imskpwr wrote:Every year many people become ill because of airborne mold spores in their homes. After someone becomes ill, specialists are often hired to eradicate the mold. These specialists look in damp areas of the house, since mold is almost always found in places where there is substantial moisture. If one wishes to avoid mold poisoning, then, one should make sure to keep all internal plumbing in good condition to prevent leakage that could serve as a breeding ground for mold.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

a. Mold itself does not create moisture.
b. Most homeowners know enough about plumbing to determine whether theirs is in good condition.
c. Mold cannot grow in dry areas.
d. No varieties of mold are harmless.
e. Mold spores cannot be filtered from the air.

IMO: A/B, A far better than B

imskpwr wrote:Every year many people become ill because of airborne mold spores in their homes. After someone becomes ill, specialists are often hired to eradicate the mold. These specialists look in damp areas of the house, since mold is almost always found in places where there is substantial moisture. If one wishes to avoid mold poisoning, then, one should make sure to keep all internal plumbing in good condition to prevent leakage that could serve as a breeding ground for mold.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

a. Mold itself does not create moisture.
b. Most homeowners know enough about plumbing to determine whether theirs is in good condition.
c. Mold cannot grow in dry areas.
d. No varieties of mold are harmless.
e. Mold spores cannot be filtered from the air.

It's from MGMAT-2. Even though, I picked c in the exam, I later found that a is correct and I have no doubt in it. But, I picked c to prove below-mentioned assertion wrong.
"These specialists look in damp areas of the house, since mold is almost always found in places where there is substantial moisture".

Please tell me why c is unacceptable as an assumption or else how I can change my thought process.

shekhar.kataria wrote:C is an extreme Answer choice as it uses an extreme word CANNOT. Note that the stimulus says "ALMOST ALWAYS" which does not mean 100% but anything less than that.

Some more issues I have found in my thought-process.
1) Is it always the main conclusion whose underlying assumption is important?

Is underlying assumption in a claim(which is premise for main conclusion) is not valid as an Assumption?

imskpwr wrote:Every year many people become ill because of airborne mold spores in their homes. After someone becomes ill, specialists are often hired to eradicate the mold. These specialists look in damp areas of the house, since mold is almost always found in places where there is substantial moisture. If one wishes to avoid mold poisoning, then, one should make sure to keep all internal plumbing in good condition to prevent leakage that could serve as a breeding ground for mold.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

a. Mold itself does not create moisture.
b. Most homeowners know enough about plumbing to determine whether theirs is in good condition.
c. Mold cannot grow in dry areas.
d. No varieties of mold are harmless.
e. Mold spores cannot be filtered from the air.

It's from MGMAT-2. Even though, I picked c in the exam, I later found that a is correct and I have no doubt in it. But, I picked c to prove below-mentioned assertion wrong.
"These specialists look in damp areas of the house, since mold is almost always found in places where there is substantial moisture".

Please tell me why c is unacceptable as an assumption or else how I can change my thought process.