Critical reasoning questions

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Critical reasoning questions

by Mbobrova » Thu Jul 05, 2012 9:47 am
Hello! I feel soooo sad about critical reasoning. I guess I am illogical((( I've read a lot, I did a lot. But I ALWAYS make mistakes... Please explain me what is the anwer there


Insect Infestations in certain cotton growing regions of the world have caused dramatic increases of cotton on the world market. Knowing that cotton plants mature quickly, many soybean growers in Ortovia plan to cease growing soybeans, the price of which has long been stable and to begin raising cotton instead, thereby taking advantage of the high price of cotton to increase their income significantly over the next several years. Which of the following, if true, most calls into question the reasoning on which the plan is based?
A. The cost of raising soybeans has increased significantly over the past several years and is expected to continue to climb.
B. Tests of a newly developed, inexpensive pesticide have shown it to be both environmentally safe and effective against the insects that have infected the cotton crops.
C. In the past several years, there has been no sharp increase in the demand for cotton, and for goods made out of cotton.
D. Many consumers consider cotton cloth a necessity rather than a luxury and would be willing to pay significantly higher prices for cotton goods than they are currently paying
E. The species of insect that has infested the cotton plants has never been known to infest soybean plants
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by Mbobrova » Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:12 am
It's weakening! the same(


Jennifer: Video rental outlets in Centerville together handled 10,000 fewer video rentals in 1994 than in 1993. The decline in rentals was probably due almost entirely to the February 1994 opening of Videorama, the first and only video rental outlet in the area that, in addition to renting videos, also sold them cheaply. Brad: There must be another explanation: as you yourself said, the decline was on the order of 10,000 rentals. Yet Videorama sold only 4,000 videos in 1994. Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the force of the objection that Brad presents to Jennifer's explanation?
A. In 1994 Videorama rented out more videos than it sold.
B. In 1994 two new outlets that rent but that do not sell videos opened in Centerville.
C. Most of the video rental outlets in Centerville rent videos at a discount on certain nights of the week.
D. People often buy videos of movies that they have previously seen in a theater.
E. People who own videos frequently loan them to their friends.

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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:28 am
Insect Infestations in certain cotton growing regions of the world have caused dramatic increases of cotton on the world market. Knowing that cotton plants mature quickly, many soybean growers in Ortovia plan to cease growing soybeans, the price of which has long been stable and to begin raising cotton instead, thereby taking advantage of the high price of cotton to increase their income significantly over the next several years.

Which of the following, if true, most calls into question the reasoning on which the plan is based?

We're looking for a reason that the plan to increase income by switching to cotton will not actually work.

A. The cost of raising soybeans has increased significantly over the past several years and is expected to continue to climb.--this strengthens the plan by giving us another reason to switch away from soybeans

B. Tests of a newly developed, inexpensive pesticide have shown it to be both environmentally safe and effective against the insects that have infected the cotton crops.--this means that the insect infestations in cotton crops will be reduced in the future, which should cause cotton prices to drop. As a result, the farmers switching to cotton will not receive the high prices they expect to.

C. In the past several years, there has been no sharp increase in the demand for cotton, and for goods made out of cotton.--irrelevant; the price increase is caused by supply issues

D. Many consumers consider cotton cloth a necessity rather than a luxury and would be willing to pay significantly higher prices for cotton goods than they are currently paying--this strengthens the plan by saying that prices can go even higher

E. The species of insect that has infested the cotton plants has never been known to infest soybean plants--irrelevant; the farmers are planning on switching away from soybeans
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:34 am
Jennifer: Video rental outlets in Centerville together handled 10,000 fewer video rentals in 1994 than in 1993. The decline in rentals was probably due almost entirely to the February 1994 opening of Videorama, the first and only video rental outlet in the area that, in addition to renting videos, also sold them cheaply.

Brad: There must be another explanation: as you yourself said, the decline was on the order of 10,000 rentals. Yet Videorama sold only 4,000 videos in 1994.

Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the force of the objection that Brad presents to Jennifer's explanation?

Jennifer says that the decline in rentals is due to the opening of a store that also sells videos. Brad objects by saying that the number of videos sold is much smaller than the number of rentals lost. We're looking for a reason that Brad's objection isn't as strong as he thinks.


A. In 1994 Videorama rented out more videos than it sold.--this means that Videorama rented at least 4,001 videos, but it fails to weaken Brad's argument

B. In 1994 two new outlets that rent but that do not sell videos opened in Centerville.--this has nothing to do with the effect of video sales on video rentals

C. Most of the video rental outlets in Centerville rent videos at a discount on certain nights of the week.--this is irrelevant to the effect of video sales on video rentals

D. People often buy videos of movies that they have previously seen in a theater.--we don't know how this would affect rentals

E. People who own videos frequently loan them to their friends.--if purchased videos are loaned out to friends, then the sales of tapes could definitely have a big impact on the number of rentals. This refutes Brad's argument that there must be some other explanation
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by mv12 » Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:03 am
Bill.. I think C should be OA..because if cotton demand is not going to increase in future ..then it will be purposeless to switch to cotton farming.
Bill@VeritasPrep wrote:Insect Infestations in certain cotton growing regions of the world have caused dramatic increases of cotton on the world market. Knowing that cotton plants mature quickly, many soybean growers in Ortovia plan to cease growing soybeans, the price of which has long been stable and to begin raising cotton instead, thereby taking advantage of the high price of cotton to increase their income significantly over the next several years.

Which of the following, if true, most calls into question the reasoning on which the plan is based?

We're looking for a reason that the plan to increase income by switching to cotton will not actually work.

A. The cost of raising soybeans has increased significantly over the past several years and is expected to continue to climb.--this strengthens the plan by giving us another reason to switch away from soybeans

B. Tests of a newly developed, inexpensive pesticide have shown it to be both environmentally safe and effective against the insects that have infected the cotton crops.--this means that the insect infestations in cotton crops will be reduced in the future, which should cause cotton prices to drop. As a result, the farmers switching to cotton will not receive the high prices they expect to.

C. In the past several years, there has been no sharp increase in the demand for cotton, and for goods made out of cotton.--irrelevant; the price increase is caused by supply issues

D. Many consumers consider cotton cloth a necessity rather than a luxury and would be willing to pay significantly higher prices for cotton goods than they are currently paying--this strengthens the plan by saying that prices can go even higher

E. The species of insect that has infested the cotton plants has never been known to infest soybean plants--irrelevant; the farmers are planning on switching away from soybeans
And the second oa should be E.

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by Mbobrova » Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:20 am
Yes, but I guess there is a stable increase in prices of cotton because of insect infestations. So the farmers can increase their income even if the demand is at the same level. Only decrease in prices can make the idea of switching to cotton less appealing.

Thank you for your responses!

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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:59 pm
mv12 wrote:Bill.. I think C should be OA..because if cotton demand is not going to increase in future ..then it will be purposeless to switch to cotton farming.
What happens in the future is irrelevant; the price has already dramatically increased to the point that farmers are willing to switch. Even if demand stays the same, switching will still reap profits.

B removes the entire impetus for switching in the first place: insect infestations.
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by Mbobrova » Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:34 pm
One more confusing question

All German philosphers, except for Marx, are idealists.
From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

A) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.
B) Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
C) If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx.
D) Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
E )Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German, then he or she is an idealist.

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by Mbobrova » Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:39 am
Some rental car agencies in the U.S. are now looking into installing satellite-guided navigation systems in their automobiles. The driver inputs the address on a keyboard, and the on-board computer calls out directions in American English, such as "You are now approaching Main Street". Rental car agencies hope to target foreign tourists and travelers unfamiliar with the United States.

Which of the following, if true, provides the greatest reason to suggest that the plan will not work?

These new computer navigation systems are expensive to install in many automobiles.
Some foreigners visiting the United States may not understand English.
Some people argue that the computer's voice sounds extremely cold and impersonal.
Many American citizens will also want to take advantage of the satellite-guided navigation systems.
In the average U.S. city, paper maps and city guides are available in almost every hotel and gas station.

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by vk_vinayak » Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:05 am
Mbobrova wrote:One more confusing question

All German philosphers, except for Marx, are idealists.
From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred?

A) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German. >> All German philosophers are idealist, but not all idealists are German.
B) Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist. >> According to stimulus, Marx is a German.
C) If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx. >>All German philosophers are idealist, but not all idealists are philosophers.
D) Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
E )Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German, then he or she is an idealist. >> All Germans are not idealists.
We can infer only D.

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by vk_vinayak » Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:46 am
Mbobrova wrote:Some rental car agencies in the U.S. are now looking into installing satellite-guided navigation systems in their automobiles. The driver inputs the address on a keyboard, and the on-board computer calls out directions in American English, such as "You are now approaching Main Street". Rental car agencies hope to target foreign tourists and travelers unfamiliar with the United States.

Which of the following, if true, provides the greatest reason to suggest that the plan will not work?

PLAN: By switching to SGN, car-rental agencies can attract foreign tourists.
SGN = satellite-guided navigation systems


These new computer navigation systems are expensive to install in many automobiles. >> Expenses are out of scope.

Some foreigners visiting the United States may not understand English. >> Correct. If foreigners do not understand English (especially American accent) they wont be attracted to such systems

Some people argue that the computer's voice sounds extremely cold and impersonal. >> Concern is about language and accent, not tone.

Many American citizens will also want to take advantage of the satellite-guided navigation systems. >> Argument is about foreigners, so US citizens are out of scope.

In the average U.S. city, paper maps and city guides are available in almost every hotel and gas station. >> Even with maps, foreigners may prefer SGN.
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by Mbobrova » Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:53 am
But what about "Some foreigners"? some don't understand Am Eng=> they use maps and vice versa.

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by vk_vinayak » Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:09 am
Mbobrova wrote:But what about "Some foreigners"? some don't understand Am Eng=> they use maps and vice versa.
Correct. If the option said "Many foreigners", the option C would have been a much stronger answer.

But I somehow feel that option C is better than E. But not too sure. What is the OA?
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by GMAT Kolaveri » Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:14 am
To improve in CR you have to improve ur reasoning skills..this can be improved by prethinking and lot of practice. please check the below post

https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-answer-t ... tml#467125
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by Mbobrova » Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:20 am
There is no OA... I've found on this website the document. So I don't know the official source
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