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 1811:00 AM PST
-12:00 PM PST
Join us in a live GMAT practice session and solve 30 challenging GMAT questions with other test takers in timed conditions, covering GMAT Quant, Data Sufficiency, Data Insights, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Reasoning questions.
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.
18 Mar 2020, 01:39
Kudos
Bookmarks
B
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:
75% (01:20) correct
25%
(01:34)
wrong
based on 559
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
In the open ocean, a shark will catch almost any small fish it decides to attack. The best chance a small fish has, once it is spotted by a hungry shark, it that the shark will promptly find something else to attack. Therefore, one of the benefits gained by small fish that swim in large groups known as schools is a reduced chance of being attacked by a shark.
Which one of the following statements is an assumption on which the author’s argument depends?
(A) Sharks live primarily on a diet of small fish.
(B) Sharks do not eat an entire school of fish at one time.
(C) The sheer number of fish in a school prevents sharks from attacking.
(D) Sharks are the main danger to small fish in the open ocean.
(E) Small fish are able to sense when they are being spotted by sharks.
Which one of the following statements is an assumption on which the author’s argument depends?
(A) Sharks live primarily on a diet of small fish.
(B) Sharks do not eat an entire school of fish at one time.
(C) The sheer number of fish in a school prevents sharks from attacking.
(D) Sharks are the main danger to small fish in the open ocean.
(E) Small fish are able to sense when they are being spotted by sharks.
20 Mar 2020, 10:17
Kudos
Bookmarks
Conclusion: Swimming in schools is safer for small fish, because there is high chance that other small fish might distract a shark's attention.
(A) Sharks live primarily on a diet of small fish.
-- It is said in the argument that shark will catch almost anything. So this assumption is not necessary. Eliminate A.
(B) Sharks do not eat an entire school of fish at one time.
** If sharks do eat entire school at once, then small fish's chance of survival goes does by being part of a large group. So this assumption is necessary. Keep B.
(C) The sheer number of fish in a school prevents sharks from attacking.
-- Argument only talks about the distracting shark and not threatening shark with large numbers. For the conclusion made with given premises this assumption is not needed. Eliminate C.
(D) Sharks are the main danger to small fish in the open ocean.
-- Sharks catch almost anything is already given and this statement doesn't add anything relevant to arrive at the given conclusion. Eliminate D.
(E) Small fish are able to sense when they are being spotted by sharks.
-- If they can spot and escape, then the conclusion doesn't matter. If they can spot and not escape, then it doesn't explain anything extra needed to arrive at the conclusion. Eliminate E.
Answer: B
(A) Sharks live primarily on a diet of small fish.
-- It is said in the argument that shark will catch almost anything. So this assumption is not necessary. Eliminate A.
(B) Sharks do not eat an entire school of fish at one time.
** If sharks do eat entire school at once, then small fish's chance of survival goes does by being part of a large group. So this assumption is necessary. Keep B.
(C) The sheer number of fish in a school prevents sharks from attacking.
-- Argument only talks about the distracting shark and not threatening shark with large numbers. For the conclusion made with given premises this assumption is not needed. Eliminate C.
(D) Sharks are the main danger to small fish in the open ocean.
-- Sharks catch almost anything is already given and this statement doesn't add anything relevant to arrive at the given conclusion. Eliminate D.
(E) Small fish are able to sense when they are being spotted by sharks.
-- If they can spot and escape, then the conclusion doesn't matter. If they can spot and not escape, then it doesn't explain anything extra needed to arrive at the conclusion. Eliminate E.
Answer: B
NiftyNiffler
McCombs School Moderator
Joined: 26 May 2019
Last visit: 15 Aug 2021
Posts: 325
Given Kudos: 151
Location: India
Schools: INSEAD Jan '20 LSE MFin "21 McCombs '23 Tepper '23
GMAT 1: 690 Q50 V33
Products:
20 Mar 2020, 11:17
Kudos
Bookmarks
The answer should be B. In the first go, A, C and D are extreme or irrelevant and thus can be eliminated. Negation of A breaks the conclusion, i.e., if the school gets eaten all at once then small fishes gain no advantage by being part of a school.
E speaks of small fishes' escape strategy which is a classic trap answer.
E speaks of small fishes' escape strategy which is a classic trap answer.
