Last visit was: 11 Jul 2025, 01:54 It is currently 11 Jul 2025, 01:54
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.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
555-605 Level|   Assumption|                  
User avatar
AnishPassi
Joined: 16 Jul 2014
Last visit: 10 Jul 2025
Posts: 106
Own Kudos:
580
 [3]
Given Kudos: 18
Status:GMAT Coach
Affiliations: The GMAT Co.
Concentration: Strategy
Schools: IIMA  (A)
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V41
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: IIMA  (A)
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V41
Posts: 106
Kudos: 580
 [3]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
TargetKellogg2024
User avatar
MBA Section Director
Joined: 25 Apr 2018
Last visit: 26 Apr 2025
Posts: 447
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 159
Location: Germany
GMAT 1: 680 Q47 V36
GMAT 2: 650 Q50 V28
GMAT 3: 710 Q49 V37
GRE 1: Q170 V163
Products:
GMAT 3: 710 Q49 V37
GRE 1: Q170 V163
Posts: 447
Kudos: 727
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
Coldfire
Joined: 09 Dec 2022
Last visit: 23 Jan 2025
Posts: 6
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 131
Location: Morocco
Posts: 6
Kudos: 1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 01 Jun 2025
Posts: 5,949
Own Kudos:
5,055
 [2]
Given Kudos: 732
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 5,949
Kudos: 5,055
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Coldfire
For me this is analogous to saying that : a person is a criminal beacuse he uses guns to kill innocent people.
A.C ''D'' Says   
its like saying that : ''A person is a criminal because he uses guns'' A/C D is just incomplete, it's not sufficient to employ scientific methods, but you have to employ them to examine the questions raised.. just like it is not sufficient to be a criminal if you use guns, but you have to use them to kill innocent people..
I feel like A/C ''D'' omits a mandatory condition for a field of study to be a geniune scientific entreprise. 
Can you help me find the breach in this reasoning ?
thank you­
­Hi Coldfire,

You're right about the fact that option D does not include a mandatory condition for a field of study to be a genuine scientific enterprise. It is, however, sufficient.

To understand this in your example, we can go with something like this:
P1: X uses guns to kill innocent people.
SA: {Anyone who uses guns to kill innocent people is a criminal}
C: Therefore, X is a criminal.

Here's an explanation of this question. If you want to work on the concepts needed to solve assumption questions in general, you could go through the session on assumption questions in my cr respawn course:

­­­­­
User avatar
stackskillz
Joined: 28 Feb 2022
Last visit: 20 Mar 2025
Posts: 63
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 165
Posts: 63
Kudos: 12
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Conc: Parapsychology is in fact a genuine scientific enterprise.

(A) If a field of study can conclusively answer the questions it raises, then it is a genuine science - Though, this would be pretty high on the list of characteristics of "main-stream science", this is not the reasoning used in the passage, i.e., examine the questions raised using scientific method. This option doesn't impact the passage. Drop

(B) Since parapsychology uses scientific methods, it will produce credible results. This seems to be a parallel conclusion to the current one provided by the passage. Drop

(C) Any enterprise that does not use controlled experiments and statistical tests is not genuine science. This seems like an oversimplification, i.e., using controlled experiments and statistical tests are all that's required to define genuine science. There should and can be more scientific methods besides the two mentioned in the passage which can be used to examine questions raised as part of a genuine scientific venture. When we negate the main verb, i.e., is not => is, we get - "Any (some) enterprise that does not use controlled experiments and statistical tests is (can be) genuine science." (The language might need to be a little more probabilitistic for correct gramatical sense) This possiblity defintely exists based on our reasoning above. Beware, this is a pretty solid trap, if you negate the first "not", it does look like the negation weakens the conclusion. Drop

(D) Any field of study that employs scientific methods is a genuine scientific enterprise - This pretty much paraphrases the passage. Negating this option, does break the the conclusion, i.e., No field of study that employs scientific method is a genuine scientific enterprise. Keep

(E) Since parapsychology raises clearly statable questions, they can be tested in controlled experiments.­ - Answers the question - Can the questions raised by parapsychology be tested? Whatever the answer to this question - This doesn't answer the intended question by the passage, i.e., Is parapsychology a genuine science? Drop­
User avatar
agrasan
Joined: 18 Jan 2024
Last visit: 11 July 2025
Posts: 293
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 4,222
Location: India
Products:
Posts: 293
Kudos: 18
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
KarishmaB
warrior1991
VeritasKarishma GMATNinja nightblade354 GMATNinjatwo daagh egmat generis

I am using negation technique on option C.

Quote:
(C) Any enterprise that DOES not use controlled experiments and statistical tests is not genuine science.
If I strike out NOT , the conclusion falls apart. Then why is C incorrect when using negation technique.

Besides, there is an error in your negation.
When we have quantifiers, we negate those.

'Any' is the same as 'All' here.

Any that does not do X is not genuine.
=
All that do not do X are not genuine.

Negation of "all" is "not all".

Not all that do not do X are not genuine.
=
Some that do not do X are genuine.

Negation of (C)
(C) Any enterprise that does not use controlled experiments and statistical tests is not genuine science.
Negated (C) Some enterprises that do not use controlled experiments and statistical tests are genuine sciences.
­
Hi KarishmaB

Based on this negation, can we say that Option C is not correct?
Negated C = "Some enterprises that do not use controlled experiments and statistical tests are genuine sciences."
Let's say there are 100 experiments in total, based on negated C, 75 perform controlled experiments and 25 don't. The conclusion is not destroyed due to 25 experiments, hence, Option C is wrong.
User avatar
KarishmaB
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 10 Jul 2025
Posts: 16,101
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 475
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,101
Kudos: 74,253
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
agrasan
Hi KarishmaB

Based on this negation, can we say that Option C is not correct?
Negated C = "Some enterprises that do not use controlled experiments and statistical tests are genuine sciences."
Let's say there are 100 experiments in total, based on negated C, 75 perform controlled experiments and 25 don't. The conclusion is not destroyed due to 25 experiments, hence, Option C is wrong.
­You cannot get the answer using negation here because this is not a necessary assumption question. It is a sufficient assumption question (the one that leads to the conclusion). ­
User avatar
agrasan
Joined: 18 Jan 2024
Last visit: 11 July 2025
Posts: 293
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 4,222
Location: India
Products:
Posts: 293
Kudos: 18
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
KarishmaB
agrasan
Hi KarishmaB

Based on this negation, can we say that Option C is not correct?
Negated C = "Some enterprises that do not use controlled experiments and statistical tests are genuine sciences."
Let's say there are 100 experiments in total, based on negated C, 75 perform controlled experiments and 25 don't. The conclusion is not destroyed due to 25 experiments, hence, Option C is wrong.
­You cannot get the answer using negation here because this is not a necessary assumption question. It is a sufficient assumption question (the one that leads to the conclusion). ­
­Thanks KarishmaB
I have a follow-up question, how can we recognize that it is not a necessary assumption question?
 
User avatar
KarishmaB
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 10 Jul 2025
Posts: 16,101
Own Kudos:
74,253
 [1]
Given Kudos: 475
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,101
Kudos: 74,253
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
agrasan
KarishmaB
agrasan
Hi KarishmaB

Based on this negation, can we say that Option C is not correct?
Negated C = "Some enterprises that do not use controlled experiments and statistical tests are genuine sciences."
Let's say there are 100 experiments in total, based on negated C, 75 perform controlled experiments and 25 don't. The conclusion is not destroyed due to 25 experiments, hence, Option C is wrong.
­You cannot get the answer using negation here because this is not a necessary assumption question. It is a sufficient assumption question (the one that leads to the conclusion). ­
­Thanks KarishmaB
I have a follow-up question, how can we recognize that it is not a necessary assumption question?

 
­
Notice the question stem:


"The conclusion above is properly drawn if which of the following is assumed?"

You want the conclusion to be properly drawn i.e. the argument to become valid. You should be able to deduce the conclusion which means that the correct option should be sufficient to deduce the assumption then. 

Read about deductive -inductive logic and necessary-sufficient assumptions in my content for free this Sunday by registering at anaprep.com and enrolling in 'Super Sundays' (it will become visible at 10:00 AM IST on Sunday)
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,438
Own Kudos:
Posts: 18,438
Kudos: 953
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
   1   2 
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7349 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
235 posts