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MGMAT CAT #1

by fangtray » Wed May 02, 2012 5:29 am
Every year many people become ill because of airborne mold spores in their homes. After someone becomes ill, specialists are often hired to eradicate the mold. These specialists look in damp areas of the house, since mold is almost always found in places where there is substantial moisture. If one wishes to avoid mold poisoning, then, one should make sure to keep all internal plumbing in good condition to prevent leakage that could serve as a breeding ground for mold.

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


Mold itself does not create moisture.

Most homeowners know enough about plumbing to determine whether theirs is in good condition.

Mold cannot grow in dry areas.

No varieties of mold are harmless.

Mold spores cannot be filtered from the air.

I was choosing between A and C. I feel though, if you negate C, you weaken the argument, but in A, it doesn't weaken the argment. Thus C is a better answer. Could an expert please help me with the thought process on this one?
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by transfer9858 » Wed May 02, 2012 10:49 am
The whole basis of the conclusion is " if one wishes to avoid mold, then, one should make sure to keep all internal plumbing to prevent leakage....". This statement says, if you do not have water or any moisture in your house due to leaks or anything else, you will not grow mold. The assumption here is that you get mold from leaks, plumbing and wet sources, not from actual mold. If we found out that mold creates moisture, then his argument would make no sense because it doesn't matter whether you get a leak or not, the mold is the one that causes to moisture. Hope this helps.
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by fangtray » Wed May 02, 2012 3:32 pm
transfer9858 wrote:The whole basis of the conclusion is " if one wishes to avoid mold, then, one should make sure to keep all internal plumbing to prevent leakage....". This statement says, if you do not have water or any moisture in your house due to leaks or anything else, you will not grow mold. The assumption here is that you get mold from leaks, plumbing and wet sources, not from actual mold. If we found out that mold creates moisture, then his argument would make no sense because it doesn't matter whether you get a leak or not, the mold is the one that causes to moisture. Hope this helps.
I understand that A is an assumption, but why is C not an assumption.

If mold could grow in dry areas, then how could one avoid mold by keeping all internal plumbing to prevent leakage?
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by GMATGuruNY » Thu May 03, 2012 3:14 am
fangtray wrote:
transfer9858 wrote:The whole basis of the conclusion is " if one wishes to avoid mold, then, one should make sure to keep all internal plumbing to prevent leakage....". This statement says, if you do not have water or any moisture in your house due to leaks or anything else, you will not grow mold. The assumption here is that you get mold from leaks, plumbing and wet sources, not from actual mold. If we found out that mold creates moisture, then his argument would make no sense because it doesn't matter whether you get a leak or not, the mold is the one that causes to moisture. Hope this helps.
I understand that A is an assumption, but why is C not an assumption.

If mold could grow in dry areas, then how could one avoid mold by keeping all internal plumbing to prevent leakage?
I explained here why C is not the correct answer:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/airborne-mol ... 08133.html
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by fangtray » Fri May 04, 2012 2:56 pm
GMATGuruNY wrote:
fangtray wrote:
transfer9858 wrote:The whole basis of the conclusion is " if one wishes to avoid mold, then, one should make sure to keep all internal plumbing to prevent leakage....". This statement says, if you do not have water or any moisture in your house due to leaks or anything else, you will not grow mold. The assumption here is that you get mold from leaks, plumbing and wet sources, not from actual mold. If we found out that mold creates moisture, then his argument would make no sense because it doesn't matter whether you get a leak or not, the mold is the one that causes to moisture. Hope this helps.
I understand that A is an assumption, but why is C not an assumption.

If mold could grow in dry areas, then how could one avoid mold by keeping all internal plumbing to prevent leakage?
I explained here why C is not the correct answer:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/airborne-mol ... 08133.html
Hi Thank you, i read your explanation. you state the following reason why C cannot be the answer:

From the passage: Mold is almost always found in places where there is substantial moisture.
This statement is a PREMISE: a fact not in dispute.
ALMOST ALWAYS means NOT ALWAYS.
Thus, the passage states -- as a FACT -- that mold is NOT ALWAYS found in areas where there is substantial moisture.
In other words, mold CAN be found in dry areas.
Answer choice C seems to refute this premise.
The correct answer to a CR can NEVER refute a premise.

Why does this mean C is refuting a premise? The premise doesn't seem to state that mold GROWS in dry areas, only that it might. For example, what if NOT ALWAYS found in substantial moisture means that Mold is sometimes found in areas that simply does not have substantial moisture, not that it is dry, but maybe a normal moisture content, or perhaps just higher than normal moistness, even very moist, so long as it is not "substantial". Although very seems synonymous to substantial, perhaps very would not work, but all other degrees of moistness could be ok.

Also could you comment on why it seems that the negate technique works better for C than for A?

if moisture can be found in dry areas, then avoiding mold by preventing leaks is weakened.

if moisture itself DOES create moisture, then preventing leakage is weakened as well, but since specialists are hired to eradicate mold, no leakage + no mold = no future mold.
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by GMATGuruNY » Fri May 04, 2012 7:09 pm
fangtray wrote:The premise doesn't seem to state that mold GROWS in dry areas, only that it might. For example, what if NOT ALWAYS found in substantial moisture means that Mold is sometimes found in areas that simply does not have substantial moisture, not that it is dry, but maybe a normal moisture content, or perhaps just higher than normal moistness, even very moist, so long as it is not "substantial". Although very seems synonymous to substantial, perhaps very would not work, but all other degrees of moistness could be ok.

Also could you comment on why it seems that the negate technique works better for C than for A?

if moisture can be found in dry areas, then avoiding mold by preventing leaks is weakened.

if moisture itself DOES create moisture, then preventing leakage is weakened as well, but since specialists are hired to eradicate mold, no leakage + no mold = no future mold.
The passages states as a premise -- as an UNDISPUTED FACT -- that mold is ALMOST ALWAYS found in places where there is substantial moisture.
The implication is that mold is sometimes found in places where there is NOT substantial moisture.
Thus, the passage does not assume that mold cannot grow in dry areas. Quite the contrary: it states as an undisputed fact that mold IS found in places where there is not substantial moisture.
More importantly, whether mold can grow in dry areas is irrelevant: even if mold can grow in dry areas, it remains an undisputed fact that mold ALMOST ALWAYS is found in places whether there is SUBSTANTIAL MOISTURE.

Thus, the negation of C -- mold can grow in dry areas -- does not affect the argument.
Even if mold can grow in dry areas, it remains an UNDISPUTED FACT that mold ALMOST ALWAYS is found in places where there IS substantial moisture.
Thus, the negation of C does not weaken the link between mold and moisture.
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