Critical Reasoning

Can anyone explain to me why my reasoning in this question was wrong. I chose C, since it shows that only certain types of coffee decreased in sales. Which means, that it wasn't caffeine, but maybe consumers wanted a more premium product.

However, the Official Guide rejects it because of the following explanation.

Explanation:
Why would you assume that the specialty coffees were caffeine free? It's not mentioned in 'C' that the specialty coffee was caffeine free NOR is it common for specialty coffee to be caffeine free, in fact it's the opposite. So it's a very big leap in assumption.

The correct answer according to the OG is E. My concern with that is that the prompt mentioned that coffee sales had a "significant decrease", yet the prices "increased steadily." It just doesn't follow that a gradual increase in prices leads to a CRASH in coffee sales.

I'm usually pretty good at the CR questions, but this one has me stumped.

I think I will chose E because it gives a factor which may have caused the general decrease in coffee consumption. We are looking for an alternative reason for the general decrease in coffee consumption. If C is true, some portion of the coffee drinkers were still purchasing coffee steadily, which will not be a reason for decrease.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the explanation above?

This is clearly a causal relationship question

Cause - Consumer's awareness of harmful effect of caffeine
Effect - Decrease in coffee consumption

If we can show an alternate cause for the stated effect, it will seriously weaken the argument.

(A) On average, people consume 30 percent less coffee today than they did 10 years ago.
INCORRECT : This supports/strengthens the argument by providing statistical data to show decrease in coffee consumption

(B) Heavy coffee drinkers may have mild withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, for a day or so after
significantly decreasing their coffee consumption.
INCORRECT : This in no way helps to seriously weaken the argument although it can be a contender answer choice.

(C) Sales of specialty types of coffee have held steady as sales of regular brands have declined.
INCORRECT : Issue is not about specialty type of coffee, issue is about overall decrease in coffee consumption

(D) The consumption of fruit juices and caffeine-free herbal teas has increased over the past decade.
INCORRECT : Strengthens the argument by adding that consumption of other caffeine-free products have increased in the last decade.

(E) Coffee prices increased steadily in the past decade because of unusually severe frosts in coffee-growing
nations.
CORRECT : This shows an alternate cause (increase in price of coffee) for the stated effect (decrease in consumption of coffee). Hence this is a winner !!

Hey Komal,


Gud reply there.....Seems u r picking up CR well!!

gmatmachoman wrote:Hey Komal,


Gud reply there.....Seems u r picking up CR well!!

Thanks for the kind words gmatmachoman : ) I really appreciate it : )

student22 wrote:

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In the last decade there has been a significant decrease in coffee consumption. During this same time, there
has been increasing publicity about the adverse long-term effects on health of the caffeine in coffee.
Therefore, the decrease in coffee consumption must have been caused by consumers' awareness of the
harmful effects of caffeine.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the explanation above?

(A) On average, people consume 30 percent less coffee today than they did 10 years ago.

(B) Heavy coffee drinkers may have mild withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, for a day or so after
significantly decreasing their coffee consumption.

(C) Sales of specialty types of coffee have held steady as sales of regular brands have declined.

(D) The consumption of fruit juices and caffeine-free herbal teas has increased over the past decade.

(E) Coffee prices increased steadily in the past decade because of unusually severe frosts in coffee-growing
nations.

Can anyone explain to me why my reasoning in this question was wrong. I chose C, since it shows that only certain types of coffee decreased in sales. Which means, that it wasn't caffeine, but maybe consumers wanted a more premium product.

However, the Official Guide rejects it because of the following explanation.

Explanation:

Code: Select all

Suppose that the specialty coffees that had their sales hold steady were all caffeine-free coffees;
note that nothing rules this out. If this were the case, the explanation would remain plausible.

Why would you assume that the specialty coffees were caffeine free? It's not mentioned in 'C' that the specialty coffee was caffeine free NOR is it common for specialty coffee to be caffeine free, in fact it's the opposite. So it's a very big leap in assumption.

The correct answer according to the OG is E. My concern with that is that the prompt mentioned that coffee sales had a "significant decrease", yet the prices "increased steadily." It just doesn't follow that a gradual increase in prices leads to a CRASH in coffee sales.

I'm usually pretty good at the CR questions, but this one has me stumped.

in weakening type of question especially having cause and effect relationship , the argument usually explains two events being happening at same point of time and then tries to show that one of them is cause for the other.
the trick to solve such traps is to find out an alt cause .
among the tempting answers one kind of ans u will always find is type C where smethng is compared with its own other brand......to understand this concept check the cause and effect chapter in POwer Score CR book....

here E is the alt cause...(price ins----->reduced consumption)

in weakening type of question especially having cause and effect relationship , the argument usually explains two events being happening at same point of time and then tries to show that one of them is cause for the other.
the trick to solve such traps is to find out an alt cause .
among the tempting answers one kind of ans u will always find is type C where smethng is compared with its own other brand......to understand this concept check the cause and effect chapter in POwer Score CR book....

here E is the alt cause...(price ins----->reduced consumption)

which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the explanation above?

(A) On average, people consume 30 percent less coffee today than they did 10 years ago.

(B) Heavy coffee drinkers may have mild withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, for a day or so after
significantly decreasing their coffee consumption.

(C) Sales of specialty types of coffee have held steady as sales of regular brands have declined.

(D) The consumption of fruit juices and caffeine-free herbal teas has increased over the past decade.

(E) Coffee prices increased steadily in the past decade because of unusually severe frosts in coffee-growing
nations

A - does not reveal why..so out
B- actually strengthens , so out
C- tempting, but simply does not fit the bill coz of the tail of the option <regular brands have declined.>
D - extra info, but not relevant..why the consumption went down.
E. key words - coffee prices increased, decade --> best choice

Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread. I think I understand why E is the better answer, since it explains why there's an overall drop in coffee and why this could be an alternative cause. The main thing that threw me in that one was that the price increase was gradual, but the decrease was significant.

But I do see why C was wrong, it basically avoided the larger issue and instead focused on one type of coffee vs. another type and didn't address the overall decline.

(C) is tempting, but I think you'd need a couple unstated assumptions to make (C) a stronger weakening choice than (E).

(E) is definitely the stronger choice from what is given.

I agree with you guys. I also think that the right answer is C