Critical Reasoning

Last year, construction in the city of Vonter, including the rewiring of telephone and cable lines, caused the cost of providing cable television service to homes within the city to increase by 12 percent as compared to the previous year. In response, all cable companies in the city increased the price of their monthly service to customer. Broadcast Television Cable Company has found, however, that the proportion of cable bills paid on time decreased sharply the six months after raising the price of monthly service but returned to the previous year's level by the end of the year.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the change between the first half and the second half of the year in the proportion of cable bills not paid on time to Broadcast Television Cable Company?


(A) The total number of homes subscribing to cable service within Vonter increased between the first and second half of the year.

(B) Between the first and second half of the year, Broadcast Television Cable Company, unlike other cable service providers in Vonter, increased the number of channels that it offers to customers.

(C) Because Broadcast Television Cable Company provides only a premium cable package, a large portion of its subscribers who could no longer afford this package switched to another provider by the second half of the year.

(D) In order to attract more subscribers, all cable service providers in Vonter offered promotional sign-up packages that began in the second half of the year.

(E) The rewiring of telephone and cable lines in Vonter caused other businesses, such as telephone companies that had provided service to landlines, to suffer, and thus many workers in Vonter were laid off immediately after the construction was completed.

Here i am not sure , i would go with A .

IMO (C).

(A) The total number of homes subscribing to cable service within Vonter increased between the first and second half of the year. --> No of people increased. Why did they not pay the bills? Not explained. So No.

(B) Between the first and second half of the year, Broadcast Television Cable Company, unlike other cable service providers in Vonter, increased the number of channels that it offers to customers. --> Does not explain the failure to pay bills.

(C) Because Broadcast Television Cable Company provides only a premium cable package, a large portion of its subscribers who could no longer afford this package switched to another provider by the second half of the year. --> Package was of premium type. So at first, people could not pay. Then they shifted to some other provider, thereby decreasing the proportion.

(D) In order to attract more subscribers, all cable service providers in Vonter offered promotional sign-up packages that began in the second half of the year. --> Again, no impact on failure to pay bills.

(E) The rewiring of telephone and cable lines in Vonter caused other businesses, such as telephone companies that had provided service to landlines, to suffer, and thus many workers in Vonter were laid off immediately after the construction was completed. --> Out of scope - other businesses.

IMO E

i will go wth C.(OE if its the correct answer - no point convincing mysekf or others a option is correct whn it isnt)
this questions has all options cited by BTG memebers..interesting one.

Yeah looks like a crazy problem.
OA: C
OE:
Choice C best explains this situation. According to C, out of the total number of subscribers to Broadcast Television Company, the portion of those who could no longer afford the service due to a price increase (those most likely to pay their bills late) switched to a cheaper service. The pool of subscribers left in the second half of the the year would be more likely to pay their bills on time because these subscribers could afford this package.

Again not all convincing.

I dont agree with OE.

E seems a better choice than C.

Experts please intervene.

RadiumBall wrote:Last year, construction in the city of Vonter, including the rewiring of telephone and cable lines, caused the cost of providing cable television service to homes within the city to increase by 12 percent as compared to the previous year. In response, all cable companies in the city increased the price of their monthly service to customer. Broadcast Television Cable Company has found, however, that the proportion of cable bills paid on time decreased sharply the six months after raising the price of monthly service but returned to the previous year's level by the end of the year.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the change between the first half and the second half of the year in the proportion of cable bills not paid on time to Broadcast Television Cable Company?


(A) The total number of homes subscribing to cable service within Vonter increased between the first and second half of the year.

(B) Between the first and second half of the year, Broadcast Television Cable Company, unlike other cable service providers in Vonter, increased the number of channels that it offers to customers.

(C) Because Broadcast Television Cable Company provides only a premium cable package, a large portion of its subscribers who could no longer afford this package switched to another provider by the second half of the year.

(D) In order to attract more subscribers, all cable service providers in Vonter offered promotional sign-up packages that began in the second half of the year.

(E) The rewiring of telephone and cable lines in Vonter caused other businesses, such as telephone companies that had provided service to landlines, to suffer, and thus many workers in Vonter were laid off immediately after the construction was completed.

This Looks similar to a OG question (I dnt remember the question, I will post that question soon)
IMO C

I thught it wuld D.

Can someone tell me the right answer?

badpoem wrote:IMO (C).

(A) The total number of homes subscribing to cable service within Vonter increased between the first and second half of the year. --> No of people increased. Why did they not pay the bills? Not explained. So No.

(B) Between the first and second half of the year, Broadcast Television Cable Company, unlike other cable service providers in Vonter, increased the number of channels that it offers to customers. --> Does not explain the failure to pay bills.

(C) Because Broadcast Television Cable Company provides only a premium cable package, a large portion of its subscribers who could no longer afford this package switched to another provider by the second half of the year. --> Package was of premium type. So at first, people could not pay. Then they shifted to some other provider, thereby decreasing the proportion.

(D) In order to attract more subscribers, all cable service providers in Vonter offered promotional sign-up packages that began in the second half of the year. --> Again, no impact on failure to pay bills.

(E) The rewiring of telephone and cable lines in Vonter caused other businesses, such as telephone companies that had provided service to landlines, to suffer, and thus many workers in Vonter were laid off immediately after the construction was completed. --> Out of scope - other businesses.

There is a hint/total lack of conclusive evidence in every choice except in C, IMHO.

A --> No of subscribers increased. But no clarity on whether they paid the bills or not. If they did not, then?

B --> Increased number of channels. So? What was the result? Inconclusive.

D --> Did the promotions manage to attract subscribers? Even if they did, did the people actually pay the bills? At best one can assume the affirmative here.

E --> Workers were laid off. That does not help explain the increase and consequent decrease in any way.

On the other hand, C --> Clearly states that a large proportion could no longer afford the package and chose another operator.
Let's say, out of 100 people, 60 were not paying the bills. Then proportion = 60/100 = 0.6
Later say 40 out o those 60 people left and chose another operator. So 60-40 = 20. Total = 100-40 =60. resulting proportion =20/60 = 0.33
Therefore (and thereby) the proportion of people not paying bills decreased. Hope that helps!