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805+ Level|   Non-Math Related|            
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 15 Mar 2024, 10:25
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pearrrrrrr
­Hi chetan2u

the instruction "if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred." made me feel that the answers on both column can be swap because it's possible to say that Event "The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise" occurs, then the event "The council considers a formal written noise complaint" has already occurred.

your explanation is appreciated­


 
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­The only problem is that council offers to mediate a dispute on both verbal and written complaint. 
So, it may not be a written complaint they are acting on?

 
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 10 Apr 2024, 21:56
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KarishmaB

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Hi KarishmaB GMATGuruNY avigutman
Quote:
  But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter.
Can i write guidelines structure as below in terms of logical structure? It seems wrong but i am not sure why? How do we diagram the structure?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord ---> the council will not consider a complaint ---> UNLESS there have been formal complaints from multiple residents
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, why 1-A, 2-D aren't the apt options? There have been several discussions in previous posters, but i couldn't understand them.­ Please help.

If council imposes a fine for noise violation, then The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise is quite in line with the guideline: ''if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred''­







 
As for your first question: Unless X, Y

Keep in mind that this structure means "X" is necessary for "Not Y"

So "unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter."

is equivalent to 

"Formal complaints from multiple residents" is necessary for the council to consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly

So the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly.
But if multiple residents give a formal complaint, the council MAY consider the complaint even if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly.

Your second question has been answered by manasp35 very well above so I will not repeat it. 
­
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KarishmaB
So the point why A, D can't be answer is that 
in this line `The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints` without formal complaints, Council May Impose Fines 
Right? ­

But i think also that 
in this line `the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter.`we can't judge this "a complaint" is formal or not formal. 
Is this right Inference?­

Thanks
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 10 Apr 2024, 23:21
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EDDIE98
­
KarishmaB
So the point why A, D can't be answer is that 
in this line `The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints` without formal complaints, Council May Impose Fines 
Right? ­

 
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Yes, that's correct.
EDDIE98

But i think also that 
in this line `the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter.`we can't judge this "a complaint" is formal or not formal. 
Is this right Inference?­

Thanks
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­From context, I will assume it to be formal only. We are talking only about formal verbal or written complaints in the entire passage.

The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints. But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter. 

They are talking about imposing fines for formal complaints and then discussing "multiple individuals" vs "an individual." I would think that they are talking about formal complaints only. ­They make no distinction in the questions either. 
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 21 May 2024, 05:02
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Quote:
chetan2u
Let us break down the question.

A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care to avoid disturbing their neighbors with noise. The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints. => Fines possible for formal complaints

But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter. =>
Multiple complaints - council will consider the complaint
Single complainant - Complainant should have tried to resolve the dispute directly with alleged violator/violatir's landlord.



Bhavya_BD12, hope it clears your query.
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hi chetan2u, and other experts.
would you like to clarify further ?
for me, the "complaining individual" refers to person, instead of single complaint

another question:
i am struggling with "unless X, No Y if Z "
i can get X is necessary and Y is sufficient in structure "unless X, Y", because unless is the same meanig as if not.
but i am confused Z if??"unless X, No Y if Z "

appreciate your help.????­
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 21 May 2024, 06:15
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zoezhuyan
hi chetan2u, and other experts.
would you like to clarify further ?
for me, the "complaining individual" refers to person, instead of single complaint

another question:
i am struggling with "unless X, No Y if Z "
i can get X is necessary and Y is sufficient in structure "unless X, Y", because unless is the same meanig as if not.
but i am confused Z if??"unless X, No Y if Z "

appreciate your help.????­
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­Hi

1) Yes, the complaining individual is the person who is making the complaint. Since, it is an individual who is complaining, he becomes single complainant.

2) Next, I am yet to see the usage of "unless X, No Y if Z " in GMAT. But I believe it should mean, If Z happens and X does not happen, then Y will not happen.
Let us take an example: Unless we have umbrellas(X), No going outside(Y) if it rains(Z).=>  If it rains(Z happens) and We do not have umbrellas (X does not happen), then no going outside(Y will not happen).
 
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 09 Jun 2024, 09:57
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Quote:
Select for 1 and for 2 two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred.
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I thought that statement 2 can happen either before or after statement 1. How to comprehend what the question really asked.
I selected the correct choices but in reverse order.
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 11 Jun 2024, 07:07
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notshynotme

Quote:
 Select for 1 and for 2 two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred.
I thought that statement 2 can happen either before or after statement 1. How to comprehend what the question really asked.
I selected the correct choices but in reverse order.
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­If you take the revers order...
Event that occurs: The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise.
Event that MUST have occured or will occur: The council considers a formal written noise complaint. Why should this occur for sure? It may be possible that a verbal complaint was made. So, this option will not fit in.

 
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 26 Jun 2024, 21:25
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Analysis of the passage

1. Formal Noise Complaint Handling:

The village council will only consider a formal noise complaint if:
- The complaining individual has attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator, or
- The complaining individual has attempted to resolve the issue with the violator's landlord (if the violator is a renter), or
- There are formal complaints from multiple residents.
2. Council's Response to Complaints:

If the council is considering a formal complaint, their first action will be to offer to mediate the dispute.

----

Event 1: The council considers a formal written noise complaint.
Event 2: The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise.

If Event 1 happens (the council considers a formal written noise complaint), it logically follows from the guidelines that Event 2 will occur or has already occurred (the council surely subsequently offers to mediate the dispute)

----

The council imposes a fine for noise violation.
The passage only mentions "The village council may impose fines for noise violations"


The complaining individual attempts to resolve the issue with the alleged violator.
If this is Event 1
=> there could be 2 results, either (1) the dispute is resolved or (2) the council considers the complaint
=> So there is no determinate Event 2

This cannot be Event 2
- This event is one of the starting events => cannot be "will occur"
- "has already occured" does not work because
   + then Event 1, if any, could only be "The council considers a formal written noise complaint." 
   + but we could not conclude that if because "The council considers a formal written noise complaint." could result from many different cases as mentioned above


The complaining individual contacts the alleged violator's landlord.
Similar as "The complaining individual attempts to resolve the issue with the alleged violator."
 
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 14 Jul 2024, 02:35
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­
All Data Insight question: TPA [ Official Guide DI Review 2023-24] 
A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care to avoid disturbing their neighbors with noise. The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints. But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter. The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute.

Select for 1 and for 2 two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred. Make only two selections, one in each column.­
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Upon receiving the complaint, the village council will mediate the dispute.  But the fine may or may not be imposed. 
so the right  answer is 

1. complaint
2. mediate dispute
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 16 Jul 2024, 07:18
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Understanding the argument - 
­A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care to avoid disturbing their neighbors with noise. - Ordinance/regulation by the village. 

The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints. - Authority by the ordinance/regulation

But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter. - Lets break it.

Condition 1 (single complaint)- The council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter.
  • This means that "for a single complaint, if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve it, the council will not consider the complaint." If X, then Y.  
  • Its negation would be Not Y, Not X. This means that" the council considers the single complaint implies that the complaining individual has attempted to resolve it with the alleged violator or the violator's landlord."
Exception (multiple complaints) - Unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint. 
  • This means that "if there are no formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint." 
  • The negation would be "the council considers the complaint; there are formal complaints from multiple residents." 
Ultimately, it means that if there are multiple complaints, condition one is not required. 

The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute. - Steps that the council will take. 



Question - Select for 1 and for 2 two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred. 
  • The council imposes a fine for noise violation. - Could be 1.
  • The council considers a formal written noise complaint. -  Could be 1. 
  • The complaining individual attempts to resolve the issue with the alleged violator - There may be a case that the issue is resolved and no need for any formal complaint. 
  • The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise. - Yes, this goes with "will OR have occurred."
  • The complaining individual contacts the alleged violator's landlord. - This and "The complaining individual attempts to resolve the issue with the alleged violator" are part of the prerequisites. One doesn't mean the other will happen. Additionally, with this option, the option "The council considers a formal written noise complaint" doesn't work out, as just contacting doesn't mean anything. One has to attempt to resolve, and as we discussed, it may be possible that it's resolved, so there is no need for a complaint. 
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 06 Sep 2024, 22:23
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''­The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints." does not indicate that the council may impose fines without a formal complaint, rather, it means that a formal complaint may or may not result in a fine. For instance, a fine may not be imposed if mediation resolves the dispute.

"either ... or ..." means that both together are not possible; that is, option 2 does not need to satisfy both conditions that it could both have already occurred and will occur. Option 2 should meet only one of the two conditions with respect to Option 1.

Let's consider A and D:
  1. The council imposes a fine for noise violation.
  2. The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise.
At first glance, these two appear to satisfy the requirement. However, the question does not explicitly mention how the council offering to mediate a dispute could result in imposing a fine.

Compare that with options B and D:
  1. The council considers a formal written noise complaint.
  2. The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise.
The question clearly states that, "The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute". So, we can safely pick B and D as ''two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred.''
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 14 Sep 2024, 20:40
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Hi all, just flagging this is categorised as an 'Easy' question in the GMAT DI book and online testbank... - does anyone know why there is such a big discrepancy?
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 13 Nov 2024, 01:39
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B and D as this statement clearly gives it away - The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute.
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 11 Dec 2024, 04:31
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care to avoid disturbing their neighbors with noise. The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints. But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter. The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute.

Select for 1 and for 2 two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred. Make only two selections, one in each column.­

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I think this question is hard enough to choose wrong option with confidence as there are more than one appealing options possible. My video explains it in depth please check

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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 16 Apr 2025, 08:38
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Why 1 and 2 that you have selected couldn't be swapped.. As the questions says if 1 occurs, 2 will or already occurred.
So we can consider 1 as considering to mediate dispute and 2 be considers a formal complaint as 2 could have already occurred before 1 as well.
MartyMurray
­A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care to avoid disturbing their neighbors with noise. The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints. But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter. The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute.

Select for 1 and for 2 two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred. Make only two selections, one in each column.­

An effecient way to answer this question is to check each choice as a possible answer for 1 by seeing for each choice whether one of the other choices has occurred or will occur, and thus is the answer for 2.

In going through the choices, we have to be super careful since there will likely be trap choices that are close to correct or seem correct for some reason. So, we have to make sure that the answer for 2 will for sure have happened or happen if 1 happens.

The council imposes a fine for noise violation.

Scanning the passage for "imposes a fine," we don't see anything that will happen afterward.

We do see that the council "may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints." However, "The council considers a formal written noise complaint" does not have to have happened before "The council imposes a fine for a noise violation" because the passage mentions a "formal verbal or written complaint." So, before the council imposes a fine, the councial may consider a formal verbal complaint and not a written one.

Eliminate for 1.

The council considers a formal written noise complaint.

Scanning the passage for "considers a formal written noise complaint," we see in the passage "the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter."

So, before the council considers a complaint, two things could have occurred: the complaining individual has attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or the complaining individual has attempted to resolve the issue with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter.

So, it's not certain that before "The council considers a formal written noise complaint, "The complaining individual attempts to resolve the issue with the alleged violator," because the complaining indivdual could have attempteod to resolve the complaint with the landlord instead.

At the same time, regarding "The council considers a formal written noise complaint," we also see the following in the passage: "The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute."

So, the next choice, "The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise," will for sure occur after "The council considers a formal written noise complaint."

Thus, "The council considers a formal written noise complaint," works for 1 and "The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise," works for 2.

We can now check the other choices to confirm that no others work for 1 and 2 to ensure that we've chosen the correct answers.

The complaining individual attempts to resolve the issue with the alleged violator.

This choice does not work for 1 because the passage doesn't mention anything that has happened before this and because the passage does not mention anything that will for sure happen after this. After all, the passage says only that "the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator."

The fact that the council the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue does not mean that the council will for sure consider the complaint if the complaining individual has attempted to resolve the issue.

Eliminate for 1.

The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise.

This choice does not work for 1 because the passage does not say that the council will offer to mediate a dispute only if something else has happened, and the passage does not say what will happen after the council offers to mediate a dispute.

Eliminate for 1.

The complaining individual contacts the alleged violator's landlord.

This choice doesn't say anything that has happened before a complaining individual contacts the landlord, and also, the passage doesn't say anything that will for sure happen after the individual contacts the landlord. It says only that "the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly ... with the violator's landlord." The fact that the council will not consider a complaint if the individual has not contacted the landlord does not mean that the council will consider if it the individual has contacted the landlord.

Eliminate for 1.

Correct answer: The council considers a formal written noise complaint., The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise.
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 16 Apr 2025, 08:38
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Why 1 and 2 that you have selected couldn't be swapped.. As the questions says if 1 occurs, 2 will or already occurred.
So we can consider 1 as considering to mediate dispute and 2 be considers a formal complaint as 2 could have already occurred before 1 as well.
MartyMurray
­A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care to avoid disturbing their neighbors with noise. The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints. But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter. The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute.

Select for 1 and for 2 two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred. Make only two selections, one in each column.­

An effecient way to answer this question is to check each choice as a possible answer for 1 by seeing for each choice whether one of the other choices has occurred or will occur, and thus is the answer for 2.

In going through the choices, we have to be super careful since there will likely be trap choices that are close to correct or seem correct for some reason. So, we have to make sure that the answer for 2 will for sure have happened or happen if 1 happens.

The council imposes a fine for noise violation.

Scanning the passage for "imposes a fine," we don't see anything that will happen afterward.

We do see that the council "may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints." However, "The council considers a formal written noise complaint" does not have to have happened before "The council imposes a fine for a noise violation" because the passage mentions a "formal verbal or written complaint." So, before the council imposes a fine, the councial may consider a formal verbal complaint and not a written one.

Eliminate for 1.

The council considers a formal written noise complaint.

Scanning the passage for "considers a formal written noise complaint," we see in the passage "the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter."

So, before the council considers a complaint, two things could have occurred: the complaining individual has attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or the complaining individual has attempted to resolve the issue with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter.

So, it's not certain that before "The council considers a formal written noise complaint, "The complaining individual attempts to resolve the issue with the alleged violator," because the complaining indivdual could have attempteod to resolve the complaint with the landlord instead.

At the same time, regarding "The council considers a formal written noise complaint," we also see the following in the passage: "The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute."

So, the next choice, "The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise," will for sure occur after "The council considers a formal written noise complaint."

Thus, "The council considers a formal written noise complaint," works for 1 and "The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise," works for 2.

We can now check the other choices to confirm that no others work for 1 and 2 to ensure that we've chosen the correct answers.

The complaining individual attempts to resolve the issue with the alleged violator.

This choice does not work for 1 because the passage doesn't mention anything that has happened before this and because the passage does not mention anything that will for sure happen after this. After all, the passage says only that "the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator."

The fact that the council the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue does not mean that the council will for sure consider the complaint if the complaining individual has attempted to resolve the issue.

Eliminate for 1.

The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise.

This choice does not work for 1 because the passage does not say that the council will offer to mediate a dispute only if something else has happened, and the passage does not say what will happen after the council offers to mediate a dispute.

Eliminate for 1.

The complaining individual contacts the alleged violator's landlord.

This choice doesn't say anything that has happened before a complaining individual contacts the landlord, and also, the passage doesn't say anything that will for sure happen after the individual contacts the landlord. It says only that "the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly ... with the violator's landlord." The fact that the council will not consider a complaint if the individual has not contacted the landlord does not mean that the council will consider if it the individual has contacted the landlord.

Eliminate for 1.

Correct answer: The council considers a formal written noise complaint., The council offers to mediate a dispute about noise.
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 10 Jul 2025, 09:00
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Hi can you help regarding such if then statements in TPA, in some questions it's the opposite. I understand A -> B, is like a cause and effect relationship. And here as there was if A then must B, hence we used simple cause and effect as given in the argument, whereas when it is must be, it is switched around.

Let me know if my understanding is correct, I understand in must be we need to look for neccessary and not just sufficient. But I am getting confused day by day where to apply what.

In summary, this is my current understanding

If A then B, normal cause and effect

If A then must be B, means B must have happened (cause) hence A (effect) has happened

KarishmaB

chetan2u
village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care to avoid disturbing their neighbors with noise. The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints. But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter. The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute.
Select for 1 and for 2 two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred. Make only two selections, one in each column.­


Given: The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute.
"if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred."
So if the council considers a formal written noise complaint, then "the council offers to mediate a dispute about noise" will occur or has already occured (depending on where the council is in its consideration process)
ANSWER: 2nd and 4th sentences
manasp35
Quote:
How about A,D as the choice.
I agree that 1st and 4th sentences sound reasonable too. There were two reasons I didn't like that as much as the answer.
1. It doesn't fit perfectly in what is given:
So if "the council imposes a fine for noise violation," then "the council offers to mediate a dispute about noise" will occur or has already occured.
The highlighted doesn't work here. I am not sure if what we choose must work with both "will occur" and "has already occured" or if it can work with either. Hence, the answer given above works in all cases.
2. Given: "But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if ..."
The council may consider a complaint if there have been formal complaints from multiple residents. Will it offer to mediate in that case too? Most likely yes but I am a bit uncomfortable with it. The last sentence could be talking about individual complaints, I am not sure. I have a better, clear answer answer so might as well pick that. ­

Check out this video to know how to handle conditional statements such as "unless X, Y": https://youtu.be/BW8Ijrhjjq8
­
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care Updated on: 11 Jul 2025, 07:11
Originally posted by cheshire on 11 Jul 2025, 07:10.
Last edited by cheshire on 11 Jul 2025, 07:11, edited 2 times in total.
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  • “If A then B” is the normal cause → effect (A is sufficient for B).
  • “A then must be B” (“A only if B”) means B is necessary for A. you can assume B when you see A.
  • But “B must have happened, hence A has happened” is a reverse inference (you observe the effect B and conclude the cause A).

The key is to look for wording (“if” vs. “only if” vs. “must have”) and practicing to apply it. Overall, your current understanding isn't far off.
Pr4n
Hi can you help regarding such if then statements in TPA, in some questions it's the opposite. I understand A -> B, is like a cause and effect relationship. And here as there was if A then must B, hence we used simple cause and effect as given in the argument, whereas when it is must be, it is switched around.

Let me know if my understanding is correct, I understand in must be we need to look for neccessary and not just sufficient. But I am getting confused day by day where to apply what.

In summary, this is my current understanding

If A then B, normal cause and effect

If A then must be B, means B must have happened (cause) hence A (effect) has happened

KarishmaB

chetan2u
village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care to avoid disturbing their neighbors with noise. The village council may impose fines for noise violations in response to formal complaints. But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter. The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute.
Select for 1 and for 2 two different events such that the guidelines most clearly indicate that if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred. Make only two selections, one in each column.­


Given: The council's first action in response to any formal verbal or written complaint that they are considering will be to offer to mediate the dispute.
"if the event selected for 1 occurs, then the event selected for 2 either will occur or has already occurred."
So if the council considers a formal written noise complaint, then "the council offers to mediate a dispute about noise" will occur or has already occured (depending on where the council is in its consideration process)
ANSWER: 2nd and 4th sentences
manasp35
Quote:
How about A,D as the choice.
I agree that 1st and 4th sentences sound reasonable too. There were two reasons I didn't like that as much as the answer.
1. It doesn't fit perfectly in what is given:
So if "the council imposes a fine for noise violation," then "the council offers to mediate a dispute about noise" will occur or has already occured.
The highlighted doesn't work here. I am not sure if what we choose must work with both "will occur" and "has already occured" or if it can work with either. Hence, the answer given above works in all cases.
2. Given: "But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if ..."
The council may consider a complaint if there have been formal complaints from multiple residents. Will it offer to mediate in that case too? Most likely yes but I am a bit uncomfortable with it. The last sentence could be talking about individual complaints, I am not sure. I have a better, clear answer answer so might as well pick that. ­

Check out this video to know how to handle conditional statements such as "unless X, Y": https://youtu.be/BW8Ijrhjjq8
­
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A village's ordinances require residents to exercise reasonable care 13 Aug 2025, 10:25
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Cause and Effect Question

Meaning of this line:
"But unless there have been formal complaints from multiple residents, the council will not consider a complaint if the complaining individual has not attempted to resolve the issue directly with the alleged violator or with the violator's landlord if the violator is a renter."
Complaint eligibility rule – The council will not consider a complaint unless:
It’s from multiple residents, OR
If from a single person, that person has already tried to resolve it directly with the violator or with the landlord (if renter).
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