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GMAT Question Pack 1 CR Frobisher, a sixteenth-century Engli

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GMAT Question Pack 1 CR Frobisher, a sixteenth-century Engli

by richachampion » Sat May 13, 2017 12:52 am

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Frobisher, a sixteenth-century English explorer, had soil samples from Canada's Kodlunarn Island examined for gold content. Because high gold content was reported, Elizabeth I funded two mining expeditions. Neither expedition found any gold there. Modern analysis of the island's soil indicates a very low gold content. Thus the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples must have been inaccurate.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century.
B. The two mining expeditions funded by Elizabeth I did not mine the same part of Kodlunarn Island.
C. The methods used to assess gold content of the soil samples provided by Frobisher were different from those generally used in the sixteenth century.
D. Frobisher did not have soil samples from any other Canadian island examined for gold content.
E. Gold was not added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.
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by richachampion » Sat May 13, 2017 12:52 am

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OA : E
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by richachampion » Sat May 13, 2017 1:29 am

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In this question Option, A is very tempting, but the OA is E, which is the correct answer too. The tempting option A is what makes it a difficult question.

Another fantastic Official assumption question to tackle from GMAT Prep Question pack 1 CR
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by richachampion » Sat May 13, 2017 7:19 pm

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This one question from GMAT Prep 1 CR I find is very confusing.
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by ceilidh.erickson » Sun May 14, 2017 9:18 am

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Whenever we're looking to FIND AN ASSUMPTION, we have to identify the conclusion of the argument, the premises that support it, and then the missing piece:

Premises:
- Frobisher had soil samples from Canada's Kodlunarn Island examined for gold content
- high gold content was reported
- no gold was found on mining expeditions
- Modern analysis of the island's soil indicates a very low gold content

Conclusion:
- the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples must have been inaccurate.

Missing Link:
Where is there a missing link in this argument? Think about ways for the conclusion NOT to be true, even if the premises all remain true. His tests indicated gold, but modern tests do not. Does that mean that the TESTS must have been faulty?
- what if the samples were somehow tainted?
- what if there was some reason to believe that certain soil samples could have different gold content that others? Has the soil changed over time, or is it different on different parts of the island?

When you're looking through the answer choices, ask yourself: does this HAVE to be true for the conclusion to hold?

A. The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century.
Does this have to be true for Frobisher's test to have been faulty? No - this would indicate that both his test and the modern test could be accurate, but the soil itself has changed. This would undermine the conclusion, not uphold it.

B. The two mining expeditions funded by Elizabeth I did not mine the same part of Kodlunarn Island.
Again, this is relevant to the line of reasoning, but it hurts rather than helps. Does it have to be true that we mined different parts of the island to justify that the methods were faulty? No! In fact, we'd want to assume that the SAME parts of the island were tested to conclude that different results = faulty test.

C. The methods used to assess gold content of the soil samples provided by Frobisher were different from those generally used in the sixteenth century.
Does this have to be true for the argument to hold? Not necessarily. Maybe everyone in the 16th century was using faulty methods. The argument could still hold.

D. Frobisher did not have soil samples from any other Canadian island examined for gold content.
Irrelevant. This argument is only concerned with this particular island.

E. Gold was not added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.
Does this have to be true for different results = faulty test.? Yes! If gold WAS added to the soil samples, then that would explain why he got positive results while modern analysis shows negative ones. But we would not conclude that the METHODS of testing were faulty - the sample itself was faulty.

If we NEGATE the answer choice and it UNDERMINES the conclusion, that's the correct answer! The answer is E.
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by ceilidh.erickson » Sun May 14, 2017 9:24 am

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For more on using the NEGATION test to frame "does this HAVE to be true?" on Find Assumption questions, see:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/the-use-of-n ... tml#560777
https://www.beatthegmat.com/outlaw-fishi ... tml#566447
https://www.beatthegmat.com/a-newly-disc ... tml#776775
https://www.beatthegmat.com/difficult-to ... tml#781043
https://www.beatthegmat.com/og-cr-birds- ... tml#782145
https://www.beatthegmat.com/a-proposed-c ... tml#782633
https://www.beatthegmat.com/qs-pack-two- ... tml#792438
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Frobisher

by GMATGuruNY » Mon May 15, 2017 3:59 am

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richachampion wrote:Frobisher, a sixteenth-century English explorer, had soil samples from Canada's Kodlunarn Island examined for gold content. Because high gold content was reported, Elizabeth I funded two mining expeditions. Neither expedition found any gold there. Modern analysis of the island's soil indicates a very low gold content. Thus the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples must have been inaccurate.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century.
B. The two mining expeditions funded by Elizabeth I did not mine the same part of Kodlunarn Island.
C. The methods used to assess gold content of the soil samples provided by Frobisher were different from those generally used in the sixteenth century.
D. Frobisher did not have soil samples from any other Canadian island examined for gold content.
E. Gold was not added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.
Premise:
In the 16th century, an examination of Frobisher's soil samples from Kodlunarn Island indicated high gold content, but a modern examination of soil samples from this island indicates very low gold content.
Conclusion:
The methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples must have been inaccurate.

Apply the negation test.
When the correct answer choice is negated, the conclusion will be invalidated.

E, negated:
Gold was added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.
Thus, the 16th-century methods that detected gold were ACCURATE:
They detected a high gold content because gold had been ADDED to the samples.
Since the negation of E invalidates the conclusion that the 16th-century methods were inaccurate, E is an assumption: a statement that MUST BE TRUE for the conclusion to hold.

The correct answer is E.
Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by NandishSS » Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:37 am

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GMATGuruNY wrote:
richachampion wrote:Frobisher, a sixteenth-century English explorer, had soil samples from Canada's Kodlunarn Island examined for gold content. Because high gold content was reported, Elizabeth I funded two mining expeditions. Neither expedition found any gold there. Modern analysis of the island's soil indicates a very low gold content. Thus the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples must have been inaccurate.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century.
B. The two mining expeditions funded by Elizabeth I did not mine the same part of Kodlunarn Island.
C. The methods used to assess gold content of the soil samples provided by Frobisher were different from those generally used in the sixteenth century.
D. Frobisher did not have soil samples from any other Canadian island examined for gold content.
E. Gold was not added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.
Premise:
In the 16th century, an examination of Frobisher's soil samples from Kodlunarn Island indicated high gold content, but a modern examination of soil samples from this island indicate very low gold content.
Conclusion:
The methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples must have been inaccurate.

Apply the negation test.
When the correct answer choice is negated, the conclusion will be invalidated.

E, negated:
Gold was added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.
Thus, the 16th-century methods that detected gold were ACCURATE:
They detected a high gold content because gold had been ADDED to the samples.
Since the negation of E invalidates the conclusion that the 16th-century methods were inaccurate, E is an assumption: a statement that MUST BE TRUE for the conclusion to hold.

The correct answer is E.
HI Mitch,

If you negate A -- The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is not much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century
it means the gold content is higher now the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples cannot be inaccurate.

I'm convinced that E is correct ans but, how you eliminate A?

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by GMATGuruNY » Mon Nov 27, 2017 5:10 am

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NandishSS wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
richachampion wrote:Frobisher, a sixteenth-century English explorer, had soil samples from Canada's Kodlunarn Island examined for gold content. Because high gold content was reported, Elizabeth I funded two mining expeditions. Neither expedition found any gold there. Modern analysis of the island's soil indicates a very low gold content. Thus the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples must have been inaccurate.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century.
B. The two mining expeditions funded by Elizabeth I did not mine the same part of Kodlunarn Island.
C. The methods used to assess gold content of the soil samples provided by Frobisher were different from those generally used in the sixteenth century.
D. Frobisher did not have soil samples from any other Canadian island examined for gold content.
E. Gold was not added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.
Premise:
In the 16th century, an examination of Frobisher's soil samples from Kodlunarn Island indicated high gold content, but a modern examination of soil samples from this island indicate very low gold content.
Conclusion:
The methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples must have been inaccurate.

Apply the negation test.
When the correct answer choice is negated, the conclusion will be invalidated.

E, negated:
Gold was added to the soil samples collected by Frobisher before the samples were examined.
Thus, the 16th-century methods that detected gold were ACCURATE:
They detected a high gold content because gold had been ADDED to the samples.
Since the negation of E invalidates the conclusion that the 16th-century methods were inaccurate, E is an assumption: a statement that MUST BE TRUE for the conclusion to hold.

The correct answer is E.
HI Mitch,

If you negate A -- The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is not much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century
it means the gold content is higher now the methods used to determine the gold content of Frobisher's samples cannot be inaccurate.

I'm convinced that E is correct ans but, how you eliminate A?

Thanks
Nandish
A, negated:
The gold content of the soil on Kodlunarn Island is NOT much lower today than it was in the sixteenth century.
This negation implies that the gold content in the 16th-century soil was low, SUPPORTING the conclusion that 16th-century testing methods -- which indicated a high gold content -- were inaccurate.
Since the negation of the correct answer must WEAKEN the conclusion, eliminate A.
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