In its report for the quarter just ending, Company X announces that in

Question

In its report for the quarter just ending, Company X announces that in some of its manufacturing processes it plans to begin converting from conventional fuels like oil and natural gas, which are rapidly becoming scarce, to synthetic fuels currently under development in the company's laboratories in Europe and the American far west. Implementation of this plan will almost certainly increase the company's expenses, since even if the synthetic fuels are rendered practical for use they can be expected to cost considerably more than conventional fuels.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the argument above?

(A) Company X's synthetic fuels will not be ready for use in its manufacturing processes for at least a decade.

(B) Whatever increased expenses accrue from the development and use of synthetic fuels can and will be passed on to consumers of Company X's products.

(C) Company X's manufacturing processes can be adapted to the use of synthetic fuels at little or no expense.

(D) In time, the raw materials used to produce Company X's synthetic fuels will become as scarce as oil and natural gas.

(E) Long-needed conservation procedures will become practical when synthetic fuels are introduced and will compensate for the higher cost of the fuels.

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NAIDHRUV · Answer

Answer: E

If company tries to preserve the fuel, in mean time fuel prices will drop thus reduces the expense of the company which is against the conclusion!

sansun · Answer

Answer E Because 
the author assumes: More expensive fuel = higher total expenses
 
(E) shows that using the new fuel could also make conservation possible, creating savings that cancel out the higher fuel cost. So the conclusion that expenses will "almost certainly increase" is no longer justified

SafeRay · Answer

Conclusion: switching to synthetic fuels will almost certainly raise Company X's expenses, because synthetic fuel will cost more per unit than conventional fuel.

Gap: higher fuel unit cost → higher total expenses.
That only holds if nothing else offsets the extra fuel cost.

(E) does that: conservation becomes practical with synthetic fuels and fully compensates for the higher fuel cost. Then total expenses need not rise. That casts the most doubt on "almost certainly increase."

Quick kills:
(A) Delay does not attack the claim about what happens when the plan is implemented.
(B) Passing cost to customers is about revenue/pricing, not whether company expenses still go up.
(C) Cheap conversion still leaves the higher ongoing fuel cost unaddressed.
(D) Future scarcity of synthetic raw materials, if anything, supports higher cost pressure.

So E.

Note: it is not "fuel prices will drop." It is that conservation savings can cancel the higher fuel cost.

Bunuel · Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

(E) is correct  because it shows how the company will save money; using the new fuels will let them use conservation measures which will compensate for the increased costs.

(A) may show a downside of switching to the new fuels, but the argument isn't that the plan shouldn't be adopted, just that it will increase expenses, so this doesn't weaken it.

(B) may be tempting, but showing that the expenses will be passed on to the consumer doesn't change the fact that the expenses will exist.

(C) is irrelevant; the fact that adapting the processes won't cost much doesn't help, since the fuels themselves are what will cause the increased expenses.

(D) does not show how synthetic fuels would be any less costly now. In fact, if the raw materials for those fuels do become more scarce over time, then the costs could actually get even higher, just adding more support to the author's claim.

TAKEAWAY:  When an author says something will cost more, weaken it by pointing out that it may save money in other ways.

In its report for the quarter just ending, Company X announces that in

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

In its report for the quarter just ending, Company X announces that in

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