Carpet Problem!!! Weaken

Expert replies

amysky_0205: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 193; Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:53 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 4 times

by amysky_0205 » Fri Dec 14, 2012 2:03 am

Advertisement: Ten years ago, the Cormond Hotel's lobby was carpeted with Duratex carpet while the lobby of a nearby hotel was being carpeted with our competitor's most durable carpet. Today, after a decade in which the two hotels have had similar amounts of foot traffic through their lobbies, that other hotel is having to replace the worn-out carpeting near its lobby entrances, whereas the Cormond's Duratex carpeting has years of wear left in it.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the force of the advertisement's evidence for concluding that Duratex carpet is more durable than the carpet of its competitor?

(A) The lobby of the Cormond Hotel has five different entrances, but the lobby of the other hotel has only two.
(B) The carpet of the Cormond Hotel's lobby is not the most durable carpet that Duratex manufactures.
(C) The other hotel has a popular restaurant that can be reached from outside without walking through the hotel lobby.
(D) The carpet that is being used to replace carpeting near the other hotel's lobby entrances is not Duratex carpet.
(E) There is a third hotel near the other two that has not replaced the Duratex carpet in its lobby for more than 15 years.

OA: A

can someone explain this in detail!!! thank u so much!

I crossed out B, C and E.
plz especially explain [spoiler]D![/spoiler] tks (:

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Fri Dec 14, 2012 2:03 am

The Iceman: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 194; Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:14 pmFollowed by: 6 members; Location: India; Thanked: 47 times

by The Iceman » Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:59 am

As per option A, the same traffic is spread across 5 entrances for Cormond Hotel and across 2 entrances for the other hotel.

Clearly in latter's case the traffic per entrance is higher and hence the carpet reaches its end of life quicker even though its quality (in terms of durability) may not be inferior to that of the Duratex carpet.

So, A is correct.

B is irrelevant.

C in also not relevant because the argument clearly provides evidence that the foot traffic is same for both lobbies.

D is again irrelevant. How does it matter whether the new carpet is of the x,y,z .. brand? May be that the hotel has lower budget to purchase carpet and the Duratex carpet is highly priced. Note that being highly priced does not necessarily mean that a carpet better in durability. It is also possible that the third carpet is of much better quality than the other two, but how does even that impact the conclusion?

E is incorrect because first, we do not know the foot traffic in the over 15 years of its usage. May be the traffic is actually less. Second, even if the traffic is high, we do not know how many entrances are there in the third hotel.

Like this post

manhhiep2509: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 32; Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2013 1:18 am; Thanked: 1 times; GMAT Score:700

by manhhiep2509 » Thu Jan 30, 2014 9:19 am

I also see the question in another source and OA is C, different from that of the first poster.

A says the two hotel have different entrances, but so what?
Eventually, the amounts of foot traffic are similar.

C says people can go to the restaurant without going through the lobby. In other words, the amount of foot traffic is not counted in the advertisement.

Anyway, still need someone to confirm the OA.

Like this post

David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pmFollowed by: 512 members; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Thu Jan 30, 2014 3:11 pm

The OA is A.

The number of entrances does matter. Foot traffic in the lobby might be thought to be randomly distributed, yet if there are only two entrances the traffic will be very concentrated and will follow a few patterns - from the entrances to the counter, from the entrances to the elevators, etc.

Now if there are 5 entrances there are many more traffic patterns and the same amount of traffic is distributed much more widely. If you can imagine people walking over a grassy field you can see how fewer paths mean that the paths are worn deeper. In terms of carpet this translates into worn our places.

Now as to choice C, this goes in the wrong direction, yes? The restaurant that you can reach from outside (not through the lobby) is at the OTHER hotel. The hotel that has had the carpet replaced. So that is the one with the worn out carpet. And furthermore this traffic is already taken care of... as The Iceman said in the prior posting, choice C is not really relevant since the argument clearly says that both lobbies have the same amount of traffic -- restaurant or not.

Veritas Prep | GMAT Instructor

Veritas Prep Reviews
Save $100 off any live Veritas Prep GMAT Course

Like this post

Abhishek009: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 359; Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:37 amFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Kolkata, India; Thanked: 50 times

by Abhishek009 » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:31 am

amysky_0205 wrote:Advertisement: Ten years ago, the Cormond Hotel's lobby was carpeted with Duratex carpet while the lobby of a nearby hotel was being carpeted with our competitor's most durable carpet. Today, after a decade in which the two hotels have had similar amounts of foot traffic through their lobbies, that other hotel is having to replace the worn-out carpeting near its lobby entrances, whereas the Cormond's Duratex carpeting has years of wear left in it.

1. 10 yrs ago ------ C hotel's floor covered with D carpet VS Other hotel covered with comp most durable carpet.

2. Today ------- Other hotel have to replace their carpet ( Though foot traffic is same) whereas C Hotel's Carpet can sustain a few more years.

3. Leads us to conclude that --- Probably Carpet of the other hotel was of Inferior Quality.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the force of the advertisement's evidence for concluding that Duratex carpet is more durable than the carpet of its competitor?

(A) The lobby of the Cormond Hotel has five different entrances, but the lobby of the other hotel has only two.

Hotel C has many entrance , so there were more entrance points leading to distribution of Traffic equally among the five different entrance points . - Satisfactory.

(B) The carpet of the Cormond Hotel's lobby is not the most durable carpet that Duratex manufactures.

Not relevant .

(C) The other hotel has a popular restaurant that can be reached from outside without walking through the hotel lobby.

Out of scope ...

(D) The carpet that is being used to replace carpeting near the other hotel's lobby entrances is not Duratex carpet.

Might be true , we don't have sufficient information about the Carpet of the other Hotel.

(E) There is a third hotel near the other two that has not replaced the Duratex carpet in its lobby for more than 15 years.

Out of scope.

IMO (A) is the best !!

Abhishek

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

560 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review