Bunuel wrote:
For the past year, a network television talk-show host has been making fun of the name pf a particular brand of chainsaw, the Tree Toppler. The ridicule is obviously taking its toll: in the past 12 months, sales of the Tree Toppler have declined by 15%, while the sales of other chainsaws have increased.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the conclusion drawn above?
A. The talk-show host who is ridiculing the Tree Toppler name actually owns a Tree Toppler.
B. The number of product complaints from owners of Tree Toppler has not increased in the past year.
C. The average price of all chainsaws has increased by 10 percent in the past year.
D. The number of Stores that sell the Tree Toppler has remained steady for the past year.
E. A year ago, a leading consumer magazine rated the Tree Toppler as "intolerably unsafe."
Project CR Butler: Critical Reasoning
For all CR butler Questions Click Here Conclusion: One talk show is making fun of the name of one chainsaw "the Tree Toppler", so, based on that, customers are not buying this chainsaw because the talk show made fun of it.
This is a weakening question, thus, we need another factor that affecting the sales of the chainsaw "the Tree Toppler" rather than this talk show. Let us check the answer choices, one by one.
A. The talk-show host who is ridiculing the Tree Toppler name actually owns a Tree Toppler. ---
No tie to the argument, we need another reason to make the chainsaw sales reduce! B. The number of product complaints from owners of Tree Toppler has not increased in the past year. ---
So, the sales should be increased as there is no complaint! C. The average price of all chainsaws has increased by 10 percent in the past year. ---
If that is right, why the sales of other brands have been increased, and only the tree toppler is decreased. D. The number of Stores that sell the Tree Toppler has remained steady for the past year. ---
So, why sales of toppler tree have decreased while there are many of them in the stores! E. A year ago, a leading consumer magazine rated the Tree Toppler as "intolerably unsafe." -----
This is the answer, before one year, customers read about the tree toppler that it is unsafe, therefore, the sales have been declined. This is another factor rather than a talking show!