Most bicycle helmets

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Most bicycle helmets

by vk_vinayak » Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:26 am
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?

Most bicycle helmets provide good protection for the top and back of the head, but little or no protection for the temple regions on the sides of the head. A study of head injuries resulting from bicycle accidents showed that a large proportion were caused by blows to the temple area. Therefore, if bicycle helmets protected this area, the risk of serious head injury in bicycle accidents would be greatly reduced, especially since ______________________.

(A) among the bicyclists included in the study's sample of head injuries, only a very small proportion had been wearing a helmet at the time of their accident

(B) even those bicyclists included who regularly wear helmets have poor understanding of the degree and kind of protection that helmets afford

(C) a helmet that included protection for the temples would have to be somewhat larger and heavier than current helmets

(D) the bone in the temple area is relatively thin and impacts in that area thus very likely to cause brain injury

(E) bicyclists generally land on their arm or shoulder when they fall to the side, which reduces the likelihood of sever impacts on the side of the head.

Source: OG.

I was thrown off by the mention of 'especially' and chose the wrong answer. Any suggestions?
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by KapTeacherEli » Thu Jun 21, 2012 11:44 am
Hi vk_vinayak,

You correctly identified the most important word in the entire stimulus: especially.

We're trying to complete the blank after the words "especially since." Those words mean, respectively, that the blank will be very important and that the blank will be a reason for the conclusion of the argument.

What's the conclusion of the argument? Well, the keyword "Therefore" tells us what it is: If bicycle helmets protected the temple, then serious injuries would be reduced.

So, which answer choice is a very important reason to think a helmet would help prevent serious head injury? Well, (D) explains that the temple is particularly vulnerable--it's thin bone doesn't protect the brain as well as other parts of the skull! We've better cover it up! That matches our prediction, and so it is the correct answer.

For the record, (A) undermines the argument it's meant to support, since changing helmets doesn't help if no one wears them! Understanding of helmet, in (B), is irrelevant here. (C) doesn't work for similar reasons to (A); heavy, uncomfortable helmets are less likely to be worn. And (E) indicates that temple injuries are very rare, meaning that temple protection might not be necessary.
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by vk_vinayak » Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:16 pm
Hi,

Thanks for the explanation. I have question: If we replace 'especially since' with either 'since' or 'because' what kind of difference it would make?

My thinking when I got the answer wrong: I was thinking that if the words were just 'since' or 'because' (without the word especially), then we would need to provide the most important reason. But with the word 'especially' I thought we need to provide an answer that is not the most obvious one, but the one that supports the main reason. Is this thinking correct?

Let me know your views. If I get this kind of questions in future, can I just replace 'especially since' with 'since'?
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by KapTeacherEli » Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:15 pm
vk_vinayak wrote:Hi,

Thanks for the explanation. I have question: If we replace 'especially since' with either 'since' or 'because' what kind of difference it would make?

My thinking when I got the answer wrong: I was thinking that if the words were just 'since' or 'because' (without the word especially), then we would need to provide the most important reason. But with the word 'especially' I thought we need to provide an answer that is not the most obvious one, but the one that supports the main reason. Is this thinking correct?

Let me know your views. If I get this kind of questions in future, can I just replace 'especially since' with 'since'?
The "especially" here is a time-saver; it helps you recognize the correct answer faster, but isn't necessary to reach that answer.

To elaborate: the word "especially" indicates that temple protection is particularly important, perhaps moreso than other types of helmet protection. Seeing it, we can predict that since our reason is "especially" important, it's likely that these injuries are "especially" dangerous or common. So, when we see an indicator that temples are particularly vulnerable to injury, we can jump on that answer.

However, we would never have to chose between an important reason and a plain-old not-vital reason. The GMAT will always give you one right answer and four rotten ones. (D) is clearly a good reason to protect your head, and we could find it just as surely without making such a specific prediction. The other four are clearly either irrelevant or else reasons that the plan WON'T work. We can get the answer just fine ignoring "especially," it might just take us a little longer to find since we have a less specific prediction.
Eli Meyer
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Cambridge, MA
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by dhonu121 » Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:38 pm
Most bicycle helmets provide good protection for the top and back of the head, but little or no protection for the temple regions on the sides of the head. A study of head injuries resulting from bicycle accidents showed that a large proportion were caused by blows to the temple area. Therefore, if bicycle helmets protected this area, the risk of serious head injury in bicycle accidents would be greatly reduced, especially since ______________________.

(A) among the bicyclists included in the study's sample of head injuries, only a very small proportion had been wearing a helmet at the time of their accident

(B) even those bicyclists included who regularly wear helmets have poor understanding of the degree and kind of protection that helmets afford

(C) a helmet that included protection for the temples would have to be somewhat larger and heavier than current helmets

(D) the bone in the temple area is relatively thin and impacts in that area thus very likely to cause brain injury

(E) bicyclists generally land on their arm or shoulder when they fall to the side, which reduces the likelihood of sever impacts on the side of the head.
D.
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by vk_vinayak » Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:54 pm
KapTeacherEli wrote:The "especially" here is a time-saver; it helps you recognize the correct answer faster, but isn't necessary to reach that answer.

To elaborate: the word "especially" indicates that temple protection is particularly important, perhaps moreso than other types of helmet protection. Seeing it, we can predict that since our reason is "especially" important, it's likely that these injuries are "especially" dangerous or common. So, when we see an indicator that temples are particularly vulnerable to injury, we can jump on that answer.

However, we would never have to chose between an important reason and a plain-old not-vital reason. The GMAT will always give you one right answer and four rotten ones. (D) is clearly a good reason to protect your head, and we could find it just as surely without making such a specific prediction. The other four are clearly either irrelevant or else reasons that the plan WON'T work. We can get the answer just fine ignoring "especially," it might just take us a little longer to find since we have a less specific prediction.
Eli, thanks for the explanation; it really helps.
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by sandeep_thaparianz » Sat Jun 23, 2012 5:51 am
+1 for D