Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Nov 2007:30 AM PST
-08:30 AM PST
Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
Nov 2211:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Do RC/MSR passages scare you? e-GMAT is conducting a masterclass to help you learn – Learn effective reading strategies Tackle difficult RC & MSR with confidence Excel in timed test environment- Nov 23
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease. 
Nov 2510:00 AM EST
-11:00 AM EST
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors.
20 Oct 2025, 00:07
Kudos
Bookmarks
E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
79% (01:19) correct
21%
(01:54)
wrong
based on 177
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
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."
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."
20 Oct 2025, 04:51
Kudos
Bookmarks
E can be the only answer. All others strengthen or have no effect on the conclusion.
02 Nov 2025, 05:15
Kudos
Bookmarks
Bunuel
Official Explanation:
E
Step 1: Identify the Question Type
Because this stem asks you to “cast doubt” on the conclusion, this is a Weaken question.
Step 2: Untangle the Stimulus
For the last year, a talk-show host has been ridiculing Tree Toppler chainsaws. Over that time, Tree Toppler sales have fallen while other chainsaws’ sales have risen. The author concludes that the talk-show host’s jokes must have caused the declining Tree Toppler sales.
Step 3: Predict the Answer
To weaken an argument in which X is claimed to have caused Y, consider whether Y might actually have caused X (i.e., reversal) or whether something else might have caused Y (i.e., alternative cause). In this case, it seems unlikely that the decline in sales caused the on-air ridicule; the host is making fun of the chainsaw’s name, not its declining sales. Therefore, the correct answer to this Weaken question will probably offer some alternative explanation for the decline in Tree Toppler sales.
Step 4: Evaluate the Choices
(E) provides that alternative explanation. If a prominent magazine rates a chainsaw as unsafe, that could certainly deter people from purchasing it, and a subsequent decline in sales would be reasonable to expect. (E) matches the prediction and is the correct answer. If you hadn’t immediately recognized (E) as a match for your prediction, you could still find the right answer by eliminating answer choices that miss the mark. Even if the talk-show host actually owns a Tree Toppler, as (A) says, the decline in sales could still be caused by the host’s on-air ridicule; (A) is out of scope. (B) is a 180 because it actually strengthens the argument by eliminating a potential alternative explanation for the decline in sales. (C) might be tempting, but the argument actually mentions that sales of other chainsaws have increased, so an increase in the purchase price of all chainsaws is not a reasonable alternative explanation. (D) also strengthens the argument by eliminating another alternative explanation for the decline in sales (that fewer stores are carrying the Tree Toppler). Choice (E) is the correct answer.
