Critical Reasoning

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.

OA is A



source MGMAT CR - MOLDS

Powerscore bible says "ELIMINATE REVERSE TO BE TRUE" -- undoubtedly A is the answer

but what abt C ?
if it were to grow in dry areas, then all plumbing thing is not required.argument destroyed right ??

Premises indicate mold almost always found in moist places so there are chances it grows in dry places in some cases IMO.
A is only best answer here but I was also inclined towards C until I read stem carefully.

hey agree that C is a nicely laid trap. Little careful reading of the stimulus will make sure u tread through it.

Always watch out for probability indicators. They play havoc if ignored.

Here ' Almost always' means something like 90%. So the stimulus itself says that mold can grow in dry areas.
In effect C is contradicting the stimulus.
Even otherwise here is a way to figure it out- from the stimulus we know mold can grow in dry areas too. If a mold is capable of creating moisture then, even if it grows in dry area, it would create moisture and enhance further growth.
From this can we say the internal plumbing was at fault?? no rite? The plumbing mite be in place, but it is the capacity of the mold to create moisture that is the problem.

The author assumes that mold does not create moisture and hence suggests that if you want to avoid poisoning, keep your internal plumbing intact.

fibbonnaci wrote:hey agree that C is a nicely laid trap. Little careful reading of the stimulus will make sure u tread through it.

Always watch out for probability indicators. They play havoc if ignored.

Here ' Almost always' means something like 90%. So the stimulus itself says that mold can grow in dry areas.
In effect C is contradicting the stimulus.
Even otherwise here is a way to figure it out- from the stimulus we know mold can grow in dry areas too. If a mold is capable of creating moisture then, even if it grows in dry area, it would create moisture and enhance further growth.
From this can we say the internal plumbing was at fault?? no rite? The plumbing mite be in place, but it is the capacity of the mold to create moisture that is the problem.

The author assumes that mold does not create moisture and hence suggests that if you want to avoid poisoning, keep your internal plumbing intact.

Good reply bro...Cheers. Actually I was bit lazy last saturday to post the same line of thought..

My 2 cents..wat if in C they have given Molds cannot grow in semi-dry areas. So C doesnt make any sense.These are called as "scope shift" answers.

my two cents...

another lead to follow .... the author says

almost always found in places where there is substantial moisture

till this point, we are not sure about the source of the moisture


But in the conclusion, he is saying that "keep the plumbing good -> prevent leakage -> avoid "breeding grounds" for mold.

So he's definitely assuming that molds themselves do not create moisture and grow in places which are already moist.

As far as C is concerned, as fibbonnaci said, it is already given in the stimulus.

Hope it is clear!

Guys can anyone give a decent reason why C is not right.