Company Service Manager: It has been 6 months since we began selling

Question

Company Service Manager:  It has been 6 months since we began selling the first units of the new Dante 5000 stone-cutting machine. During this time, the Dante 5000 has received far fewer customer complaints about breakdowns than our other stone-cutting machines. Therefore, the Dante 5000 must be more reliable than our other stone-cutting machines.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument above? Which would most weaken it? Make only two selections, one in each column.

kntombat · Answer

To weaken the conclusion, the answer has to be "Very few customers have purchased a Dante 5000.", this justifies that the company has received less complaints about Dante 5000 because large quantities of Dante 500 haven't been sold.

To strengthen the conclusion, the answer has to be "The Dante 5000 employs a new technology that is more precise than that used by our previous stone-cutting machines.", the new technology helps Dante 5000 be more reliable compared to the other machines out there in the market.

rocky620 · Answer

Conclusion -   Dante 5000 is more reliable than the company's other stone cutting machines 
  Premise -   Dante 5000 has received fewer complaints about breakdowns than the company's other stone cutting machines, in the past six months.

To strengthen/weaken we will need to check the number of customers who bought the machine and the time in which the stone cutting machines breakdown.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument above? Which would most weaken it? Make only two selections, one in each column.

The Dante 5000 is the most expensive stone-cutting machine produced by the company .......Production cost is not mentioned in the passage. Even if the machine is costly to produce there might be other flaws which can cause the breakdown. Such as equipment handling/terrain on which the machine is used.

There are other stone-cutting machines that are considered more reliable than the Dante 5000..... The comparison is between Dante 500 and the machines produced by the same company. The other machines mentioned may be produced by different companies.

The Dante 5000 performed very well in initial testing..... Complaints were registered after the use by the customers. The initial testing may/may not be conducted by simulating the terrains on which the machine will be used by the customers.

If they are not reliable, stone-cutting machines usually break down within the first month......  STRENGTHEN.  If the stone cutting machines usually break down within the first month, they are not much reliable. Since It is mentioned that already 6 months have passed since the company sold its 1st unit and during this period it received fewer complaints. It means that Dante 5000 is more reliable.

Very few customers have purchased a Dante 5000.....  WEAKEN.  Few customers bought the machine and hence fewer complaints. Lets say that Dante sold 20 units, and the company received 10 complaints for 10 units. So its reliability is 50%. Other machine of the same company sold 50 units and the company received 20 complaints for 20 units. So its reliability is 60%. Clearly, even if Dante has received less complaints its reliability is less than that of other machine.

The Dante 5000 employs a new technology that is more precise than that used by our previous stone-cutting machines. ....Even if this can be considered a strengthener in general scenarios. No relation between technology & reliability is provided in the passage.

jabhatta2 · Answer

The manager concludes that the Dante 5000 is more reliable than the company’s other stone-cutting machines because, over the past 6 months, there have been fewer customer complaints about the Dante 5000 than about the company’s other machines. While it can be considered a positive that there are fewer complaints, there are also other possible reasons to explain this fact. For instance, the Dante machines are, at most, 6 months old. Perhaps the machines have not yet been used enough to break down.

(A) The argument does not address the cost of either the Dante 5000 or the company’s other machines.

(B) This choice is tempting, but the argument compares the Dante 5000 only to this company’s other machines. It does not address whether other companies may have machines that are more reliable than the Dante 5000.

(C) The argument focuses on breakdowns after the sale of the machine, not performance during initial testing.

(D) Strengthens. Some customers have been using the Dante 5000 for approximately 6 months. If the machines were unreliable, then some would likely have broken down by now and the company would be receiving complaints. The fact that fewer complaints have been received even after six months strengthens the claim that the Dante 5000 may indeed be more reliable than the company’s other machines.

(E) Weakens. If very few customers have bought the machine, then a small number of complaints could, in fact, represent a high rate (i.e., percentage) of complaints. For instance, if the company has received only two complaints—but only sold two machines—then the Dante 5000 has a 100% complaint rate even though it has received only two complaints.

(F) The argument is concerned with reliability measured in terms of breakdowns. It does not address precision.

Column 1: The correct answer is (D).
Column 2: The correct answer is (E).

Company Service Manager: It has been 6 months since we began selling

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Strengthen	Weaken	Statement
		The Dante 5000 is the most expensive stone-cutting machine produced by the company.
		There are other stone-cutting machines that are considered more reliable than the Dante 5000.
		The Dante 5000 performed very well in initial testing.
		If they are not reliable, stone-cutting machines usually break down within the first month.
		Very few customers have purchased a Dante 5000.
		The Dante 5000 employs a new technology that is more precise than that used by our previous stone-cutting machines.

GMAT Two-part Analysis (TPA) Questions

Company Service Manager: It has been 6 months since we began selling

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