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555-605 (Medium)|   Resolve Paradox|                                 
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ellenckh
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 25 Jan 2023, 21:06
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???make economic sense" should mean that better off financially, right? I think option B saying "suitable" or not, does not address the issue of economical value. Is this a question that is not drafted well?
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 26 Jan 2023, 22:25
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???make economic sense" should mean that better off financially, right? I think option B saying "suitable" or not, does not address the issue of economical value. Is this a question that is not drafted well?
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The question is fine. The argument tells us why bamboo is better in multiple aspects (strong, sturdier, cheaper & easily available). Everything comes down to economic value. If it's strong and sturdier, it will last longer and will need fewer repairs, replacements etc. It will see less damage and will last longer etc.
Hence building with it makes better economic sense - except when making multi-storey buildings. Perhaps the structure of bamboo is such that layering it one on top of the other will lead to frequent slippage (and hence need to repair/replace often) or we will require 4 times more material to make foundation for a multi-storey or some other concerns. Whatever it is, if bamboo is not suitable for multi storey buildings, it does not make economic sense to use it.

Mind you, 'economic sense' is used to mean 'sense' here. After all, in business, everything is measured in terms of its economic value unless mentioned otherwise. We may use something weaker in strength if it will last half as much but costs only a quarter.

P. S. - Good catch, though!
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 08 Feb 2023, 10:28
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Somehow,I am not at all with the solution that OG gave:

Following is an extract from OG-13 Solution Q94:
Multistory buildings are particularly desirable in areas where land values are high, but
bamboo may not be suitable for such buildings.


Now where in the stimulus there is mention of the above reasoning ?

It is just that we are assuming and that isn't allowed in GMAT CR?

Plz Advice

Rgds,
TGC

Hi,

The highlighted statement is actually not true and most people have misconceptions around this.

GMAT CR section is not about formal logic where you have to take the literal meaning of each word and convert that into a logical representation using sets or some other notations and then apply classical logical rules to arrive at the answer.

Rather, GMAT CR section is a test of your everyday logic and thus, it uses some of the most intuitive understandings such as

1. People prefer more profit over less profit
2. Dollar sales should increase with the increase in the number of customers
3. A person who is more willing to use meditation technique is expected to use such techniques over a longer term than a person who is less willing.

Don't you think these statements seem very common sense?

However, as you can see that these statement can also be false in some specific scenarios; however, generally, they make a lot of sense. Actually such understanding is needed to tackle a lot of CR questions.

I did not create these three statements out of thin air. The understanding of such statements are needed to tackle below three respective OG questions:

Question 1

One name-brand cereal manufacturer is about to reduce wholesale prices for its cereals by 20% because consumers have been switching from its cereals to cheaper store brands. The success of this strategy relies on the assumption that supermarkets will pass on all of the savings by lowering the prices they charge consumers for the manufacturers' cereals. Although supermarkets usually pass on such savings, in this case it is likely that supermarkets will not do so because ............................................................

a) Several other name-brand cereal manufacturers are about to reduce the wholesale prices of their cereals
b) the average price per box of name-band cereals has significantly increases over the past 10 years.
c) total annual sales of cereal - including both name-brand and store-brand cereals -have increased over the past 10 years.
d) supermarkets currently make far more profit on sales of store-brand cereals than on sales of name-brand cereals
e) the current prices of manufacturers' cereals are comparable to the prices of name-brand cereals produced by other cereal manufacturers.

Correct Option: D

Question 2

Theatergoer: In January of last year, the Megaplex chain of movie theaters started popping its popcorn in canola oil, instead of the less healthful coconut oi that it had been using until then. Now Megaplex is planning to switch back, saying that the change has hurt popcorn sales. That claim is false, however, since according to Megaplex's own sales figures, Megaplex sold five percent more popcorn last year than in the previous year.
　　Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the theaterg0er‘s argument?
　　A. When it switched from using coconut oil to using canola oil, Megaplex made sure that the chain received a great deal of publicity stressing the health benefits of the change.
　　B. Megaplex makes more money on food and beverages sold at its theaters than it does on sales of movie tickets.
　　C. In a survey to determine pubic response to the change to canola oil, very few of Megapiex's customers said that the change had affected their popcorn-buying habits.
　　D. Total sales of all food and beverage items at Megaplex's movie theaters increased by less than five percent last year.
　　E. Total attendance at Megaplex's movie theaters was more than 20 percent higher last year than the year before.

Correct Option: E

Question 3

A study of high blood pressure treatments found that certain meditation techniques and the most commonly prescribed drugs are equally effective if the selected treatment is followed as directed over the long term. Half the patients given drugs soon stop taking them regularly, whereas eighty percent of the study's participants who were taught meditation techniques were still regularly using them five years later. Therefore, the meditation treatment is the one likely to produce the best results.
　　Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
　　A. People who have high blood pressure are usually advised by their physicians to make changes in diet that have been found in many cases to reduce the severity of the condition.
　　B. The participants in the study were selected in part on the basis of their willingness to use meditation techniques.
　　C. Meditation techniques can reduce the blood pressure of people who do not suffer from high blood pressure.
　　D. Some of the participants in the study whose high blood pressure was controlled through meditation techniques were physicians.
　　E. Many people with dangerously high blood pressure are unaware of their condition.

Correct Option: B

Look at the correct answers of the above questions and look at the three common sense statements I made and observe that without those common sense statements, the correct answer choices will not be correct.

Similar is the case with the current questions: We need to have this understanding that places where land values are high, multistory buildings will be preferred since on the same land, we can have more office or house space.

Hope this helps :)

Let me know if any further clarification is needed.

Thanks,
Chiranjeev
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This important advice should be highlighted in your online course. I struggled for 2 years looking for the answer to why I cannot comprehend CR argument-based questions. I went through e-gmat course but the important thing I learned was the pre-thinking, which is not as important as figuring out how to use intuitive thinking in a precise way. In other words, using formal logic and pre-thinking will not lead to a correct answer. But then, another question needs to be answered. Because GMAT is taken by many test takers who come from diverse backgrounds, and because common sense is not universal, how to know what common sense that GMAT expects? Even if we rely on intuitive thinking, some test takers might not know some common sense that GMAT assumes test takers to know. Some people living in countries that have four seasons may have some sort of common sense that is not known by people living in countries with no season.
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 09 Jan 2025, 00:54
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Initially I had trouble digesting this but then after analysing this argument, here are my two cents on why B is an easy win here for this paradoxical situation

The conclusion says "In tropical areas, therefore, building with bamboo makes better economic sense than building with steel or concrete, except where land values are high." it talks about constructing buildings with bamboo except for areas where land values are high and hence author suggests that constructing there with steel or concrete makes better sense. But why? We have to fill this gap now. B does that.

Option B says "Bamboo is unsuitable as a building material for multi-storey buildings."
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 17 Aug 2025, 10:46
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Why Option B is best bet

(B) Bamboo is unsuitable as a building material for multistory buildings.
In paradox questions, We are looking for an answer choice that could be true, not must be. An assumption can be possible to back the explanation which in this case is that "Multi story buildings will come in high priced lands" which is fair. We just need a possible explanation which gives a relation for X causing Y.
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 12 Oct 2025, 03:59
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Most of us tripped over this one by falling for E, a trap option, as it opposes my premise : Bamboos are always available.
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 03 Nov 2025, 21:13
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For me, this question teaches the skills of answer elimination. It's important for us not to eliminate B (just because the link is not obvious) and not to be lured by E (just because it directly mentions "where land values are increasing):
- The author seems to expect us to nail down to B and E as the 2 final options
- Our job then is to eliminate E. Now the question is how
- The premise already states that bamboo is ALWAYS readily available. It means that even if bamboo is cleared where land value is increasing, either bamboo can still grow back there, or people can go to nearby areas to pick up bamboo there. Whatever the scenario, bamboo must still be considered available
--> We must eliminate E
betterscore
As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier than concrete. Moreover, in tropical areas bamboo is a much less expensive construction material than either steel or concrete and is always readily available. In tropical areas, therefore, building with bamboo makes better economic sense than building with steel or concrete, except where land values are high.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the exception noted above?

(A) Buildings constructed of bamboo are less likely to suffer earthquake damage than are steel and concrete buildings.

(B) Bamboo is unsuitable as a building material for multistory buildings.

(C) In order to protect it from being damaged by termites and beetles, bamboo must be soaked, at some expense, in a preservative.

(D) In some tropical areas, bamboo is used to make the scaffolding that is used during large construction projects.

(E) Bamboo growing in an area where land values are increasing is often cleared to make way for construction.


Show Spoiler
Building with Bamboo

Step 1: Identify the Question

The words explain the exception in the question stem indicate that this is an Explain the Discrepancy question.

Step 2: Deconstruct the Argument

Bamboo vs concrete/steel:

B at least as sturdy + cheaper → more econom. in trop. areas

BUT: high land values → B not econom.?

Step 3: Pause and State the Goal

On Explain the Discrepancy questions, start by identifying the “status quo” and the “surprise” in the argument. The status quo is that bamboo, which is cheaper and sturdier than concrete in tropical areas, is a more economical building material. For some reason, though, when land values are high, bamboo is not as economical. The right answer will explain why high land values make bamboo uneconomical.

Step 4: Work from Wrong to Right

(A) The right answer must explain why bamboo becomes less economical specifically in areas of high land value. Since the argument doesn’t state that earthquakes affect areas of high and low land value differently, this answer choice doesn’t make that distinction.

(B) CORRECT. In areas with low land values, building with bamboo makes more economic sense than building with steel and concrete. However, in areas with high land values, using steel or concrete enables multistory buildings to be constructed, while only single-story buildings can be constructed with bamboo. If land values are high, multistory buildings become more economically desirable: they have a smaller footprint, so less money needs to be spent on land. In contrast, a bamboo building of the same overall size would have a larger footprint, increasing the amount spent on land. Thus, even though steel and concrete technically cost more, their cost might be offset in areas of high land value, because using these materials allows less money to be spent on land.

(C) The right answer must explain why bamboo becomes less economical specifically in areas of high land value. Since the argument doesn’t state that termite and beetle damage affects areas of high and low land value differently, this answer choice doesn’t make that distinction.

(D) The argument deals with bamboo as a construction material, not as a scaffolding material. Its use as a scaffolding material does not imply that bamboo is uneconomical as a building material. In addition, there is not necessarily a connection between large construction projects and land values, since the answer choice does not clarify what constitutes a large construction project.

(E) This answer choice, unlike some of the other wrong answers, does draw a distinction between areas with different land values. However, it conflates increasing land values with high land values. Those aren’t necessarily the same. Also, clearing bamboo from an area might or might not affect its viability as a construction material. If bamboo is cleared from a high value area, the resulting surplus of bamboo might actually make it a more economical building material.
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 10 Nov 2025, 11:34
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badribaba1984
Even in B we are having a assumption that in case if the land value is high people would use Apartments . I think this is out of scope.
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13 years late but exactly this! Having to make out of pocket assumptions that align with the author's should not be tested.
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 05 Dec 2025, 04:10
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" In tropical areas, therefore, building with bamboo makes better economic sense than building with steel or concrete, except where land values are high." → we are being asked "explain this exception noted" right? so E is correct, land is high value → so bamboo has to be cleared → shortage of bamboo → its advantages (less money, stronger and sturdier...) are just gone ??? I can't understand this logic, somebody help!!
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 09 May 2026, 19:36
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Boil it down:
Bamboo is stronger, cheaper, more readily available than steel/ concrete.
BUT in areas where land values are high, concrete/ steel is better than bamboo. Why?

Resolve the paradox : We are searching for a nuance of areas where land values are high.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the exception noted above?

(A) Buildings constructed of bamboo are less likely to suffer earthquake damage than are steel and concrete buildings – Deepens the paradox

(B) Bamboo is unsuitable as a building material for multistory buildings – Resolves the paradox, although not very satisfying

(C) In order to protect it from being damaged by termites and beetles, bamboo must be soaked, at some expense, in a preservative – Irrelevant – Moreover we need something about areas where land values are high

(D) In some tropical areas, bamboo is used to make the scaffolding that is used during large construction projects – Deepens the paradox

(E) Bamboo growing in an area where land values are increasing is often cleared to make way for construction – Deepens the paradox – Bamboo availability must increase
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As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier 09 May 2026, 19:44
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dianyang
" In tropical areas, therefore, building with bamboo makes better economic sense than building with steel or concrete, except where land values are high." → we are being asked "explain this exception noted" right? so E is correct, land is high value → so bamboo has to be cleared → shortage of bamboo → its advantages (less money, stronger and sturdier...) are just gone ??? I can't understand this logic, somebody help!!
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Hi dianyang, please look at the following highlighted parts of prompt-

Quote:
As a construction material, bamboo is as strong as steel and sturdier than concrete. Moreover, in tropical areas bamboo is a much less expensive construction material than either steel or concrete and is always readily available. In tropical areas, therefore, building with bamboo makes better economic sense than building with steel or concrete, except where land values are high.
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We are already given in the premise that "in tropical areas bamboo is always readily available".
The authors claim is also about "tropical areas" where land values are high.

Moreover, from a layman's perspective, suppose, all the coconut trees are to be cleared from a coastal area. What would be the result?
1. Initial, supply of cocunuts will sky rocket
2. Followed by eventual shortage.

Also, checkout this post by GMATNinja that had already hit the nail on the head.

Quote:
We are trying to explain why BUILDING with bamboo does NOT make better economic sense where land values are high. The source of the bamboo is irrelevant in explaining this exception.

If we want to build in a tropical area, using bamboo usually makes more economic sense REGARDLESS of where that bamboo comes from. In other words, even if we are building in an area where land values are low, the bamboo still might come from places where land values are increasing. The sources might be the same regardless of where we are building. So why is building with bamboo economically viable in most tropical areas but not in areas where land values are high? Only choice (B) explains this exception.
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