[CR][Is Question type = Assumption] HSPA posts

[HSPA]

Scientists have made genetic modifications to cotton to increase its resistance to insect pests. According to farmers' reports, the amount of insecticide needed per acre to control insect pests was only slightly lower for those who tried the modified seed than for those who did not. Therefore, since the modified seed costs more than ordinary seed without
producing yields of higher market value, switching to the modified seed would be unlikely to benefit most cotton farmers economically.
Which of the following would it be most useful to know in order to evaluate the argument?

A. Whether farmers who tried the modified cotton seed had ever tried growing other crops from genetically modified seed
B. Whether the insecticides typically used on ordinary cotton tend to be more expensive than insecticides typically used on other crops
C. Whether for most farmers who grow cotton it is their primary crop
D. Whether the farmers who have tried the modified seed planted as many acres of cotton, on average, as farmers using the ordinary seed did
E. Whether most of the farmers who tried the modified seed did so because they had previously had to use exceptionally large quantities of insecticide

[AIM GMAT]

IMO B . Beacause the major concern of the argument is the economics involved in modified seed Vs pesticide .

A. Whether farmers who tried the modified cotton seed had ever tried growing other crops from genetically modified seed -- [This is irrelevant to argument , as it doesnt contribute to evaluate the benefit of farmers ]

B. Whether the insecticides typically used on ordinary cotton tend to be more expensive than insecticides typically used on other crops -- [This involves the cost of insecticide , so this shud be taken as contender option , if normal cotten needs expensive insecticide then modified one then definately the modified seed would save some money despite seed being costly , or atleast it will just give us some inforamtion to evaluate the calculations.]

C. Whether for most farmers who grow cotton it is their primary crop -- [This aint neccesay to know , no contribution option ]

D. Whether the farmers who have tried the modified seed planted as many acres of cotton, on average, as farmers using the ordinary seed did -- [How much area is planted is not our concern , we just need to know if the modified seed reduces the investment cost for former or not ]

E. Whether most of the farmers who tried the modified seed did so because they had previously had to use exceptionally large quantities of insecticide -- [This is not clear with the info provided , we need to have a comparitive analysis , hence this wont help us evaluate the economics of investment]


Changing the colours of option , blue for pain [WRONG chosen previously] .

[mundasingh123]

HSPA Whats the source ?

[HSPA]

HSPA Whats the source ?

Source = ugly; dont ask; It would be nice if some one can help me on the "Question type" and suggest if the stem is a valid question or not.

@ AIM, I am not in agreement with you. Isn't 'B' out of scope... as it is discussing about other pesticides/other crops.

[AIM GMAT]

HSPA Whats the source ?

Source = ugly; dont ask; It would be nice if some one can help me on the "Question type" and suggest if the stem is a valid question or not.

@ AIM, I am not in agreement with you. Isn't 'B' out of scope... as it is discussing about other pesticides/other crops.

Anyother option is not even near to the cost effective evaluation ... what option did u opt for ?

[bubbliiiiiiii]

It cannot be A, B and D.

I has to be between C and E.
IMO E.

If correct would share my approach.

It would be nice if some one can help me on the "Question type" and suggest if the stem is a valid question or not.

This is a evaluation question.

In these type of questions, we have to find an answer choice that if true, strengthens the argument and if false, weakens it. The answer choice should work either ways.

I guess the question is still open for debate.

[AIM GMAT]

HSPA Whats the source ?

Source = ugly; dont ask; It would be nice if some one can help me on the "Question type" and suggest if the stem is a valid question or not.

@ AIM, I am not in agreement with you. Isn't 'B' out of scope... as it is discussing about other pesticides/other crops.

Agree with you HSPA , i missed the OTHER CROP .... i assumed it as normal cotton crop .... Deadly mistake done .

Well B is out of scope , so now i am left with 4 options .
I would opt for E .

Diving back to depths .

[HSPA]

HSPA Whats the source ?

Source = ugly; dont ask; It would be nice if some one can help me on the "Question type" and suggest if the stem is a valid question or not.

@ AIM, I am not in agreement with you. Isn't 'B' out of scope... as it is discussing about other pesticides/other crops.

Agree with you HSPA , i missed the OTHER CROP .... i assumed it as normal cotton crop .... Deadly mistake done .

Well B is out of scope , so now i am left with 4 options .
I would opt for E .

Diving back to depths .

Guys, Dont take this question seriously.. I just wanted to check the validity and question type...
I am doubting this question.

[rohu27]

HSPA Whats the source ?

Source = ugly; dont ask; It would be nice if some one can help me on the "Question type" and suggest if the stem is a valid question or not.

@ AIM, I am not in agreement with you. Isn't 'B' out of scope... as it is discussing about other pesticides/other crops.

Agree with you HSPA , i missed the OTHER CROP .... i assumed it as normal cotton crop .... Deadly mistake done .

Well B is out of scope , so now i am left with 4 options .
I would opt for E .

Diving back to depths .

Guys, Dont take this question seriously.. I just wanted to check the validity and question type...
I am doubting this question.

whatevr the source, i feel this question is based on a OG question of a similar type.
i will go with E, .

[David@VeritasPrep]

The type of question is what we at Veritas refer to as "most useful to know." Not sure how others call it but basically it is the information that would either strengthen or weaken the argument.

So you are not looking for the information that would strengthen, nor that which would weaken, but rather the information that would either strengthen or weaken.

For example if I have the argument "Germany has the tallest front line in Soccer, therefore Germany will win the World Cup." Now we can weaken this if we find that teams with the tallest front line don't always win and we can strengthen if we find that they do always win.

So the correct answer to a most useful to know would be "how often do teams with the tallest front lines win the World Cup?"

As an aside, last March I took the official GMAT and got only 10 critical reasoning questions and of those 10, 4 were most useful to know! So that is interesting...

[novel]

e for me

a,b,c are irrelevant as they talk about other crops

[HSPA]

Hi David, Pranay(aka bubliii)

Thank you very much...I some how failed to come across such question type in powerscore. This is the first time I came across this question time.

@ Pranay, From where did you read these question types.. if powerscore ... section number please..
Else please share us the theory behind your brain...From what David said.. ASAP post is required.

@David, My assumptions,
If someone is doing well => expect "most useful to know" questions
CR are less => ~16 SC are given (passages can be only 4 and max 4 question per passage ~15)

[bubbliiiiiiii]

@ Pranay, From where did you read these question types.. if powerscore ... section number please..
Else please share us the theory behind your brain...From what David said.. ASAP post is required.

I came across this information while reading one of the post from TestLuv. Though I dont remember which one but I can assure you its a recent one. I will share it with you once I get that.

And for CR, I give credit to Mr. David@Veritas and TestLuv, whose posts really helped me in many aspects. I take this oppurtunity to thank David and Testluv.