Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 16:04 It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 16:04
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
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 105,355
Own Kudos:
778,070
 [6]
Given Kudos: 99,964
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 105,355
Kudos: 778,070
 [6]
Kudos
Add Kudos
5
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
BlueBook
Joined: 17 Oct 2019
Last visit: 10 Jul 2020
Posts: 55
Own Kudos:
46
 [2]
Given Kudos: 109
Location: Kenya
Concentration: Leadership, Strategy
GMAT 1: 510 Q26 V34
WE:Science (Energy)
GMAT 1: 510 Q26 V34
Posts: 55
Kudos: 46
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
GmatKnightTutor
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 31 Jan 2020
Last visit: 01 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,228
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 18
Posts: 5,228
Kudos: 1,567
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
mykrasovski
Joined: 17 Aug 2018
Last visit: 17 Apr 2022
Posts: 341
Own Kudos:
323
 [1]
Given Kudos: 253
Location: United States
WE:General Management (Other)
Posts: 341
Kudos: 323
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
We need to find a flaw in the argument.

Premise 1: the army drunk the lake.
Premise 2: all creatures that lived in the lake vanished.

Conclusion: students alleged that the events actually occurred.

There is an immediate problem in the argument. The author suggests that the army drunk the lake and then the creatures that lived in the lake disappeared. Well, is that a sound argument? Not really. Did the army drink the entire lake? Even if that is the case, maybe something else caused all creatures to vanish. So, the argument is completely untenable. One can anticipate that the correct answer choice should address the causality issue (army drunk lake --> no organisms in the empty lake).

Option (E) is the best answer choice.
User avatar
unraveled
Joined: 07 Mar 2019
Last visit: 10 Apr 2025
Posts: 2,721
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 763
Location: India
WE:Sales (Energy)
Posts: 2,721
Kudos: 2,258
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
An ancient Pavonian text describes how an army of one million enemies of Pavonia stopped to drink at a certain lake and drank the lake dry. Recently, archaeologists discovered that water-based life was suddenly absent just after the event was alleged by the text to have occurred. On the basis of reading the text and an account of the archaeological evidence, some students concluded that the events described really took place.

Which one of the following is a questionable technique used by the students to reach their conclusion?

(A) making a generalization about historical events on the basis of a single instance of that type of event - WRONG. 2nd best choice. It is not a generalization but simply a conclusion which may or may not be true based on how it was made.

(B) ignoring available, potentially useful counterevidence - WRONG. Not counterevidence is suggested.

(C) rejecting a hypothesis because it is seemingly self-contradictory - WRONG. They make clear conclusion which has some evidence but its not self-contradictory.

(D) considering people and locations whose existence cannot be substantiated by modern historians - WRONG. Irrelevant.

(E) taking evidence that a text has correctly described an effect to show that the text has correctly described the cause - CORRECT. One event cause and effect is simplified which might not be the case.

Answer E.
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7445 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
188 posts