GMAT
Disposable diapers, while a convenience, are an environmental disaster. If people would use cloth diapers instead of those made of disposable paper, much less paper would be produced saving millions of trees each year. Therefore, people should go back to buying, washing and reusing cloth diapers and Earth's precious natural resources would not be consumed so rapidly.This argument depends of which of the following assumptions?
Executives of Company G receive high salaries and excellent benefits, in addition to stock options and numerous other perks. However, a majority of shareholders of Company G have objected to paying for its executives to travel on Company G's corporate jets. These shareholders believe that these jets should only be used for purposes related to increasing the profits of Company G.Which of the following must be true to support the reasoning behind the shareholders' objection?
As many as 98,000 people die each year due to medical error. In a campaign to reduce lethal errors, thousands of hospitals introduced six key changes, including rapid-response teams, re-checks of patient medication, and new guidelines for preventing infection. The campaign estimated that, over an 18-month period, more than 100,000 lives were saved as a direct result of the program.Which of the following can be most properly inferred from the above statements?
The city's transportation department has noticed that the city's extensive public bus system generally runs behind schedule on days when traffic is heavier in the city. The transportation commissioner concluded that the traffic prevents the buses from reaching their stops on time, despite the existence of a number of bus-only lanes throughout the city. He has therefore proposed creating additional bus-only lanes on city streets to allow more buses to bypass traffic.The success of the commissioner's proposal depends on which of the following assumptions?
Under a new clean air proposal, the government has decided to tighten controls on the release of certain toxic chemicals, including benzene, formaldehyde, and other carcinogens, by chemical plants. The stated purpose of this proposal is to reduce cancers caused by air pollution. Yet, the chemical industry, rather than the government, is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the proposal. If the past actions of certain polluters in the chemical industry are any indication of future behavior, the net result of the new proposal will be an increase, rather than a decrease, in carcinogens released into the air.The author is arguing that ____.
Mayor: The city council has proposed additional funding for the town library. However, the library's own studies show that fewer than 10% of town residents use the library. The city council claims that the library is underutilized because the books, electronic media, and computer equipment are outdated, and that if these were updated, more residents would use the library. However, the last time the town allocated additional funding to the library, usage of the library did not increase. Therefore the town should not allocate additional funding for the library. Which of the following most seriously weakens the mayor's argument?
Industry Analyst: This summer is expected to be particularly hot and dry in the major orange-growing regions of Florida, the state accounting for the largest share of orange production in the United States. While hot and dry weather usually leads to a substantial drop in the yield of oranges, my projections indicate that the revenues of Florida orange producers will not be substantially affected by these unfavorable conditions.Which of the following statements, if true, would support the claim of the Industry Analyst?
The number of United States citizens suffering from the flu increased significantly this year over last year. Since this increase did not occur among citizens of other countries, it is likely the result of a particular flu virus confined to the United States.Which of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the explanation for the increase given above?
Studies have shown that an automobile that runs on a blend of 85% ethanol/15% gasoline gets better mileage than an otherwise similar car equipped with a gasoline engine. Many American legislators have concluded that an increase in tax incentives for ethanol production would lessen our dependence on foreign oil.Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt upon the validity of the legislators' conclusion?
Advertisement: Last year, Factorial Mutual Fund continued its strong record of investment performance. Investors who included Factorial Fund in their portfolios realized an average capital gain of 15% across all of their investment assets, nearly double the market return. Therefore, investors interested in high returns should consider adding Factorial Mutual Fund to their portfolios.The claim in the advertisement above is based on which of the following assumptions?
The principal of School X has proposed a plan that would add an hour-long study period to the end of the school day. She claims that the extension would improve the school's average score on the math section of the state assessment by allowing students more time to complete math homework that they wouldn't otherwise have time to complete. Which of the following statements, if true, would most weaken the argument presented above?
Any health care plan that does not cover comprehensive annual checkups is risking the lives of its members, who are unlikely to obtain care that is not covered by their health care plans, and who may have conditions that, if not detected early, are more likely to become fatal.The argument above logically depends on which of the following assumptions?
A convenience store manager noticed that a cooler which had been stocked with only a cola product and an iced-tea product had 15 colas left at the end of the day but only 3 iced-tea beverages. As a result, the manager reasoned that he should increase the amount of iced tea and decrease the amount of cola he ordered from the distributor. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the manager's rationale for ordering more iced tea and less cola?
Real Estate Agent: Next year, the occupancy rate for residential rental properties in Riverton will increase despite projections of decreasing population in the city. Generally, when a city's population decreases, so does the occupancy rate for residential rental properties. However, in the continuing climate of increasing interest rates on home mortgages, an unusually large number of Riverton residents who would typically buy homes will opt to rent instead.The boldfaced statements in the argument above play which of the following roles?
Mayville Airport and Newcomb Airport have the same number of flight departures each day. Mayville Airport experiences 26 departure delays per 100 flights, while Newcomb Airport experiences 20 departure delays per 100 flights. When delays caused by bad weather are disregarded, Mayville Airport has 5 fewer departure delays per 100 flights than Newcomb Airport does.Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information given above?
Companies that offer “employer sponsored insurance” (ESI) pay a portion of employees' health care costs. In the manufacturing sector last year, companies that offered ESI had worker absentee rates 22% lower, on average, than those at companies that did not offer ESI.If, on the basis of the evidence above, it is argued that ESI decreases worker absenteeism, which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken that argument?
Spokesperson: The major school lunch vendors recently agreed to stop selling high-calorie beverages in elementary and middle schools because studies show that children of ages 7 to 8 who substitute one low-calorie beverage for one high-calorie soft drink in their daily diets will, on average, weigh 20 pounds less than they would have by the time they reach high school. Since only low-calorie beverages will be sold in schools, within six to eight years, we can expect to see a reduction in the percentage of overweight high-school children.The spokesperson assumes which of the following to be true?
Because most hospitals suffer a chronic undersupply of physicians, patients must sometimes wait hours in the emergency room to see a doctor. Nurses should therefore perform initial examinations in hospital emergency rooms to determine which patients merit immediate treatment and which can wait until the emergency physicians have more time to see them.Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above is based?
According to a 1990 law, Native American tribes are entitled to artifacts or remains removed from their lands, provided that the tribes can show a direct archaeological, geological, or historical link to the artifacts. Recently, the Umatilla tribes of Oregon and Washington laid claim to a set of skeletal remains more than 500 years old.Each of the following, if true, strengthens the Umatilla's claim to the remains EXCEPT:
Which of the following best completes the passage below? Brand X, which currently markets luxury watches via billboards and advertisements in popular magazines, is considering saving money by advertising its newest line of luxury watches only in niche publications read by the wealthy. A recent study shows that most purchasers of Brand X's luxury watches have only recently become wealthy, and purchase the watches because Brand X is highly coveted by those aspiring to wealth, who learn about Brand X watches via advertising. Therefore, Brand X should not implement its new advertising strategy because _________________.