Engineer: Microwave ovens would be used more frequently in the

Question

Engineer: Microwave ovens would be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals
This part of the passage is about frequency, not about the number of people using microwave ovens.

A. No information is provided to infer that more people will use microwave ovens.
B. True but irrelevant.
C. Correct. This answer choice is about frequency and the required functionality to select a more gradual range of power levels
D. Irrelevant.
E. Out of context.

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If the statements made by the engineer are true, they most strongly support which of the following conclusions?

(A) More people will prepare family meals using their microwave ovens if the ovens had a gradual range of power levels.

(B) Being able to more quickly prepare family meals is not the most important issue for people using microwave ovens.

(C) A microwave oven that has a more gradual range of power levels will be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals.

(D) The frequency with which people use microwave ovens to prepare family meals has increased with improvements in the design of the ovens.

(E) Microwave ovens are currently used to prepare a narrower range of family meals than are conventional ovens.

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DinoPen · Answer

If the statements made by the engineer are true, they most strongly support which of the following conclusions?  
 
Line of thinking:
microwave used more often = wider range of meals.
wide range does not require a microwave design that has faster prep time.
A microwave design should have a gradual range of power levels if the microwave is used more frequently.

Tricky. More people won't necessarily use the microwave ovens. The people will use the microwave ovens more frequently.
 
 Irrelevant
 
correct

Out of scope

Marcost · Answer

Engineer: Microwave ovens would be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals
This part of the passage is about frequency, not about the number of people using microwave ovens.

A. No information is provided to infer that more people will use microwave ovens.
B. True but irrelevant.
C. Correct. This answer choice is about frequency and the required functionality to select a more gradual range of power levels
D. Irrelevant. 
E. Out of context.

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nivi2084 · Answer

This is a strengthening question

For any passage try to see why the author has written the passage and what does he want to convey. Once you identify it then it will be easier to eliminate the incorrect choices

A) Not necessary
B) Not the reason
C) Conveys the passage reasoning
D) Not mentioned in the passage
E) Not mentioned in the passage

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D4498 · Answer

Engineer: Microwave ovens would be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals if the users could more easily prepare a wider range of meals. Preparing a wider range of meals does not necessitate the design of a microwave oven that has a faster preparation time, but only a design that allows users to select a more gradual range of power levels.
 simplified versions:-Microwave will be used frequently in the preparation of family meals if user could prepare a wider range of meals.Preparing a wider range of meals will necessitate the design which allows users to select a more gradual range of power levels.  Therefore , if the design is introduced, microwave will be used more frequently

If the statements made by the engineer are true, they most strongly support which of the following conclusions?

(A) More people will prepare family meals using their microwave ovens if the ovens had a gradual range of power levels.  we are talking about frequencyof use not how many people will use it.

(B) Being able to more quickly prepare family meals is not the most important issue for people using microwave ovens. talking what's or what's not important issue is irrelevant.

(C) A microwave oven that has a more gradual range of power levels will be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals. exactly as our pre thinking.

(D) The frequency with which people use microwave ovens to prepare family meals has increased with improvements in the design of the ovens. If the user can prepare a wider range of meals then microwave oven will be more frequently used.According to this answer ,frequency has increased with improvement but is it for wider range of meals ,we can't say

(E) Microwave ovens are currently used to prepare a narrower range of family meals than are conventional ovens. can't say on the basis of passage that currently we are either preparing narrower or wider range of meals.

Option C uses  will  which is not an extreme option , it shows probability as Stimulus also says if this will happen that that would happen but option D is an extreme option,which uses  has ,definite ,certainty.

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Hoozan · Answer

Argument: 
(1) The frequency of using Microwave ovens would increase IF users were  able  to prepare a  wider range of meals 
(2) Wider range   DOES NOT MEAN   faster preparation time
(3) Wider range   DOES MEAN   more gradual range of power level

In other words, if a microwave oven were to have a variety of power level options, the frequency of using Microwave ovens would increase

Question stem:  Find the conclusion

Answer choice analysis:

(A)  More people will  prepare family meals using their microwave ovens if the ovens had a gradual range of power levels.  Incorrect.   Increase  in frequency of using microwave oven   DOES NOT MEAN    increase  in number of people using the microwave oven.

E.g. Ron uses the microwave oven twice a week given the  low range of power options . Post the increase in the variety of power level options, Ron started using the microwave oven EVERYDAY. Thus, we see that the frequency of using the microwave oven by  one person/customer  has increased and not the number of users/customers all together!

(B) Being able to more quickly prepare family meals   is not the most important issue   for people using microwave ovens.  Incorrect.  The argument has just mentioned  what qualifies  as "wider range". Just because preparation time does not fit the definition does not mean it is not important. Moreover, we cannot comment whether it is the  most important  issue or not

Word of advice:  Keep the idea of the argument in mind. The entire argument revolves around  frequency of using microwave oven  and  what helps increase this frequency . So any conclusion that does not cover this idea CANNOT be the conclusion of the argument

(C) A microwave oven that has a more gradual range of power levels will be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals.  Correct.  As mentioned in (B) The conclusion must cover the main idea and option (C) uses the right keywords to convey the idea.

Indeed, a microwave oven that has a more gradual range of power level will increase the frequency of using the microwave oven. See option (A) example.

(D) The frequency with which people use microwave ovens to prepare family meals has increased with  improvements in the design of the ovens.   Incorrect.  Only those designs that help increase the range of power levels will help increase the frequency. Option (D) just talks about designs in general.

Note:  The argument has mentioned that designs that helps increase preparation time will not increase the frequency. BUT it does mention that designs that increase the range of power levels will increase the frequency. THUS, we are clearly given that  only specific designs will help increase the frequency

(E) Microwave ovens are currently used to prepare  a narrower range  of family meals  than are conventional ovens.   Incorrect.  Yes we can infer that since the current microwave ovens do not have a range of power levels, it cannot be used for a range of meals. BUT the argument does not compare this range with any  conventional microwave oven . This comparison is nowhere stated in the argument.

E.g Lets say microwave oven A provides temperature levels from 10 - 50 degrees. Accordingly the "variety of meals" that I can prepare will be far less compared to a microwave oven with levels from 10 - 180 degrees. So yes, the mentioned microwave oven does have a narrow range. But comparing this range with the range of a "conventional one" is incorrect.

Besides, as mentioned in (B) and (C) this option does not cover the main idea/theme of the argument.

Correct choice:   (C)

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Official Explanation:

Engineer: Microwave ovens would be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals if the users could more easily prepare a wider range of meals. Preparing a wider range of meals does not necessitate the design of a microwave oven that has a faster preparation time, but only a design that allows users to select a more gradual range of power levels.
 
 If the statements made by the engineer are true, they most strongly support which of the following conclusions? 
 
(A) More people will prepare family meals using their microwave ovens if the ovens had a gradual range of power levels.
 
(B) Being able to more quickly prepare family meals is not the most important issue for people using microwave ovens.
 
(C) A microwave oven that has a more gradual range of power levels will be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals.
 
(D) The frequency with which people use microwave ovens to prepare family meals has increased with improvements in the design of the ovens.
 
(E) Microwave ovens are currently used to prepare a narrower range of family meals than are conventional ovens.

Question Type:   Inference
  Boil It Down:   More gradual heating options = more meals cooked in microwaves / Faster heating NOT an issue
  Goal:    Select the option that has to be 100% logically true from the prompt  
  Analysis:  
This question asks you for a  conclusion , something that must be true based on the evidence (premises) provided, and on nothing else.
 
  Premise 1:   Microwave ovens would be used more frequently for family meals if people could more easily prepare a wider range of meals. 
 
  Premise 2:   Preparing a wider range of meals depends only on the user being able to select a more gradual range of power levels.
 
  Premise 3:   Faster prep times are NOT necessary for preparing a wider range of meals.
 
Based only on these three premises, what  must  be true? That’s what needs to be determined. 
 
The first two premises can be easily combined to form a statement that MUST be true. 
This can be easily seen if you start with Premise 2: Gradual levels means a wider range of meals. Then, we add Premise 1: Wider range of meals means more use. Together, that means that an oven that has a more gradual range of power levels will be used more. In other words – If Gradual Range, then Wider Range. If Wider Range, then More Use. Together, If Gradual Range, then More Use.

You could simplify this even further: If A, then B. If B, then C. Put it together and you’ve got: If A, then C. This is what choice C says.  (Premise 3 is not actually involved in this logic. Not every statement in the passage needs to be involved in making a conclusion.) 
 
 (A) More people will prepare family meals using their microwave ovens if the ovens had a gradual range of power levels. 
The premises do not lead to whether more people would prefer to make more family meals. It could be that the same number (or ever a smaller number) uses the oven more frequently. This might seem nit-picky, but it’s a clear difference. More use does not imply more people.
 
 (B) Being able to more quickly prepare family meals is not the most important issue for people using microwave ovens.  
This is not supported. Faster times might actually be the top priority; this would not contradict the evidence.
 
 (C) A microwave oven that has a more gradual range of power levels will be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals. 
This is the correct answer.
 
 (D) The frequency with which people use microwave ovens to prepare family meals has increased with improvements in the design of the ovens. 
The premises do not lead to any conclusion about the past behavior on the part of microwave oven users.
 
 (E) Microwave ovens are currently used to prepare a narrower range of family meals than are conventional ovens.. 
This is an irrelevant comparison, a common wrong choice. No information is provided or implied regarding conventional ovens

Don’t study for the GMAT. Train for it.

Fdambro294 · Answer

These questions tend to get tricky and I get tripped a lot too. Just bear in mind that this is not a strengthening question.

In a Strengthen question there is a conclusion and you are looking for an answer choice that provides a new premise (evidence) that makes the argument more likely to be true.

Thus, the answer choice will be in the form of some new evidence, or a new premise, or something of that nature.

In an Inference question, you are given a sets of facts and you are asked to provide the conclusion that MUST be True based on what is said

Thus, the answer choice will be in the form of a Conclusion.

This is an Inference question. Keeping this in mind helps when your eliminating wrong answers and looking for the correct one.

Trust me, after being tripped up MANY times when I first started, it eventually pounded its way into my brain lol

Kudos for getting it correct.

vksrivas · Answer

hi,
How come Answer is option (C), as this answer is merely restatement of the first line of argument?

RohitSaluja · Answer

C is the answer

If the statements made by the engineer are true, they most strongly support which of the following conclusions?

(A) More people will prepare family meals using their microwave ovens if the ovens had a gradual range of power levels. - The argument didnt mention that more people would start using microwave oven, all it mentioned is that microwave would be used more frequently

(B) Being able to more quickly prepare family meals is not the most important issue for people using microwave ovens. - Out of score

(C) A microwave oven that has a more gradual range of power levels will be used more frequently in the preparation of family meals. - This is exactly what the argument intends to infer

(D) The frequency with which people use microwave ovens to prepare family meals has increased with improvements in the design of the ovens. - - Out of score

(E) Microwave ovens are currently used to prepare a narrower range of family meals than are conventional ovens. - Out of score

VerbalBot · Answer

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Engineer: Microwave ovens would be used more frequently in the

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