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A
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Difficulty:
55%
(hard)
Question Stats:
66% (02:04) correct
34%
(02:27)
wrong
based on 5819
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In the past, every ten-percentage-point increase in cigarette prices in the country of Coponia has decreased per capita sales of cigarettes by four percent. Coponia is about to raise taxes on cigarettes by 9 cents per pack. The average price of cigarettes in Coponia is and has been for more than a year 90 cents per pack. So the tax hike stands an excellent chance of reducing per capita sales of cigarettes by four percent.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Tobacco companies are unlikely to reduce their profit per pack of cigarettes to avoid an increase in the cost per pack to consumers in Coponia.
B. Previous increases in cigarette prices in Coponia have generally been due to increases in taxes on cigarettes.
C. Any decrease in per capita sales of cigarettes in Coponia will result mainly from an increase in the number of people who quit smoking entirely.
D. At present, the price of a pack of cigarettes in Coponia includes taxes that amount to less than ten percent of the total selling price.
E. The number of people in Coponia who smoke cigarettes has remained relatively constant for the past several years.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Tobacco companies are unlikely to reduce their profit per pack of cigarettes to avoid an increase in the cost per pack to consumers in Coponia.
B. Previous increases in cigarette prices in Coponia have generally been due to increases in taxes on cigarettes.
C. Any decrease in per capita sales of cigarettes in Coponia will result mainly from an increase in the number of people who quit smoking entirely.
D. At present, the price of a pack of cigarettes in Coponia includes taxes that amount to less than ten percent of the total selling price.
E. The number of people in Coponia who smoke cigarettes has remained relatively constant for the past several years.
19 Jun 2008, 05:01
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alimad
In the past, every ten-percentage-point increase in cigarette prices in the country of
Coponia has decreased per capita sales of cigarettes by four percent. Coponia is about to
raise taxes on cigarettes by 9 cents per pack. The average price of cigarettes in Coponia
is and has been for more than a year 90 cents per pack. So the tax hike stands an
excellent chance of reducing per capita sales of cigarettes by four percent.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Tobacco companies are unlikely to reduce their profit per pack of cigarettes to
avoid an increase in the cost per pack to consumers in Coponia.
B. Previous increases in cigarette prices in Coponia have generally been due to
increases in taxes on cigarettes.
C. Any decrease in per capita sales of cigarettes in Coponia will result mainly from
an increase in the number of people who quit smoking entirely.
D. At present, the price of a pack of cigarettes in Coponia includes taxes that amount
to less than ten percent of the total selling price.
E. The number of people in Coponia who smoke cigarettes has remained relatively
constant for the past several years.
Please justify your answers. thanks
Coponia has decreased per capita sales of cigarettes by four percent. Coponia is about to
raise taxes on cigarettes by 9 cents per pack. The average price of cigarettes in Coponia
is and has been for more than a year 90 cents per pack. So the tax hike stands an
excellent chance of reducing per capita sales of cigarettes by four percent.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. Tobacco companies are unlikely to reduce their profit per pack of cigarettes to
avoid an increase in the cost per pack to consumers in Coponia.
B. Previous increases in cigarette prices in Coponia have generally been due to
increases in taxes on cigarettes.
C. Any decrease in per capita sales of cigarettes in Coponia will result mainly from
an increase in the number of people who quit smoking entirely.
D. At present, the price of a pack of cigarettes in Coponia includes taxes that amount
to less than ten percent of the total selling price.
E. The number of people in Coponia who smoke cigarettes has remained relatively
constant for the past several years.
Please justify your answers. thanks
I go for A. My reasoning below;
Evidence: In the past, every ten-percentage-point increase in cigarette prices in the country of Coponia has decreased per capita sales of cigarettes by four percent
EVidence Coponia is about to raise taxes on cigarettes by 9 cents (10%) per pack. The average price of cigarettes in Coponia is and has been for more than a year 90 cents per pack.
The conclusion: So the tax hike stands an excellent chance of reducing per capita sales of cigarettes by four percent
Underlying assumption is that Tobacco companies are unlikely to reduce their profit (which equates to increased price) per pack of cigarettes to avoid an increase in the cost per pack to consumers in Coponia. If they were willing to reduce their prices which translates to reduced profits then reduced per capita sales is more likely to be increased and not the opposite as a result the conclusion will be weakened.
15 May 2019, 23:37
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duybachhpvn
GMATNinja, GMATNinjaTwo, nightblade354
Hi,
Could you help me understand if I understand the argument correctly? As I understand, for an argument in GMAT, there should be no other possible explanation for the conclusion other than the underlying assumption (read this from PowerScore book). So for this question, can I understand that the author considered the increase in selling price is the only cause of the reduction in sale/capita?
Let's say if option C is changed to: "Any decrease in per capita sales of cigarettes in Coponia will NOT result mainly from an increase in the number of people who quit smoking entirely." The negation of this will present a different explanation for the reduction in the per capita sales of cigarettes, and thus will break the conclusion that the increase in selling price will result in lower per capital sales of cigarettes.
I'm not sure if the condition of increases in selling price is a NECESSARY or a SUFFICIENT condition for the conclusion here? If it is just sufficient, then my original understanding about the author's argument is incorrect.
Thank you.
Let's first talk about how to approach assumption questions: this particular question asks us to find "an assumption on which the argument depends." This means that the information in the correct answer choice MUST be true in order for the argument to hold (in other words, a necessary condition). Hi,
Could you help me understand if I understand the argument correctly? As I understand, for an argument in GMAT, there should be no other possible explanation for the conclusion other than the underlying assumption (read this from PowerScore book). So for this question, can I understand that the author considered the increase in selling price is the only cause of the reduction in sale/capita?
Let's say if option C is changed to: "Any decrease in per capita sales of cigarettes in Coponia will NOT result mainly from an increase in the number of people who quit smoking entirely." The negation of this will present a different explanation for the reduction in the per capita sales of cigarettes, and thus will break the conclusion that the increase in selling price will result in lower per capital sales of cigarettes.
I'm not sure if the condition of increases in selling price is a NECESSARY or a SUFFICIENT condition for the conclusion here? If it is just sufficient, then my original understanding about the author's argument is incorrect.
Thank you.
This is very different than saying that the correct answer choice is the ONLY "possible explanation for the conclusion." For any given argument, there are virtually unlimited assumptions that are necessary in order for the conclusion to hold. In this case, for instance, the author assumes that a massive meteorite will not crash into the earth and end human life as we know it (in which case per capita sales of cigarettes would go down by much more than four percent for reasons outside of the tax increase). So, we are not looking for the only possible explanation for the argument -- we are just looking for one necessary condition for the author to reach his/her conclusion.
As you go through the answer choices, ask yourself for each one: MUST this information be true in order for the argument to hold?
Take a look at (C):
Quote:
C. Any decrease in per capita sales of cigarettes in Coponia will result mainly from an increase in the number of people who quit smoking entirely.
Does this have to be true in order for the argument to hold? No, it does not -- the conclusion only depends on per capita sales of cigarettes going down by 4%. That reduction could come from some people quitting entirely, or many people cutting back just a bit. Because the argument doesn't require the information in (C) to be true, this is not an assumption on which the argument depends. Eliminate (C).Now look at (A):
Quote:
A. Tobacco companies are unlikely to reduce their profit per pack of cigarettes to avoid an increase in the cost per pack to consumers in Coponia.
The argument depends on the overall price of cigarettes increasing by ten percent in order to see a drop in sales of four percent. We know that the tax hike was just achieving that ten percent increase -- so in order for the expected four percent decrease in sales, the entire price of the tax hike must be added onto the existing price of cigarettes. Answer choice (A) eliminates a possible way that this ten percent increase would not happen (by tobacco companies reducing their profits to prevent consumers from seeing the price go up so much). This information MUST be true in order for the argument to hold, so (A) is our answer.
I hope that helps!
