Gasoline Cars in Papula Country : GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR)
Check GMAT Club Decision Tracker for the Latest School Decision Releases https://gmatclub.com/AppTrack

 It is currently 22 Feb 2017, 06:15

### 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

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

# Events & Promotions

###### Events & Promotions in June
Open Detailed Calendar

# Gasoline Cars in Papula Country

You may select 1 option
Author Message
TAGS:

### Hide Tags

e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Posts: 2029
Followers: 2125

Kudos [?]: 7353 [2] , given: 277

Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink]

### Show Tags

17 Feb 2013, 22:19
2
KUDOS
Expert's post
17
This post was
BOOKMARKED
00:00

Difficulty:

95% (hard)

Question Stats:

38% (02:55) correct 62% (02:00) wrong based on 1299 sessions

### HideShow timer Statistics

Please use the poll above. We will post the OA on Tuesday.

Per a recent survey carried out in Rambo City, capital of Papula country, an average middle-aged person drives his or her car for two thousand miles in a year and 99% of these people own a gasoline-run car. In addition, the survey suggested that if offered an economical option to switch to electric cars, most of these people would change their gasoline-run cars. The government of Papula is impressed with the environmental considerations shown by the citizens of Papula and is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost.

Which of the following statements casts the most doubt on the ability of the plan to meet its required objective of significantly reducing air pollution in Papula in the next 5 years?

A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment.
B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country.
C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so.
D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region.
E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan.
[Reveal] Spoiler: OA

_________________

| '4 out of Top 5' Instructors on gmatclub | 70 point improvement guarantee | www.e-gmat.com

Last edited by egmat on 07 May 2013, 08:01, edited 5 times in total.
If you have any questions
New!
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Posts: 2029
Followers: 2125

Kudos [?]: 7353 [16] , given: 277

Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink]

### Show Tags

17 Feb 2013, 22:20
16
KUDOS
Expert's post
2
This post was
BOOKMARKED
Hi,

Please find below the official Solution:

UNDERSTANDING THE PASSAGE

1. As per a survey:
a. an average middle-aged person drive 2000 miles a year and almost all of them own a gasoline-run car
b. Most of these middle-aged guys would switch their cars to electric ones, if the costs of making the switch are not high

2. The government of Papula is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost.

UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION STEM

The given question is a weaken question; however the conclusion is not stated in the passage but is given in the question stem. Basically, when we say that the conclusion is stated in the question stem, what we mean is that the statement that needs to be weakened is in the question stem.

The relevant conclusion is:
The plan, as envisaged by the government of Papula, will be able to significantly reduce the air pollution in the country in the next five years.

PRE-THINKING

The author in this question makes predictions about the behavior of a population based on data from survey from a sample of the population – middle aged people. Hence, while making the prediction the author makes the assumption that the sample data must be representative of the population data or the preferences of the sample must be representative of the preferences of the majority.

One easy to spot weak point of the argument is that the plan of the government is based on the data of only middle-aged persons whereas the objective that needs to be achieved i.e. reduction in pollution will depend on other sections of population also. Besides, there is nothing to suggest in the passage that middle-aged population is responsible for a large proportion of the total pollution in the country. Thus, we can pre-think two weakeners for the given argument:

1. Any statement that suggests that other sections of population have preferences which are different from middle-aged population
2. Any statement that suggests that middle-aged population accounts for only a small proportion of the total population in the country

A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment. – The success of the plan does not require each and every citizen to use the plan. There could be exceptions. This kind of answer choice is one of common type of incorrect choices used by GMAT in weaken question type. Incorrect.

B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country. – We are concerned with the impact of the plan on the pollution in the country. The impact the plan has on the financial status of the country is not the concern of the argument. Incorrect.

C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so. – This statement actually captures both the weakeners that we came up with during the pre-thinking stage. It not only tells that a majority of population is not middle-aged, it also tells that the majority of population prefers convenience, something that the government has not taken into consideration while coming up with it’s plan.-. Therefore, this statement weakens the conclusion. Correct.

D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region. – This statement tell us that the number of cars have increased in the country. But as per the plan, these cars would be replaced with electric ones and once that is done, the pollution should decrease, doesn’t matter the number of cars. Therefore, this option doesn’t affect the conclusion. Incorrect.

E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan. – Like option 2, this option also tries to cast a doubt on whether the plan can be implemented. However, within the context of the conclusion, we are not concerned about such a thing. Incorrect.

Hope this helps

Thanks,
Chiranjeev
_________________

| '4 out of Top 5' Instructors on gmatclub | 70 point improvement guarantee | www.e-gmat.com

Last edited by egmat on 21 Feb 2013, 23:16, edited 2 times in total.
Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor
Joined: 11 Dec 2012
Posts: 313
Followers: 110

Kudos [?]: 271 [4] , given: 66

Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink]

### Show Tags

18 Feb 2013, 08:56
4
KUDOS
Expert's post
Which of the following statements casts the most doubt on the ability of the plan to meet its required objective of significantly reducing air pollution in Papula in the next 5 years?

C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so.
Choice C does exactly the same. It attacks the assumption that formulating a law for the middle aged is not so benificial

Hi aditya111, just a reminder when evaluating plan questions that the goal is to see whether or not the plan will succeed. If you believe the answer is C, there needs to be some kind of indication that driving gasoline-powered cars is more convenient than driving an electric car. I do not see any evidence of this, so I'm not sure how we can support C. I do not know the official answer, although I suspect it to be A.

If you can find support as to why gasoline-cars are more convenient for middle-aged drivers (or any driver) using the text, then C could indeed be the correct answer. Taking it one step further, if cost is not the chief concern, then a more convenient car that also happens to be more expensive becomes more attractive, making answer choice C a strengthener of the plan, not a weakener.

Please let me know if this isn't clear in any way
Thanks!
-Ron
_________________
Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor
Joined: 11 Dec 2012
Posts: 313
Followers: 110

Kudos [?]: 271 [3] , given: 66

Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink]

### Show Tags

18 Feb 2013, 06:55
3
KUDOS
Expert's post
egmat wrote:
Please use the poll above. We will post the OA on Tuesday.

Per a recent survey carried out in Rambo City, capital of Papula country, an average middle-aged person drives his or her car for two thousand miles in a year and 99% of these people own a gasoline-run car. In addition, the survey suggested that if offered an economical option to switch to electric cars, most of these people would change their gasoline-run cars. The government of Papula is impressed with the environmental considerations shown by the citizens of Papula and is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost.

Which of the following statements casts the most doubt on the ability of the plan to meet its required objective of significantly reducing air pollution in Papula in the next 5 years?

The question is in effect asking us which will cast doubt on the ability of the plan to reduce air pollution in Papula over the next five years:

A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment. If citizens refuse to spend any money to switch from gasoline-run to electric cars, the plan will not change any air polution. And these are the ones concerned about pollution, imagine the ones who aren't. Correct answer
B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country.While the budget deficit of Papula is undoubtedly alarmingly high, no indication is given in the question that this plan will increase the deficit. Any thought that it will is the GMAT preying on your preconceived notions. Incorrect.
C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so. Assuredly true, but out of scope. There is no indication that electric cars are more or less convenient than gasoline. Incorrect.
D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region. Great for Papula. If this statement had indicated that a lot of the cars in the country were foreign, maybe there could be some doubt that a Papula-run initiative wouldn't cover these vehicles. As it is, out of scope.
E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan Same issue as B, there is no indication that tax payer money will be used to finance this iniative. This seems like another answer choice playing on your preconceived notions, probably of a bylaw you once opposed because it had no direct benefit to you.

A is the only one that casts doubt on the plan's ability to reduce pollution. The plan will be enacted, citizens will be able to switch their vehicles for the low low cost of $X, and no one will do it... _________________ Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor Joined: 11 Dec 2012 Posts: 313 Followers: 110 Kudos [?]: 271 [3] , given: 66 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Feb 2013, 12:30 3 This post received KUDOS Expert's post soumens wrote: Evaluation: the ability of the plan to meet its required objective of significantly reducing air pollution in Papula in the next 5 years A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment. >>> This is the close contender, but the use of "Some" made me to go towards C. I am assuming "Some" can be 0-99. In percentages, it can mean 0.00001% of people. Hence I did not go with A. B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country. >>> OFS. Since the main aim is "pollution control", huge budget deficit does not change anything. C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so. I will go with C because the plan does not focus on convenience at all, it just cares about cost. "More than half" makes it the best answer. One point of doubt is that we don't know if electric cars will be inconvenient, but I will give it benefit of doubt since the primary concern of the proposed plan is "cost". D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region. This actually strengthens the argument a bit. More people can afford the electric car E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan. No govt cares about protesters anyways... God waiting for a day seems to be too long for the soln... Actually waiting a day for the official answer is fostering some good discussions with multiple opportunities to review interesting GMAT concepts! Soumens, you seem to be oscillating between A and C, and using assumptions to come to a definitive conclusion. We always need to ensure the assumptions we make are supported, though. The problem with your assumption in A "Some" can be 0-99" is unfortunately incorrect. That definition actually applies to "not all". Not all implies it can be any amount that is not 100%, so anywhere from 0-99% fits that definition. Some is essentially the converse of not all. Some just means not 0, up to and including everyone. In similar math terms, it would be 1-100%. I know this is a difficult concept because we cover it in the very first Veritas class and many students have trouble with it. We're all used to the colloquial usage of some to mean, roughly "a small amount". More than that and we tend to use "most" or "a lot". On the GMAT, it is important to know that "some" can mean "all". To use a simple example to illustrate, I was reading a thread earlier today about someone on this site who wanted a good GMAT score. Thus I can say that "some people on GMATClub want to get a good GMAT score". This is assuredly true because I have at least one example. However, it does not preclude everyone on this site from wanting a good GMAT score. In fact, it's likely that everyone here wants a good score, but if I could find a single user who doesn't want a good GMAT score, then I could claim "not all the people on GMATClub want to get a good GMAT score" because I have at least one example. These concepts are useful because incorrectly interpreting definitions of words on the GMAT can lead you down the wrong path and leave valuable points on the table that you could easily get. You can replace all instances of "some" with "not zero" in your head, in contrast of the oft used "not all". If the concept of some/all is clear, A should stand out as the answer. Choice C, as I mentioned in the above post, actually strengthens the plan because it indicates that cost is not a primary concern. This means that many citizens would happily switch to electric cars, assuming we knew anything about convenience, thus supporting the proposed plan. Some of the answers that require you to give the GMAT "the benefit of the doubt" are traps playing on your preconceived notions. And by some... I mean all! Hope this helps! -Ron _________________ e-GMAT Representative Joined: 02 Nov 2011 Posts: 2029 Followers: 2125 Kudos [?]: 7353 [3] , given: 277 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 24 Feb 2013, 21:24 3 This post received KUDOS Expert's post 1 This post was BOOKMARKED Hi Aditya8062, You have raised primarily two concerns: the first of which is a very common doubt faced by the students. Let’s tackle your concerns one by one. aditya8062 wrote: the options C has to make some assumptions before it is credited as answer how do we know what is more convenient ? i mean u cant just randomly assume that a gasoline car is more convenient. !! who knows? an elderly man might hate noise and gasoline cars make lot of noise as compared to electric cars !! Common doubt: Can a weakener make assumptions to weaken the conclusion? Answer: Yes. In most of the OG questions, weakeners don’t disprove the conclusion by themselves. They need to make certain assumptions, in order to invalidate the conclusion. For example: Consider the below GMAT Prep question: According to the Tristate Transportation Authority, making certain improvements to the main commuter rail line would increase ridership dramatically. The authority plans to finance these improvements over the course of five years by raising automobile tolls on the two high-way bridges along the route the rail line serves. Although the proposed improvements are indeed needed, the authority’s plan for securing the necessary funds should be rejected because it would unfairly force drivers to absorb the entire cost of something from which they receive no benefit. Which of the following, if true, would cast the most doubt on the effectiveness of the authority’s plan to finance the proposed improvements by increasing bridge tolls? (A) Before the authority increases tolls on any of the area bridges, it is required by law to hold public hearings at which objections to the proposed increase can be raised. (B) Whenever bridge tolls are increased, the authority must pay a private contractor to adjust the automated toll-collecting machines. (C) Between the time a proposed toll increase is announced and the time the increase is actually put into effect, many commuters buy more tokens than usual to postpone the effects of the increase. (D) When tolls were last increased on the two bridges in question, almost 20 percent of the regular commuter traffic switched to a slightly longer alternative route that has since been improved. (E) The chairman of the authority is a member of the Tristate Automobile Club that has registered strong opposition to the proposed toll increase. What is the correct answer here? The answer is Choice D. Now, one can see that Choice D needs to make a number of assumptions for it to weaken the argument. Two of the assumptions are: 1. The pattern of traffic that was seen last time would be repeated this time also. This assumption is needed since Choice D talks about a pattern in the past and if the past pattern is not expected to be repeated, the choice doesn’t have an impact on the conclusion. 2. The authority needs at least 70%-80% of the current traffic to achieve its financial goals. If this is not true, then even if 20% or 30% of the traffic gets diverted, it won’t have an impact on the plan. In light of the fact that Choice D needs to make the above assumptions, can we call Choice D incorrect? The answer is No. The reason is that the question stem doesn't ask us to select an answer choice which conclusively breaks down the conclusion. The question stem asks us to select a statement that “casts doubt” on the effective of the plan. So, after reading Choice D, we don’t really disbelieve in the authority’s plan; we are just less sure of it now. Now, we may need to ask additional questions to get back our belief in the plan? The same is the case with the given question of Papula country. Option C brings in new information, which says that the priority of retirees is convenience rather than costs. Does it say that gasoline cars are more convenient that electric cars? No. But it brings up a point (convenience), which has not been considered so far. It just makes us little less sure of the plan. Now, we may need to ask certain questions to shore up our belief in the plan. aditya8062 wrote: also the question stem never say that the plan if implemented wud be success or not so the fact is that we can very well question on the possibility of its happening or not happening and that is what B does it raises question on th first place that plan is very difficult to implemented i think Egmat sud rephrase the question stem by saying the plan if implemented wud blah blah blha....in order to eliminate B as a contender Consider the above GMAT Prep question again and look at both the question stem and the Option E. The question stem doesn’t say that the plan “if implemented” and Option E does raises a doubt that the plan might not be implemented at all. Is Option E the correct choice? No. Why? The reason is that the question stem is talking about the effectiveness of the plan to achieve something and option E is saying that the plan might not be implemented. So, they are actually going in tangential directions. Let’s take below analogy to understand this: A: Given that we enjoyed our visit to the zoo last time, we should plan to go to zoo this time to make the maximum out of our time. B: You are wrong. We cannot go to zoo time because the zoo has been closed for public. Does B weaken A’s conclusion? The answer is No. Because A is not talking about whether going to zoo is possible or not, it is just saying that going there will lead to enjoyment. Similar is the case with Option E of the GMAT Prep question and Option B of our question. I hope the above explanation helps in clarifying certain doubts. aditya8062 wrote: i guess this argument has been poorly formulated : It is always easier to point fingers at the quality of the questions but the key to learning is to understand not only why correct choices are correct but also why incorrect choices are so. I would have appreciated your concerns a lot more if you had raised your doubts in a pertinent manner instead of making value judgments about the quality of the question. Thanks, Chiranjeev _________________ | '4 out of Top 5' Instructors on gmatclub | 70 point improvement guarantee | www.e-gmat.com Intern Joined: 18 Feb 2013 Posts: 10 Followers: 4 Kudos [?]: 115 [2] , given: 5 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Feb 2013, 14:05 2 This post received KUDOS Ron I am confused between choice A and C as well. I understand your explanation behind choice A. however I felt that this choice did not provide any new information. The argument already says that Quote: if offered an economical option to switch to electric cars, most of these people would change their gasoline-run cars Does this not mean that there are some people who will not switch to electric cars even if electric cars are economical. The argument already provides this information. I felt choice C as the correct answer because it says that a majority of the population is concerned about convenience. The government has not taken into consideration "convenienve" at all while creating the plan. Because of this new information, I felt that I was no longer very convinced that the plan will succeed. One more question: thank you for your explanation about "some". completely makes sense. I always thought some and few are interchangable. Is this true? Intern Joined: 03 Oct 2012 Posts: 1 Followers: 0 Kudos [?]: 2 [2] , given: 0 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 27 Feb 2013, 04:45 2 This post received KUDOS MY VIEW Per a recent survey carried out in Rambo City, capital of Papula country, an average middle-aged person drives his or her car for two thousand miles in a year and 99% of these people own a gasoline-run car. In addition, the survey suggested that if offered an economical option to switch to electric cars, most of these people would change their gasoline-run cars. The government of Papula is impressed with the environmental considerations shown by the citizens of Papula and is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost. Which of the following statements casts the most doubt on the ability of the plan to meet its required objective of significantly reducing air pollution in Papula in the next 5 years? A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment. (INCORRECT As it talks about one some of the citizens not most of or all of them, so there are chances that the govts plan may succeed as a bigh chunk of population may be in favour of plan) B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country. (INCORECT As bankruptcy of the of the government was never a concern discussed in the topic) C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so. (CORRECT As a plan can succeed only if the larger mass of population participates in it, this point clearly states that half of the population might not go in favour of the plan and the plan may fail) D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region.(INCORRECT As rise in level of living standerds does not clearly indicates to the concusnes of the people about the pollution this point indicates that people might go in favour of plan) E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan.(INCORRECT As opposition from a smaller population cant change the plan supported by bigger population)[/quote] Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor Joined: 11 Dec 2012 Posts: 313 Followers: 110 Kudos [?]: 271 [1] , given: 66 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Feb 2013, 13:50 1 This post received KUDOS Expert's post soumens wrote: Thanks for the detailed explanation Ron. So I see that A does weaken, but I have a quick question about it. When we are dealing with numbers, some denotes 1-100. But with percentages can't it include anything >0 (.00000001% for instance). If that's the case, then the number can be pretty insignificant. right ?? I think I had committed the same mistake in another Q during my study. Hey Soumens, no problem, I like these kinds of responses because they let others read through common GMAT pitfalls and hopefully help everyone avoid the traps set up for us. To answer your question: Absolutely some can mean any non-zero number, including 0.00000001%. To put that number in perspective (10^-8)% means 10^-10, or one out of 10 billion. That's roughly the same percentage as saying "some people on this planet are the current US president". Yeah, about 1 in 7 billion. The number can be completely insignificant, but it is not 0. That's really all it means. I think I see where you're going here, by saying that potentially very few people are implicated in answer choice A, you believe that it is not necessarily representative of the population as a whole. Let's revisit the phrasing of the answer choice: Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment. This is saying that some (1 person up to say 5 million or whatever in the city) people care about the environment, but they won't spend money to protect it. Assuming this number is something microscopic, what does this infer about people who don't even care about the environment? They wouldn't lift a finger even if it didn't cost them a thing. So, regardless what the proportion it is between people who care but won't pay and the people who flat out don't care, the plan won't achieve its stated goal of reducing air polution. Hope this helps! -Ron _________________ Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor Joined: 11 Dec 2012 Posts: 313 Followers: 110 Kudos [?]: 271 [1] , given: 66 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Feb 2013, 21:22 1 This post received KUDOS Expert's post nitin2582 wrote: Ron I am confused between choice A and C as well. I understand your explanation behind choice A. however I felt that this choice did not provide any new information. The argument already says that Quote: if offered an economical option to switch to electric cars, most of these people would change their gasoline-run cars Does this not mean that there are some people who will not switch to electric cars even if electric cars are economical. The argument already provides this information. I felt choice C as the correct answer because it says that a majority of the population is concerned about convenience. The government has not taken into consideration "convenience" at all while creating the plan. Because of this new information, I felt that I was no longer very convinced that the plan will succeed. One more question: thank you for your explanation about "some". completely makes sense. I always thought some and few are interchangable. Is this true? Hi Nitin2582, congratulations, you've managed to make me rethink my answer choice here. I disagreed with C because it brings up a topic that we cannot possibly discern from the text, as there is nothing about convenience in the text. However, if the plan is going to work, it is because people are willing to make the change. If the cost is minimal, but the convenience hasn't been taken into account, then people who find the switch inconvenient won't do it, even though they can well afford the dollar amount. The other aspect that makes me think C might be the correct choice is that it starts off with 15 irrelevent words "Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age", which is a classic GMAT trick to make you ignore the choice. The subsequent words are important, though. It is entirely conceivable that the population would make decisions based on convenience and not price, which would make C a legitimate answer for the plan failing. As stated before, I'm not sure which the official choice is, but your defense of C has made me definitely consider it as a contender. As for your other question about "some" vs "few", few is not a word encountered frequently on the GMAT, but it certainly means non-zero as well. To be a few, you need to have at least one, and possibly more. I wouldn't say it could replace some in most GMAT sentences, but it certainly could be used to indicate a non-zero number in a critical reasoning question. Looking forward to the official answer! -Ron _________________ e-GMAT Representative Joined: 02 Nov 2011 Posts: 2029 Followers: 2125 Kudos [?]: 7353 [1] , given: 277 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 16 Oct 2013, 08:43 1 This post received KUDOS Expert's post mohnish104 wrote: eGMAT: Why are you assuming that the electric cars will be inconvenient? For all we know it can also be convenient to plug your car in the house and charge it rather than standing in line at the gas station. There can be several such assumptions. Hi Mohnish, I am not assuming it. Electric cars may indeed be more convenient. The reason why option C weakens the argument is that it brings in a new variable "convenience" which the argument has not even considered. The passage has so far focused on the costs. Now option C comes and say that "convenience" is more important than costs and you have not even looked at "convenience". Wouldn't that make you less sure of the argument? Thanks, Chiranjeev _________________ | '4 out of Top 5' Instructors on gmatclub | 70 point improvement guarantee | www.e-gmat.com Manager Joined: 04 Jun 2013 Posts: 72 Followers: 0 Kudos [?]: 39 [1] , given: 11 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 15 Jan 2014, 14:49 1 This post received KUDOS Hi Chiranjeev, Thanx for ur response. As I said, I have seen very rare such questions. But in the example question you have given, the ans is a little bit clear as there is no other option actually targeting any disadvantage of bamboos over steel and concrete. In fact, in the question all the options assumed something or other and finally, I could easily mark option (b) because of the above said reason. In the current question being discussed, I can clearly see from option (a) that if there are people who won't spend any money when they actually required to, how can govt get the funds or how can govt provide these subsidized electric cars. U are right that sometimes, we have to assume something to get the right answer, but in this question from option (a), I can explicitly tell that govt won't be able to do so if people aren't willing any more to buy even if they have told the opposite in the surveys. I actually donot have to assume anything. This is quite clear. But in option (c), firstly, I have to assume that electric cars are more convenient that gasoline cars ( hell of an assumption, considering the fact that 'convenience' word is not even used once during the passage). I say I am an expert and gasoline cars are more convenient than electric cars. Then, option (c) cant be the answer. This was actually what I meant by saying 'vague' assumptions because we are taking too far fetched information to prove a point. The only concern for govt is funds and an interested market; option (a) destroys the second point (interested market). Govt cannot sell cars if they donot get an interested market. From option (c), we are also (though by taking such assumptions) attacking the second point (an interested market), but via option (a) we donot have to assume anything that is far beyond the scope of the passage. You can check all examples of OG as well in which assumptions are being taken in the options, but there will be explicit assumptions such as the one you showed. Never will there be any question in which an option explicitly answers the question and an option which answers by assuming way too much. I think I have made my point. Please correct me wherever I am wrong... Thanks in advance!!!! Senior Manager Status: Final Lap Joined: 25 Oct 2012 Posts: 287 Concentration: General Management, Entrepreneurship GPA: 3.54 WE: Project Management (Retail Banking) Followers: 3 Kudos [?]: 304 [0], given: 85 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Feb 2013, 07:20 The conlusion is : The government of Papula is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost. The only reason that warrants the success of the plan : People there would pay the additional cost A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment Hence, A is the answer .. _________________ KUDOS is the good manner to help the entire community. "If you don't change your life, your life will change you" Manager Joined: 22 Jan 2013 Posts: 62 Followers: 0 Kudos [?]: 27 [0], given: 28 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Feb 2013, 07:44 Per a recent survey carried out in Rambo City, capital of Papula country, an average middle-aged person drives his or her car for two thousand miles in a year and 99% of these people own a gasoline-run car. In addition, the survey suggested that if offered an economical option to switch to electric cars, most of these people would change their gasoline-run cars. The government of Papula is impressed with the environmental considerations shown by the citizens of Papula and is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost. Premise: Average middle man drives a car- of these- 99 percent drive gasoline -->They want to switch To cast doubt on the conclusion: we have to attack the highlighted part... saying that middle aged people are few and this law would not benifit all. Which of the following statements casts the most doubt on the ability of the plan to meet its required objective of significantly reducing air pollution in Papula in the next 5 years? A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment. B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country. C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so. Choice C does exactly the same. It attacks the assumption that formulating a law for the middle aged is not so benificial D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region. E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan. Intern Joined: 08 Aug 2011 Posts: 11 GMAT Date: 04-04-2013 Followers: 0 Kudos [?]: 2 [0], given: 21 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Feb 2013, 11:37 I also put C... Thanks to Ron I understood my error. It is true that we cannot really support that driving gasoline-powered cars is more convenient... Manager Joined: 05 Sep 2012 Posts: 79 Followers: 2 Kudos [?]: 8 [0], given: 17 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Feb 2013, 12:00 Evaluation: the ability of the plan to meet its required objective of significantly reducing air pollution in Papula in the next 5 years A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment. >>> This is the close contender, but the use of "Some" made me to go towards C. I am assuming "Some" can be 0-99. In percentages, it can mean 0.00001% of people. Hence I did not go with A. B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country. >>> OFS. Since the main aim is "pollution control", huge budget deficit does not change anything. C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so. I will go with C because the plan does not focus on convenience at all, it just cares about cost. "More than half" makes it the best answer. One point of doubt is that we don't know if electric cars will be inconvenient, but I will give it benefit of doubt since the primary concern of the proposed plan is "cost". D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region. This actually strengthens the argument a bit. More people can afford the electric car E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan. No govt cares about protesters anyways... God waiting for a day seems to be too long for the soln... Manager Joined: 05 Sep 2012 Posts: 79 Followers: 2 Kudos [?]: 8 [0], given: 17 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 18 Feb 2013, 13:04 Thanks for the detailed explanation Ron. Yep. I am wrong about some being 0-99. Of course it is 1-100. I was dumb enough to forget the segmentation words. And yes I do see your logic that C is out, as nothing is mentioned about convenience. So I see that A does weaken, but I have a quick question about it. When we are dealing with numbers, some denotes 1-100. But with percentages can't it include anything >0 (.00000001% for instance). If that's the case, then the number can be pretty insignificant. right ?? I think I had committed the same mistake in another Q during my study. e-GMAT Representative Joined: 02 Nov 2011 Posts: 2029 Followers: 2125 Kudos [?]: 7353 [0], given: 277 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 21 Feb 2013, 23:24 Hi Guys, The official solution with explanations has been pasted. Check it out. Apologies for the delay in doing so. Thanks, Chiranjeev _________________ | '4 out of Top 5' Instructors on gmatclub | 70 point improvement guarantee | www.e-gmat.com Director Joined: 05 Sep 2010 Posts: 854 Followers: 89 Kudos [?]: 250 [0], given: 61 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 24 Feb 2013, 19:48 i guess this argument has been poorly formulated : the options C has to make some assumptions before it is credited as answer how do we know what is more convenient ? i mean u cant just randomly assume that a gasoline car is more convenient. !! who knows? an elderly man might hate noise and gasoline cars make lot of noise as compared to electric cars !! also the question stem never say that the plan if implemented wud be success or not so the fact is that we can very well question on the possibility of its happening or not happening and that is what B does it raises question on th first place that plan is very difficult to implemented i think Egmat sud rephrase the question stem by saying the plan if implemented wud blah blah blha....in order to eliminate B as a contender Director Joined: 05 Sep 2010 Posts: 854 Followers: 89 Kudos [?]: 250 [0], given: 61 Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country [#permalink] ### Show Tags 24 Feb 2013, 22:55 To egmat : u got me wrong . i never said that u cannot make assumption in weakener and strengthner questions .u can make but only when u running too close with answer choices .plus those assumptions cant be just anything :for instance in ur question the convenience factor can have lot of ramifications .plz read what i wrote abt convenience factor in my previous post The question that u have quoted from gmat prep i don't think we need any assumption there for choice D for the simple reason that all the rest of the choice are too bad !! plus if i need to raise 100$ then a defict of 20 \$ is going to hurt me thats the reason it casts most doubt coz all other choice are not leading anywhere
even the choice E that u talking of isn't valid simply because raising an objection to a plan doesn't mean ,by any stretch of imagination,that plan will not get implemented
moreover ur reasoning for equating option B of ur question to option E of this gmat prep question isn't valid either .for the simple reason that option B is explaining the economics as why plan is so difficult to implement .if u r on the brink of economic crisis (as stated by B ) then it is attacking ur plan .after all what u plan was doing ? it was providing some economical option !! from where will it raise that money ....?thats what B raises .plz note that unlike option E(of prep) option B (ur quesiton) isn't just an objection raised by somebody !!
i again say :u can make assumptions in weakener and strengthener choices of gmat cr but only under certain condition and mostly we need to avoid such assumptions in answer choices and they sud be able to stand of their own
Re: Gasoline Cars in Papula Country   [#permalink] 24 Feb 2013, 22:55

Go to page    1   2    Next  [ 37 posts ]

Similar topics Replies Last post
Similar
Topics:
AutoCar is a car manufacturer in Country X. Over the past eight months 0 11 Feb 2017, 08:30
3 In Country E, car sales have dropped significantly in the past 8 years 1 24 May 2015, 09:20
3 AutoCar is a car manufacturer in Country X 7 20 Oct 2013, 23:56
The price of purchasing a car in Country Q is 120 percent 13 18 Aug 2009, 08:00
Emissions from automobiles that burn gasoline and 10 20 Jul 2007, 02:02
Display posts from previous: Sort by