Over the last few years that he has been traveling by the subway, Rick

Question

Over the last few years that he has been traveling by the subway, Ricky has made an interesting observation. Every time the train is late by more than six minutes, it gets extremely crowded and Ricky finds it impossible to get a seat. In the last 6 years, it has never happened that the train arrived more than six minutes late and Ricky could find a place to sit.

Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the above statements?

(A) The number of people traveling by the subway has increased several times over the last few years.

(B) If the train comes on time, Ricky will definitely get a place to sit.

(C) If Ricky does not find a seat in the train, it must have arrived more than six minutes late.

(D) The Transport Authority needs to urgently increase the frequency of subway trains.

(E) If the train arrives more than six minutes late, Ricky will most likely not find a place to sit.

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Nikkz99 · Answer

Why option C is incorrect but Option E is correct?

Noobforall · Answer

As it isnt given that if train come on time then Ricky will get seat for sure

EishH · Answer

Because train arriving late by 6 minutes -> ricky does not get a seat, but the vice versa may not be true.

goraianirudha98 · Answer

If P, then Q type statements follow the logical pattern:
1. P implies Q
2. ~Q implies ~P

Here we can frame the question as:
If the train is more than 6 mins late (P), the he doesn't get a seat (Q)
So conclusions will be:
1. Train is more than 6 mins late, implies he doesn't get a seat.
2. He got a seat (~Q) implies the train was not more than 6 mins late (~P)

Option C gives us ~P implies ~Q not the other way around hence wrong.
Even though the train is less than 6 mins late does not necessarily guarantee he got a seat (it can be a very busy day where the train was full Even before reaching his station).

bestreturn · Answer

A more interesting question:
How does Ricky made such observation over the past few years traveling if in the past 6 years, the train was never late ??!!!

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation

Answer: E

The stimulus states that if the train comes more than six minutes late, Ricky will most likely not find a seat. Don’t use this fact to conclude that the opposite will also be true—that if Ricky does not find a place to sit, then the train must have come six minutes late. There could be other reasons for this as well.

(A) No such inference can be made from the argument.

(B) Again, this does not have to be necessarily true.

(C) Incorrect—as explained above.

(D) No such inference can be made from the argument.

(E) The correct answer.

ankushsambare · Answer

My two cents:
 This is a good question on conditional logic (“if–then” statements). 
The passage tells us what happens  when the train is more than six minutes late  — not what happens when Ricky cannot find a seat.
In simple terms:
If the train is more than 6 minutes late → Ricky cannot find a seat.
Many students wrongly reverse this and think:
If Ricky cannot find a seat → the train must have been more than 6 minutes late.
But that is not given in the passage.
So, choice (C) is incorrect because it reverses the logic.
Choice (E) is correct because it matches the information provided: when the train is more than six minutes late, Ricky will most likely not find a seat.

Over the last few years that he has been traveling by the subway, Rick

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Over the last few years that he has been traveling by the subway, Rick

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