In comparable restaurants with similar diner profiles, the total cost

Question

In comparable restaurants with similar diner profiles, the total cost of a steak dinner has always been greater in Fairview than in Centerville, two towns of about equal populations. However, consumer studies indicate that steakhouses in Fairview process more meal transactions than steakhouses in Centerville. Therefore it is obvious that restaurant owners in Fairview are more successful than those in Centerville.

In evaluating the argument, it would be most useful to compare

A. the land area of Fairview with the land area of Centerville

B. the climate in Fairview with the climate in Centerville

C. the number of restaurants in Fairview with the number of restaurants in Centerville

D. the difficulty of acquiring restaurant licenses in Fairview with the difficulty of acquiring restaurant licenses in Centerville

E. the cost of steak dinners in other cities with the cost of steak dinners in Fairview and Centerville

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jack5397 · Answer

In comparable restaurants with similar diner profiles, the total cost of a steak dinner has always been greater in Fairview than in Centerville, two towns of about equal populations. However, consumer studies indicate that steakhouses in Fairview process more meal transactions than steakhouses in Centerville.  Therefore it is obvious that restaurant owners in Fairview are more successful than those in Centerville. - Conclusion

A. the land area of Fairview with the land area of Centerville // land area will not be useful in evaluating this argument as mentioned similar diner profiles. -  Eliminate

B. the climate in Fairview with the climate in Centerville // Climate conditions cannot directly influence the success of the restaturant.  - Eliminate

C. the number of restaurants in Fairview with the number of restaurants in Centerville   - Correct // If number of restaurants are less in fairview it means there is always a supply demand factor and more meal transactions at steak restaurant

D. the difficulty of acquiring restaurant licenses in Fairview with the difficulty of acquiring restaurant licenses in Centerville// License difficulty cannot be a factor of sucess. - Eliminate

E. the cost of steak dinners in other cities with the cost of steak dinners in Fairview and Centerville// Out of scope - Eliminate

Fish181 · Answer

It's definitely C.

A- who cares if there's more land or less land? Maybe they have more restaurants per capita? It doesn't really affect the argument.

B-who cares if it's hot or cold when you're eating your steak dinner? How does that affect business? Restaurants have AC units...

C- well if fairview had 1000 steak dinner restaurants and centerville had 10, that'd mean fairview has more transactions but they're spread out over more restaurants which would actually make them not successful at all. If Fairview has 1000 transactions a day and 1000 restaurants, that means each restaurant only gets one steak dinner a night. That's not what a successful restaurant would have.

D- who cares? People would be willing to go through a difficult process if it meant making good money.

E- this is completely out of scope. Once again, who cares?

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The passage suggests that, because restaurants process more meal transactions in Fairview (where a steak dinner is also more expensive) than in Centerville, restaurant owners in Fairview are more successful than those in Centerville. There are a lot of ways that connection could be flawed, and when a question asks us to identify what would be "most useful" to know or to compare in evaluating this argument, the right answer will usually be one that best relates to those possible other explanations. It isn't clear how the land area or climate of the two cities affect the wealth of their populations, so (A) and (B) are out. Choice (C) makes sense. If Fairview had far fewer restaurants than Centerville, it makes sense that the restaurants in Fairview would have more transactions, and their owners would be more successful. People presumably still want to eat out, but they have fewer options, so they end up at the same places. Of course, this doesn't complete the whole picture, but it's the best option we have so far. Choice (D) mentions "restaurant licenses" and how difficult it is to acquire them, which is not as clearly related to wealth as (C), and (E) refers to "other cities," which wouldn't tell us anything about people in Fairview and Centerville.

The correct answer is Choice (C) .

In comparable restaurants with similar diner profiles, the total cost

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

In comparable restaurants with similar diner profiles, the total cost

Prep Toolkit

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