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555-605 Level|   Strengthen|                                    
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MartyTargetTestPrep
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 08 Feb 2022, 13:22
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jabhatta2
MartyTargetTestPrep
Notice that this question is not an Assumption question. So, the correct answer doesn't have to link the evidence to the conclusion.

When answering Critical Reasoning questions, we have to carefully note what the question stem asks and make sure we understand what the correct answer has to do.

Hi MartyTargetTestPrep - thanks for responding. I agree this is a strengthener type question.

But shouldnt the 'strengthener' focus on the strengthening the assumption ?

Per my understadning, strengtheners should NOT be focussing on strengthening the conclusion. Simirlarly, strengtheners should NOT be focussing on strengthening the premises.
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Nope, a strengthener doesn't have to focus on the strengthening the assumption. Strengtheners can strengthen arguments in various ways. In fact, often in Strengthen question passages, there isn't even any evidence to connect to the conclusion.
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 08 Feb 2022, 14:22
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jabhatta2
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Notice that this question is not an Assumption question. So, the correct answer doesn't have to link the evidence to the conclusion.

When answering Critical Reasoning questions, we have to carefully note what the question stem asks and make sure we understand what the correct answer has to do.

Hi MartyTargetTestPrep - thanks for responding. I agree this is a strengthener type question.

But shouldnt the 'strengthener' focus on the strengthening the assumption ?

Per my understadning, strengtheners should NOT be focussing on strengthening the conclusion. Simirlarly, strengtheners should NOT be focussing on strengthening the premises.
Nope, a strengthener doesn't have to focus on the strengthening the assumption. Strengtheners can strengthen arguments in various ways. In fact, often in Strengthen question passages, there isn't even any evidence to connect to the conclusion.
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Hi MartyTargetTestPrep - could you perhaps give an example ?

I agree what you said in th yellow regarding cause and effect arguments. But other type of CR strengtheners --

.. i thought there was no point in 'strengthening' the premise or 'strengthening' the conclusion ever ... you need to look to strengthen the link between the premise and the conclusion specifically.

Example --

My patio is wet outside. It must have rained outside

There is no point in strengthening the premise (my patio is wet) for example.
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 08 Feb 2022, 22:43
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jabhatta2
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Nope, a strengthener doesn't have to focus on the strengthening the assumption. Strengtheners can strengthen arguments in various ways. In fact, often in Strengthen question passages, there isn't even any evidence to connect to the conclusion.

Hi MartyTargetTestPrep - could you perhaps give an example ?

I agree what you said in th yellow regarding cause and effect arguments. But other type of CR strengtheners --

.. i thought there was no point in 'strengthening' the premise or 'strengthening' the conclusion ever ... you need to look to strengthen the link between the premise and the conclusion specifically.

Example --

My patio is wet outside. It must have rained outside

There is no point in strengthening the premise (my patio is wet) for example.
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Here's a Strengthen question in which there isn't in the passage any premise supporting the conclusion. So, there's no link between a premise and the conclusion to strengthen.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-major-netw ... 36966.html
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 26 Aug 2022, 05:01
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The Story

Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissance oil paintings to deteriorate physically when subject to climatic changes have found that the oil paint used in these paintings actually adjusts to these changes well.

This one is a fairly long sentence. Let’s make sure we understand what’s going on here.

Renaissance oil paintings deteriorate physically under climatic changes.

Certain art restorers have been studying the factors that cause such deterioration.

These art restorers have found that the oil paint used in these paintings does not deteriorate.
(So probably the deterioration is caused by something else.)

The restorers therefore hypothesize that it is a layer of material called gesso, which is under the paint, that causes the deterioration.

Oil paintings have a layer of a material called gesso under the paint. The restorers claim that the deterioration is caused by this layer of gesso.

Why is the word ‘therefore’ used in this statement?

This sentence is based on the previous one.

Essentially: Since the oil paint adjusts to the climatic changes, this other material must be responsible for the deterioration of oil paintings.


Question Stem


Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the restorers’ hypothesis?

Framework: The correct answer choice should lead me to believe even more that the oil paintings deteriorate under climatic changes because of the layer of gesso.

This could happen by eliminating other possible reasons, or by highlighting something about the layer of gesso that makes it the more likely culprit. There could be other ways too. These are what I can think of.

Let’s get into the options.


Answer choice analysis


(A) Renaissance oil paintings with a thin layer of gesso are less likely to show deterioration in response to climatic changes than those with a thicker layer.
Correct.
What impact do you think the following variation has on the hypothesis:

A’. Renaissance oil paintings with a thin layer of gesso are EQUALLY LIKELY to show deterioration in response to climatic changes than those with a thicker layer.

If the chance of a painting deteriorating is not impacted by the amount of gesso in oil paintings, I’m inclined to believe that the gesso layer is not the culprit.

On the flip side, the original answer choice tells us that thinner the layer of gesso, lower the chance that the oil painting is deteriorated.

i.e., ↓ gesso —> ↓ chance of deterioration

This does make me believe more that it is the gesso layer that causes the deterioration.

(B) Renaissance oil paintings are often painted on wooden panels, which swell when humidity increases and contract when it declines.
Incorrect.
    1. Humidity is a climatic condition. So I won’t straight away decide that the answer choice is irrelevant.
    2. How would the expansion and contraction of the panel on which the painting is made impact the painting?

I imagine such recurring expansion and contraction of the panel would negatively impact the painting.

By giving an alternate potential reason, this answer choice weakens the hypothesis.

(C) Oil paint expands and contracts readily in response to changes in temperature, but it absorbs little water and so is little affected by changes in humidity.
Incorrect.
We are already given in the passage that “the oil paint used in these paintings actually adjusts to [climatic] changes well”. So, how exactly oil paint physically changes under climatic changes is irrelevant.
No impact.

(D) An especially hard and nonabsorbent type of gesso was the raw material for moldings on the frames of Renaissance oil paintings.
Incorrect.
So the frames also have a form of gesso in them. And that type of gesso is hard and nonabsorbent. Even if we take ‘hard and nonabsorbent’ to be qualities that prevent deterioration from climatic changes, we have no information about the type of gesso used in the layer under the paint. Remember, the hypothesis is that the layer of gesso, which is under the paint, causes the deterioration.

No impact.

(E) Gesso layers applied by Renaissance painters typically consisted of a coarse base layer onto which several increasingly fine-grained layers were applied.
Incorrect.
This answer choice is about how the gesso layers were applied. That on its own does not help me understand whether the layer of gesso was responsible for the deterioration.

No impact.
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 01 Sep 2022, 00:00
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Yeah, I can't see why this would be tempting, except as a distraction. Maybe the exact thoughts you and I went through now ("Why on Earth would this matter?") can slow someone down enough to make this question harder overall. But not every answer choice is going to be tempting. Some of them are quite out there!
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 01 Sep 2022, 06:48
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DmitryFarber
Ankita1122


Yeah, I can't see why this would be tempting, except as a distraction. Maybe the exact thoughts you and I went through now ("Why on Earth would this matter?") can slow someone down enough to make this question harder overall. But not every answer choice is going to be tempting. Some of them are quite out there!
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Hi DmitryFarber -

Regarding (d) -- can we assume that 'hard and nonabsorbent' are qualities for "adjusting for climatic changes well" ? If we could, i think option (D) would strengthen the hypothesis and would be an answer, right ?

Reason -
If the hypothesis is (X) is causing (Y). Then one way to strengthen this hypothesis is to eliminate other potential causes for (Y).

If 'hard and nonabsorbent' are qualities for "adjusting for climatic changes well" - then (Option D) would be eliminating ANOTHER POTENTIAL CAUSE for deterioration.

Specifically - option D would be eliminating this cause : Gesso, found under frames, CANNOT BE held responsible for deterioration.

Thereby, strengthening the hypothesis - Gesso, under the painting specifically, MORE LIKELY is the cause of deterioration (given oil nor gesso under the frames are the cause behind deterioration)

Thoughts ?
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 01 Sep 2022, 08:52
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jabhatta2

Generally, the answer to "Can we assume X?" is no. Unless something is a basic idea that everyone knows, then it can't be used as underlying knowledge. In this case, I have no idea if those qualities are helpful, and even if they were, knowing the specific properties of the gesso in the frame wouldn't tell us anything about the gesso in the paintings.
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 21 Mar 2024, 15:01
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Conc: The restorers therefore hypothesize that it is a layer of material called gesso, which is under the paint, that causes the deterioration.

(A) Renaissance oil paintings with a thin layer of gesso are less likely to show deterioration in response to climatic changes than those with a thicker layer. - This shows that changing the amount of gesso changes the liklihood of deterioration. Therefore, this supports the passage. Keep

(B) Renaissance oil paintings are often painted on wooden panels, which swell when humidity increases and contract when it declines. - Doesn't explain the connection of gesso with deterioration. Drop

(C) Oil paint expands and contracts readily in response to changes in temperature, but it absorbs little water and so is little affected by changes in humidity. - Again, the passage establishes that the oil pain adjusts to climate changes and gesso is hypothesized as the cause of deterioration. This option doesn't provide any support for the conclusion. Drop

(D) An especially hard and nonabsorbent type of gesso was the raw material for moldings on the frames of Renaissance oil paintings. - Explains what gesso can be used for, but not why it causes deterioration. Drop

(E) Gesso layers applied by Renaissance painters typically consisted of a coarse base layer onto which several increasingly fine-grained layers were applied. - Explains what gesso consists of. Drop
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 04 May 2024, 13:18
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We need to see option which talks about quality of Gesso is responsible for painting to deteriorate so option A is answer. 

While option D & E just said Gesso is used in renaissance painting but had no clue that it is reason for deterioration of paintings­
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Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissanc 30 Jul 2025, 03:59
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