Olive Oil--Conclusion

This topic has expert replies
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 193
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:53 am
Thanked: 4 times
Followed by:5 members

Olive Oil--Conclusion

by amysky_0205 » Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:55 pm
The quality of unrefined olive oil is not actually defined in terms of acidity, yet extensive tests have shown that the less free oleic acid an unrefined olive oil contains per liter, the higher its quality. The proportion of free oleic acid that an olive oil contains is an accurate measure of the oil's acidity.

If the statements above are all true, which of the following conclusions is best supported by them?

A. When an olive oil is refined, the concentration of oleic acid in the oil is reduced.
B. The quality of an unrefined olive oil can be determined only by accurately measuring its acidity.
C. If an unrefined olive oil is intermediate in acidity between two other unrefined olive oils, it will also be intermediate between them in quality.
D. Free oleic acid is the only acid that unrefined olive oil contains.
E. People who judge the quality of unrefined olive oils actually judge those oils by their acidity, which the judges can taste.

OA: C

can someone explain[spoiler] A, C and E?[/spoiler]

thank u!!!
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 12:59 am

by pavan.paone » Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:18 am
answer is D

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 646
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 7:08 am
Thanked: 322 times
Followed by:143 members

by Kasia@EconomistGMAT » Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:37 am
Let's analyze the argument. We know that the quality of unrefined oil is not defined in terms of acidity. However, the less free oleic acid the oil contains, the higher its quality. Therefore, we can infer that the quality of unrefined oil is inversely correlated with its content of oleic acid.
A - out of scope, the argument does not concern refined oil
C - correct - intermediate acidity decides about intermediate quality
E - incorrect, we cannot draw such a conclusion because judges might be using a variety of other criteria
Kasia
Senior Instructor
Master GMAT - the #1 rated GMAT course

"¢ If you found my post helpful, please click the "thank" button and/or follow me.

"¢ Take a 7 day free trial and find out why Economist GMAT is the highest rated GMAT course - https://gmat.economist.com/

"¢ Read GMAT Economist reviews - https://reviews.beatthegmat.com/economis ... mat-course