inferior in comparioson to old clothes is not weakened.
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by abhigang » Fri Aug 13, 2010 5:04 am
IMO E.
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by uwhusky » Fri Aug 13, 2010 7:35 am
IMO it's A.

Premise:
Most of the new clothes that Grandpa has purchased have fallen apart in a very short time; most of the vintage clothes that he bought are still in excellent condition, even thought they were more than 15 years old
Conclusion:
that clothes made today are inferior in terms of how long they last as compared to vintage clothes.
A weakening CR question like this one, one should look for alternative explanations, issues with statistic, reverse answer, and any attempt to create disconnect between premise and conclusion.

A is the only one of 5 that actually addresses the argument.

B is referring to cost - out of scope.
C is attacking the ratio - possible contender with statistic.
D is also out of scope.
E is referring to vintage clothes and whether or not they are fit for sale - out of scope.

C might have worked with better verbiage, but I doubt a correct answer on GMAT would describe issues within stat and call it useless.

So again, my answer is A - it also passes the assumption negate technique.
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by diebeatsthegmat » Sat Aug 14, 2010 12:21 am
beatthegmatinsept wrote:
sanju09 wrote:My grandfather says that, most of the new clothes that he has purchased have fallen apart in a very short time. He also points out that most of the vintage clothes that he bought are still in excellent condition, even thought they were more than 15 years old when he bought them. So he concludes that clothes made today are inferior in terms of how long they last as compared to vintage clothes.

Which of the following is a major weakness in his conclusion?

(A) It does not take into account the fact that raw materials available then were of much better quality
(B) It does not take into account the fact that, if prices are adjusted for inflation, the vintage clothes would turn out to be much more expensive than today's clothes
(C) It confuses the number of clothing items sold with the ratio of items that are useless today
(D) It does not take into account the stitching pattern
(E) It fails to take into account clothes made over 15 years ago that are no longer fit for sale


[spoiler]Source: freegmattest.net[/spoiler]

Confused.. I was able to eliminate A, D and E. Between C and E, I'd go for E. But I am really not sure.
A is out of scope. it doesnt mention if today clothes and vintage are made from raw material
E is too weak to weakend the conclusion. i think even if vintage clothes are no longer fit for sale, it cant explain or copnclude that its quality is better or worse. its not sold now just because its not model for today. it cant explainf or anything
B. price in B is out of scope. who care of the price?
D. who care of how they sewed it and how the stitching is!
thus my answer is C
what is the OA?
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by [email protected] » Sat Aug 14, 2010 2:08 am
IMO-E
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by ankurmit » Sat Aug 14, 2010 4:14 am
IMO C
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by paes » Sat Aug 14, 2010 5:28 am
no choice is looking convincing.

Only expert can help.
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by DarkKnight » Sat Aug 14, 2010 6:00 pm
I will go with A as well.
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by paddle_sweep » Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:10 pm
sanju09 wrote:My grandfather says that, most of the new clothes that he has purchased have fallen apart in a very short time. He also points out that most of the vintage clothes that he bought are still in excellent condition, even thought they were more than 15 years old when he bought them. So he concludes that clothes made today are inferior in terms of how long they last as compared to vintage clothes.

Which of the following is a major weakness in his conclusion?

(A) It does not take into account the fact that raw materials available then were of much better quality
Strengthens
(B) It does not take into account the fact that, if prices are adjusted for inflation, the vintage clothes would turn out to be much more expensive than today's clothes
Out of Scope
(C) It confuses the number of clothing items sold with the ratio of items that are useless today
Out of Scope
(D) It does not take into account the stitching pattern
Out of Scope
(E) It fails to take into account clothes made over 15 years ago that are no longer fit for sale
Weakens. Will go with 'E'.


[spoiler]Source: freegmattest.net[/spoiler]
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by Stacey Koprince » Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:45 am
Received a PM asking me to respond. Not a fan of this one. It's written in non-standard format pretty much throughout, which makes me question the value of this one as a GMAT question.

Also, there's a comma in the first sentence that should not be there. Perhaps that's just a typo made by whoever typed it in... but if that comma is really in the original sentence, then run away from this question and this source. :)

The question itself is non-standard. On official questions, we're asked to weaken the conclusion, which is a different question than being asked what a major weakness is. The question is more like an LSAT flaw question (though, even then, the wording is non-standard).

The answer choices read like LSAT answer choices, not GMAT answer choices. On the GMAT, weaken choices are presented as new pieces of information that potentially add to the argument in some way. The correct answer adds a new piece of information that serves to make it somewhat less likely that the conclusion is valid.

So... if you're studying for the GMAT, this is really not the kind of question you want to study.
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