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Critical Reasoning - Veritas Prep Qn Doubt

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by ddg » Wed Mar 18, 2015 9:25 am

Timer

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Answers

A

B

C

D

E

Stats

Difficulty—

My question is a two-parter. First, I have a doubt in the question, i.e. I can not understand the logic behind it. Secondly, My critical reasoning is pretty weak right now, any rational methodologies to improve?

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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:32 am
UCLA Sociologist: Between 1962 and 2012, the marriage rate (that is the percentage of adult women over 16 who get married for the first time each year) fell from 110 marriages a year per 1,000 unmarried women to just 37, a stunning 66 percent decline. Given this trend, there will likely be no women getting married for the first time by 2050!

Which of the following, if true, exposes a flaw in the sociologist's reasoning?

A) The average age of marriage has increased dramatically in the past 20 years.
B) Today's divorce rates are expected to rise dramatically over the next 40 years.
C) More women are expected to get married for a second and third time in the next 40 years.
D) Many women are deciding to simply live with their partners rather than get married.
E) Marriage is much less likely to occur today for the first time than it was in the 1960's.
The correct answer must WEAKEN the conclusion that there will likely be no women getting married for the first time by 2050.
Answer choice A: The average age of marriage has increased dramatically in the past 20 years.
Consider the following case:
Whereas women used to get married for the first time at 20 years of age, now many get married for the first time at 35 years of age.
Implication:
Many young women in the survey are delaying their first marriage until AFTER 2012 -- when these women will be OLDER -- WEAKENING the conclusion that there will likely be no women getting married for the first time by 2050.

The correct answer is A.
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by ddg » Thu Mar 19, 2015 6:51 am
Thank you for your help Sir. Actually I was confused by the option D) where women live with their partners and dont get married (Isn't this also weakening the argument? OR This statement isn't considered valid for the discussion as it does not tell us anything about the age of the first marriage?? )
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:06 am
ddg wrote:Thank you for your help Sir. Actually I was confused by the option D) where women live with their partners and dont get married (Isn't this also weakening the argument? OR This statement isn't considered valid for the discussion as it does not tell us anything about the age of the first marriage?? )
D: Many women are deciding to simply live with their partners rather than get married.
If many women are choosing NOT to get married, then the conclusion that there will be fewer first marriages is STRENGTHENED.
Since the correct answer choice must WEAKEN the conclusion, eliminate D.
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by ddg » Tue Mar 24, 2015 7:41 am
Thank you Sir. :)
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by binit » Tue Mar 31, 2015 2:48 am
Hello experts,

I solved this problem correctly (ans A) buy I took 2 min 7 sec. which is more than avg. 1.5 minutes/Qn. Anyone pls suggest the level of this Qn.? Is that okay to take 2 mins for this?

Thanks in advance.
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by emailme » Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:31 am
I did not follow the logic how the correct answer A was derived. There is nothing to indicate women's age and marraige in the premise or in the conclusion. Lost a bit. Appreciate any insight.
GMATGuruNY wrote:
ddg wrote:Thank you for your help Sir. Actually I was confused by the option D) where women live with their partners and dont get married (Isn't this also weakening the argument? OR This statement isn't considered valid for the discussion as it does not tell us anything about the age of the first marriage?? )
D: Many women are deciding to simply live with their partners rather than get married.
If many women are choosing NOT to get married, then the conclusion that there will be fewer first marriages is STRENGTHENED.
Since the correct answer choice must WEAKEN the conclusion, eliminate D.
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