I do not need an alarm clock as my bedroom has a window to the east.

Question

Which of the following is an assumption involved in the argument above?

A. I cannot sleep for more than twelve hours at a stretch.

B. I can wake up on my own.

C. I sleep at night.

D. The morning sunlight falls on my face because my bed stands next to the window.

E. The windows in my bedroom have sheer glass.

curiousjizz · Accepted Answer

B is incorrect because it states "I can wake up on my own". If the person can wake up on his or her own then why bother stating there is a window to the east and THIS makes an alarm clock redundant? Surely the window is helping this person in some way or they could've said I sleep inside a cave and dont require an alarm clock. Who cares about the help this window provides right?

If Option C is Negated and the person CAN sleep during the day, again, why would the argument care about the window to the east? Note, this person WANTS to wake up on time, thus the alarm clock is mentioned but the window to the EAST does the job. Why? It could've been on the floor. The idea is, this person cannot sleep during the day. The sun or the position of the bed is not relevant.

Please leave a kudos if this helped. Good Luck!

Archit3110 · Answer

Thakurdas 
source of question please..

I do not understand the reason why B is incorrect option here...

option c if negated ; I do not sleep at night .. how does this break the conclusion of the argument? why and how can we pre assume that sleeping at night only one needs alarm clock...

Archit3110 · Answer

curiousjizz 
I do not understand the highlighted part 
how can you say that person can sleep during the day by negating I sleep at night. ; negating of it would be I do not sleep at night ... you cannot say I sleep during day ..

curiousjizz · Answer

"I sleep at night". Negating this means, I DO NOT sleep at night and I sleep throughout the day (Morning, afternoon). This weakens the argument of having a window to the East and not needing an alarm clock. Why need the window to the east? The person needs it because the sun rises in the east during the day. Note - Whether or not its sunny and the sunshine falls on his face is not mentioned (It could be a gloomy London morning).

Let me know if you have more questions

MadhukarGMAT19 · Answer

##My answer would be D. The morning sunlight falls on my face because my bed stands next to the window. The assumption is that there is no need of Alarm clock just because the work of Alarm clock is being done by the morning sunlight. Even it's a normal saying (when we try to impress someone) that we don't need Alarm clock; my house has been built as per Vaastu (faces East), my room in the morning fills with Sunlight and I wake early in the morning!!

Thakurdas · Answer

Hi

IT seems this simple question has foxed too many people in this forum. The confusion could have been avoided by remembering a few basic things while searching for assumptions in any argument. Please keep the following in your mind always.

1. An assumption is a necessary part of the argument. The stated premises on their own do not lead to the conclusion. The stated premises can lead to the conclusion only if they are combined with the assumptions.

2. In every real life argument, assumptions outnumber the stated premises.

The following is the complete argument (ie. Inclusive of all assumptions necessarily involved).

Sated premise: my bedroom has a window to the east. 
Assumptions: 1. The sun rises in the east. 2. Nothing (for example, no building or tree outside the window as well as curtains or shutters at the window) stops the sunlight from entering my bedroom through the window mentioned.

Interim Conclusion # 1: my bedroom ceases to be dark at dawn.
Assumptions: 3. I sleep in my bedroom (if I sleep in my ailing mother's bedroom to take care of her, my bedroom's window is useless for me). 4. I sleep at night (if I work the night shift and sleep during the day, I will wake up at sunset in which case the east window becomes usekess). 5. I cannot sleep in light (if I am not light sensitive as a sleeper, the window is useless).

Interim conclusion # 2: I wake up because of the light spreading at dawn.

Assumptions: 6. Those who can not wake up need alarm.

Final conclusion: I don't need an alarm.

PS. The sunlight may or may not fall directly on my face. A light sensitive person wakes up even if the light falls on his chest as the reflection will reach his eyes.

Posted from my mobile device

anilesh10 · Answer

does it qualify under a quality question???

vituutiv · Answer

IMHO this is a poorly designed question.
Option C, "I sleep at night" could be an assumption if it was ONLY, i.e., equivalent to "I don't sleep during the day". Since this is not the case, the person can actually sleep at night AND sleep while there is daylight, which leads to the second problem.
To get the meaning of the question, you need to assume that 1) the sun comes through the window at the right time (imagine Icelandic winter) and 2) the person wakes up with the sun on hir/her face, which is super clunky and not at all GMAT-like.

A. I cannot sleep for more than twelve hours at a stretch. -> wrong, the person could sleep 12h from dusk to dawn
B. I can wake up on my own. -> wrong, if the person can wake up oin his/her own, s/he doesn't need the window
C. I sleep at night. -> wrong, since the person can be able to sleep during the day even with sunlight
D. The morning sunlight falls on my face because my bed stands next to the window. -> incomplete. We also need to assume that the person wakes up with sunlight
E. The windows in my bedroom have sheer glass. -> same thing and also needs D.

Therefore none of the answers are correct

VerbalBot · Answer

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I do not need an alarm clock as my bedroom has a window to the east.

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I do not need an alarm clock as my bedroom has a window to the east.

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