Last visit was: 28 Apr 2026, 15:39 It is currently 28 Apr 2026, 15:39
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Events & Promotions
Back to Forum
Create Topic
655-705 (Hard)|   Weaken|      
User avatar
Qoofi
User avatar
Joined: 18 Dec 2012
Last visit: 23 Feb 2024
Posts: 64
Own Kudos:
206
 [10]
Given Kudos: 56
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Strategy
GMAT 1: 530 Q37 V25
GMAT 2: 660 Q49 V32
GPA: 3.32
WE:Manufacturing and Production (Manufacturing)
GMAT 2: 660 Q49 V32
Posts: 64
Kudos: 206
 [10]
After several decades of surging demand, there has been a 10% fall in 20 Nov 2014, 11:30
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
8
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

65% (hard)

Question Stats:

53% (01:39) correct 47% (01:48) wrong based on 422 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
After several decades of surging demand, there has been a 10% fall in the demand for silver worldwide in the last five years. Since silver is a major component used in photographic film, experts have blamed the rising popularity of digital photography for this decline.

Which of the following, if true, weakens the claims of the experts?

A) More than half the customers still prefer film photography to digital photography
B) The third-largest photographic film manufacturer in the world filed for bankruptcy last year.
C) Silver is used in movie films too, and the demand for those has gone up by 40%.
D) The biggest film manufacturers have been using artificial silver-substitute in films for almost 25 years now.
E) Digital cameras are more expensive than film cameras.
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
D
avatar
tvrs09
avatar
Joined: 15 May 2015
Last visit: 21 Jul 2016
Posts: 25
Own Kudos:
35
 [1]
Given Kudos: 3
Schools: Leipzig FT"18 (A)
GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V35
Schools: Leipzig FT"18 (A)
GMAT 1: 690 Q49 V35
Posts: 25
Kudos: 35
 [1]
After several decades of surging demand, there has been a 10% fall in 02 Sep 2015, 02:44
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi,

I don't understand how D is the answer here.
Option B explains the fall in demand by quoting an alternate cause.How can not option B be he answer

Cheers!!
User avatar
Cadaver
User avatar
Joined: 03 Oct 2014
Last visit: 09 Oct 2018
Posts: 114
Own Kudos:
102
Given Kudos: 89
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Technology
Schools: ISB '17 Tepper '18 Oxford'17 IIMU'17 (A) Kelley '16 NTU '17 NUS '17
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V40
WE:Engineering (Aerospace and Defense)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: ISB '17 Tepper '18 Oxford'17 IIMU'17 (A) Kelley '16 NTU '17 NUS '17
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V40
Posts: 114
Kudos: 102
After several decades of surging demand, there has been a 10% fall in 02 Sep 2015, 02:58
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Qoofi
After several decades of surging demand, there has been a 10% fall in the demand for silver worldwide in the last five years. Since silver is a major component used in photographic film, experts have blamed the rising popularity of digital photography for this decline.

Which of the following, if true, weakens the claims of the experts?

A) More than half the customers still prefer film photography to digital photography
B) The third-largest photographic film manufacturer in the world filed for bankruptcy last year.
C) Silver is used in movie films too, and the demand for those has gone up by 40%.
D) The biggest film manufacturers have been using artificial silver-substitute in films for almost 25 years now.
E) Digital cameras are more expensive than film cameras.
Show more


The only plausible weakeners are C and D.

Look at the conclusion - Specifically they have concentrated on the fact that Rising Popularity of Digital Photography is the reason why silver demand has fallen.

We have to look for that answer option that somehow proves that this is not the reason for rising demand. Option D directly deals with this and weakens it.

Option C is too far an assumption
avatar
pr31
avatar
Joined: 06 Sep 2014
Last visit: 12 Jan 2018
Posts: 10
Own Kudos:
7
Given Kudos: 70
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Strategy
Schools: Insead July'17 Tepper '19 ISB '19 (WL) Kenan-Flagler '20 (D) Kelley '20 (D) Georgia Tech '20 (D) Mendoza '20 (WL)
GMAT 1: 710 Q47 V40
GPA: 3.8
WE:Consulting (Computer Software)
Schools: Insead July'17 Tepper '19 ISB '19 (WL) Kenan-Flagler '20 (D) Kelley '20 (D) Georgia Tech '20 (D) Mendoza '20 (WL)
GMAT 1: 710 Q47 V40
Posts: 10
Kudos: 7
After several decades of surging demand, there has been a 10% fall in 28 Sep 2015, 01:20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
tvrs09
Hi,

I don't understand how D is the answer here.
Option B explains the fall in demand by quoting an alternate cause.How can not option B be he answer

Cheers!!
Show more

B only lets us know if one of the companies has gone bust hence won't need silver... Does not speak about the lowering of demand of silver... It can be such that the business of that company has gone to other companies keeping silver demand constant in the industry...

D is very clear on saying that silver already was never in use hence the question of demand does not arise at all in this context as mentioned by the experts...
User avatar
chesstitans
User avatar
Joined: 12 Dec 2016
Last visit: 20 Nov 2019
Posts: 963
Own Kudos:
1,936
Given Kudos: 2,561
Location: United States
Schools: Stanford '19 Carroll '19 LBS '19
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V33
GPA: 3.64
Schools: Stanford '19 Carroll '19 LBS '19
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V33
Posts: 963
Kudos: 1,936
After several decades of surging demand, there has been a 10% fall in 23 Jun 2017, 14:16
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
D is indeed the answer, because 1/ the key word is "25 years" weaken "last 5 years",
2/ and "most biggest film manufacturers using artificial silver" weaken "decline in demand for silver"

A cannot be right because A just gives another fact that does not affect the argument.
C is out of scope, C even contradicts with the argument.
B can never be a correct answer because it is not the reason why the demand falls.
avatar
GabSun96
avatar
Joined: 10 Jun 2019
Last visit: 13 Jan 2020
Posts: 1
Given Kudos: 19
Posts: 1
Kudos: 0
After several decades of surging demand, there has been a 10% fall in 20 Nov 2019, 08:57
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
tvrs09

B: just because silver is used for film does not necessarily mean that the amount of silver used for film make up a large fraction of the total aggregated demand for silver. Silver is used for many other things.

We need to find an option that proves that film did not have a big impact on the total demand for silver. Hence, D
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 19,422
Own Kudos:
1,010
Posts: 19,422
Kudos: 1,010
After several decades of surging demand, there has been a 10% fall in 23 Oct 2025, 17:59
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7391 posts
AbhishekP220108
507 posts
bhanu29
363 posts