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Weaken problem!! Percentage retire in FL.

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Weaken problem!! Percentage retire in FL.

by amysky_0205 » Thu Dec 20, 2012 4:44 am
In the United States, of the people who moved from one state to another when they retired, the percentage who retired to Florida has decreased by three percentage points over the past ten years. Since many local businesses in Florida cater to retirees, this decline is likely to have a noticeably negative economic effect on these businesses.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

A. Florida attracts more people who move from one state to another when they retire than does any other state.
B. The number of people who move out of Florida to accept employment in other states has increased over the past ten years.
C. There are far more local businesses in Florida that cater to tourists than there are local businesses that cater to retirees.
D. The total number of people who retired and moved to another state for their retirement has increased significantly over the past ten years.
E. The number of people who left Florida when they retired to live in another state was greater last year than it was ten years ago.

OA: D

Can someone explain this!????
I chose C instead of D...
plz explain other options as well! tks!!!!
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Dec 20, 2012 5:07 am
amysky_0205 wrote:In the United States, of the people who moved from one state to another when they retired, the percentage who retired to Florida has decreased by three percentage points over the past ten years. Since many local businesses in Florida cater to retirees, this decline is likely to have a noticeably negative economic effect on these businesses.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

A. Florida attracts more people who move from one state to another when they retire than does any other state.
B. The number of people who move out of Florida to accept employment in other states has increased over the past ten years.
C. There are far more local businesses in Florida that cater to tourists than there are local businesses that cater to retirees.
D. The total number of people who retired and moved to another state for their retirement has increased significantly over the past ten years.
E. The number of people who left Florida when they retired to live in another state was greater last year than it was ten years ago.

OA: D
The assumption here is that a decline in a PERCENTAGE implies a decline in the actual NUMBER.

One way to weaken this kind of CR is to show that the SIZE OF THE SAMPLED GROUP -- in this case, the total number of retirees moving from one state to another -- CHANGED.
Consider an extreme case:
There used to be 10 retirees moving from one state to another, and 100% of them retired to Florida.
The result: 10 retirees moving to Florida.
Now there are 1,000,000 retirees moving from one state to another, and 97% of them retire to Florida.
The result: 970,000 retirees moving to Florida.
While the percentage decreases from 100 to 97, the actual number INCREASES from 10 to 970,000 -- weakening the conclusion that there will be a negative economic effect on businesses in Florida.

Answer choice D gives us just what we need:
The total number of people who retired and moved to another state for their retirement has increased significantly over the past five years.

The correct answer is D.
Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Fri May 05, 2017 4:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by The Iceman » Thu Dec 20, 2012 5:15 am
For D:
Let's say the number of people retiring 10 years earlier was 100 whereas now it is 10,000.

If 50% people retiring earlier went to florida the number stood at 50, while even if 47% people retiring go to florida now the number would stand quite large at 4,700.

Option C is irrelevant as it talks about businesses catering to tourists whereas we need to evaluate the economic effect on businesses catering to retirees.
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by Anaira Mitch » Thu May 04, 2017 8:35 pm
GMATGuruNY wrote:
amysky_0205 wrote:In the United States, of the people who moved from one state to another when they retired, the percentage who retired to Florida has decreased by three percentage points over the past ten years. Since many local businesses in Florida cater to retirees, this decline is likely to have a noticeably negative economic effect on these businesses.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

A. Florida attracts more people who move from one state to another when they retire than does any other state.
B. The number of people who move out of Florida to accept employment in other states has increased over the past ten years.
C. There are far more local businesses in Florida that cater to tourists than there are local businesses that cater to retirees.
D. The total number of people who retired and moved to another state for their retirement has increased significantly over the past ten years.
E. The number of people who left Florida when they retired to live in another state was greater last year than it was ten years ago.

OA: D
The assumption here is that a decline in a PERCENTAGE implies a decline in the actual NUMBER.

One way to weaken this kind of CR is to show that the SIZE OF THE SAMPLED GROUP -- in this case, the total number of retirees moving from one state to another -- CHANGED.
Consider an extreme case:
There used to be 10 retirees moving from one state to another, and 100% of them retired to Florida.
The result: 10 retirees moving to Florida.
Now there are 1,000,000 retirees moving from one state to another, and 97% of them retire to Florida.
The result: 970,000 retirees moving to Florida.
While the percentage decreases from 100 to 97, the actual number INCREASES from 10 to 970,000 -- weakening the conclusion that there will be a negative economic effect on businesses in Florida.

Answer choice E gives us just what we need:
The total number of people who retired and moved to another state for their retirement has increased significantly over the past five years.

The correct answer is E.
Hello Mitch,

I think you were referring to option D and not E?
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by elias.latour.apex » Fri May 05, 2017 4:53 am
amysky_0205 wrote:In the United States, of the people who moved from one state to another when they retired, the percentage who retired to Florida has decreased by three percentage points over the past ten years. Since many local businesses in Florida cater to retirees, this decline is likely to have a noticeably negative economic effect on these businesses.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

A. Florida attracts more people who move from one state to another when they retire than does any other state.
B. The number of people who move out of Florida to accept employment in other states has increased over the past ten years.
C. There are far more local businesses in Florida that cater to tourists than there are local businesses that cater to retirees.
D. The total number of people who retired and moved to another state for their retirement has increased significantly over the past ten years.
E. The number of people who left Florida when they retired to live in another state was greater last year than it was ten years ago.

Can someone explain this!????
I chose C instead of D...
plz explain other options as well! tks!!!!
I think it's interesting that you chose (C). Let's start the problem by identifying the conclusion. The argument says:

Since many local businesses in Florida cater to retirees, this decline is likely to have a noticeably negative economic effect on these businesses.

So the conclusion is that this decline is likely to have a noticeably negative economic effect on local businesses that cater to retirees.

Answer choice (C) indicates that there are more businesses that cater to tourists than businesses that cater to retirees. Even if true, this information does not in any way demonstrate that businesses that cater to retirees would be unaffected. Information about businesses that don't cater to retirees is outside the scope of the argument.
Last edited by elias.latour.apex on Fri May 05, 2017 4:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri May 05, 2017 4:54 am
Anaira Mitch wrote:Hello Mitch,

I think you were referring to option D and not E?
Good catch.
Thanks for pointing out the typo.
I've amended my post accordingly.
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