Critical Reasoning

The number of patents granted to inventors by the United States Patent Office dropped from 56000 in 1971 to 45000 in 1978. Spending on research and development, which peaked at 3 percent of the gross national product (GNP) in 1964, was only 2.2 percent of the GNP in 1978. During this period, when United States percentage was steadily decreasing, West Germany and Japan increased the percentage of their GNP's spent on research and development to 3.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information above?

(a) There is direct relationship between the size of a nation's GNP and the number of inventions it produces.
(b) Japan and Germany spent more money on research and development in 1978 than did the United States
(c) The amount of money a nation spends on research and development is directly related to the number of inventions patented in that nation.
(d) Between 1964 and 1978 the United States consistently spent a larger percentage of its GNP on research and development than did Japan.
(e) Both West Germany and Japan will soon surpass the United States in the number of patents granted to inventors.


OA later some discussion