GMAT
A fossil recently discovered in Marlandia, a chain of islands, proves that a present-day reptile indigenous to Marlandia is descended from an ancient reptile species that lived on the islands millions of years ago. The finding is surprising since the ancestral species was thought to have become extinct when Marlandia was submerged in a global sea-level rise twenty-five million years ago. Based on the new discovery, many scientists have concluded that the sea-level rise in question left at least part of Marlandia unsubmerged. Which of the following would, if true, provide the most additional support for the scientists' conclusion?
Recent observations suggest that small, earthlike worlds form a very low percentage of the planets orbiting stars in the galaxy other than the sun. Of over two hundred planets that astronomers have detected around other stars, almost all are hundreds of times larger and heavier than the earth and orbit stars much smaller than the sun. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the above justification of the claim that earthlike worlds form a low percentage of the total number of planets?
Mansour: We should both plan to change some of our investments from coal companies to less polluting energy companies. And here's why. Consumers are increasingly demanding nonpolluting energy, and energy companies are increasingly supplying it. Therese: I'm not sure we should do what you suggest. As demand for nonpolluting energy increases relative to supply, its price will increase, and then the more polluting energy will cost relatively less. Demand for the cheaper, dirtier energy forms will then increase, as will the stock values of the companies that produce them. Therese responds to Mansour's proposal by doing which of the following?
Scientist: In an experiment, dogs had access to a handle they could pull to release food into a nearby enclosure that contained a familiar dog and nothing else, contained an unfamiliar dog and nothing else, or was empty. The dogs typically released more food to the familiar dog than to the unfamiliar dog. This suggests that dogs are more motivated to help other dogs they know than to help unfamiliar dogs. The scientist's argument would be most strengthened if it were true that, in the experiment, the dogs with access to the handle tended to release more food when
Columnist: Metro City has a lower percentage of residents with humanities degrees than any other city of comparable size in our nation. Nationwide, university graduates generally earn more than people who are not university graduates, but those with humanities degrees typically earn less than do graduates with degrees in other disciplines. So the main reason Metro City has higher income per capita than any other city of comparable size in our nation must be its low percentage of residents with humanities degrees. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the columnist's argument?
Most geologists believe oil results from chemical transformations of hydrocarbons derived from organisms buried under ancient seas. Suppose, instead, that oil actually results from bacterial action on other complex hydrocarbons that are trapped within the earth. As is well known, the volume of these hydrocarbons exceeds that of buried organisms. Therefore, our oil reserves would be greater than most geologists believe. Which of the following, if true, gives the strongest support to the argument above about our oil reserves?
In the United States, injuries to passengers involved in automobile accidents are typically more severe than in Europe, where laws require a different kind of safety belt. It is clear from this that the United States needs to adopt more stringent standards for safety belt design to protect automobile passengers better. Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument above EXCEPT:
The more frequently employees take time to exercise during working hours each week, the fewer sick days they take. Even employees who exercise only once a week during working hours take less sick time than those who do not exercise. Therefore, if companies started fitness programs, the absentee rate in those companies would decrease significantly. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
The contingency-fee system, which allows lawyers and their clients to agree that the lawyer will be paid only in the event of success, does not increase the number of medical malpractice lawsuits brought against doctors. As attorneys must cover the costs for their time and research,they want to be assured that any medical malpractice case they accept on a contingency-fee basis has substantial merit. Consequently, attorneys turn away many people who come to see them, for lack of a good case. The argument above is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it fails to
Errors in the performance of repetitive or "boring" tasks-often attributed to a momentary lapse in concentration-can be serious in such activities as flying a passenger aircraft. Is there any method that would provide warning of such lapses-for example by monitoring brain activity? Researchers scanned the brains of volunteers performing a repetitive task. When the tasks were being performed correctly, the volunteers' brains showed activity in cognitive- processing regions. However, these regions became less active several seconds before some errors were made, and another brain region, region X, became active. The researchers concluded that the monitoring of region X could provide warning of an impending error. Which of the following, if true, most supports the researchers' conclusion?
Advertisement: Our competitors' computer salespeople are paid according to the value of the products they sell, so they have a financial incentive to convince you to buy the most expensive units-whether you need them or not. But here at Comput-o-Mart, our salespeople are paid a salary that is not dependent on the value of their sales, so they won't try to tell you what to buy. That means when you buy a computer at Comput-o-Mart, you can be sure you're not paying for computing capabilities you don't need. Which of the following would, if true, most weaken the advertisement's reasoning?
Sasha: It must be healthy to follow a diet high in animal proteins and fats. Human beings undoubtedly evolved to thrive on such a diet, since our prehistoric ancestors ate large amounts of meat. Jamal: But our ancestors also exerted themselves intensely in order to obtain this food, whereas most human beings today are much less physically active. Jamal responds to Sasha by doing which of the following?
Most of Western music since the Renaissance has been based on a seven-note scale known as the diatonic scale, but when did the scale originate? A fragment of a bone flute excavated at a Neanderthal campsite has four holes, which are spaced in exactly the right way for playing the third through sixth notes of a diatonic scale. The entire flute must surely have had more holes, and the flute was made from a bone that was long enough for these additional holes to have allowed a complete diatonic scale to be played. Therefore, the Neanderthals who made the flute probably used a diatonic musical scale. In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
Consumer advocate: In our nation, food packages must list the number of calories per food serving. But most of the serving sizes used are misleadingly small and should be updated. The serving sizes were set decades ago, when our nation's people typically ate smaller portions than they do today, and, as a result, people eating typical portions today consume more calories than the package labeling appears to indicate that they will. It is time package labeling reflected these changes. Which of the following is the main point of the consumer advocate's argument?
The lobbyists argued that because there is no statistical evidence that breathing other people' s tobacco smoke increases the incidence of heart disease or lung cancer in healthy nonsmokers, legislation banning smoking in workplaces cannot be justified on health grounds. Of the following, which is the best criticism of the argument reported above?