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Per a recent survey carried out in Rambo City, capital of Papula count

1 2

egmat

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18 Jul 2013, 10:08

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jaituteja

Hi e-gmat,

I agree with your explanations for C.

I chose option D, since it states that there will be an increase in number of cars in the region(has emearged ---> leading to)

Hi Jai,

Option D does not states that there will be an increase. It states that there has been an increase in the number of cars. The region has emerged as a leading hub and this fact has led to increase in the number of cars.

jaituteja

Now, the arguments states that "The government is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost."

Since, it mentions that the plan allows only for current owners, we cannot say that the new cars(increase in number of cars) will be the electric cars and not the gasoline-cars.

Please throw some light..

I think my comments above should help somewhat. Since the number of cars has already increased, even if we are only talking about current owners, we are covering a almost all of them.
Secondly, the first line of the argument says that 99% of the people who drive for more than 2000 miles a year already have a gasoline car - so almost all the heavy users of cars would get electric cars and therefore, the pollution should be reduced significantly.

Thus, option D does not weaken the argument.

Does this help?

Thanks,
Chiranjeev

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11 Jan 2014, 08:56

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I just wanted to confirm if such type of ambiguous questions do appear in GMAT as well??
As the questions I have seen in the OG and other GMAT official sources, options which require too vague assumptions (obv if it is not an assumption question), are rare. The OA of this question is also of similar type.
In fact, I have read from different sources(manhattan cr strategy guide) that weakening type questions should not have any additional evidence to ans. The option should just weaken either the conclusion or the assumption of the argument.
Please if any expert could clear it.
Thanks in advance....

egmat

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14 Jan 2014, 19:06

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Sukant2010

Hi Sukant,

Thank you for posting this query.

I think how we define something "vague" is actually vague itself. I suggest that you look at the official question (OG13 Q94) and the discussion around this in the below thread:

as-a-construction-material-bamboo-is-as-strong-as-steel-and-135997.html

The correct option in the above question requires you to understand/assume where multistory buildings will be required most. If we say this is vague assumption or additional information required to make this option correct, then essentially we are going against the official question.

Regarding what you read in Manhattan or other guides, I am not sure what you mean when you say it should require additional evidence. A correct weakening choice is an additional evidence (i.e. in addition to the argument) that weakens your belief in the conclusion. Now, if you think (I am just guessing) that a correct choice should not bring rely on new information to make it correct, then look at below official question:

twenty-years-ago-balzania-put-in-place-regulations-130755.html

The correct option is C, which relies on information after "because" in the option statement. So, the first part of option C will not explain the paradox unless we know the part after "because". So, the option gives you two pieces of information which complement each other to explain the paradox and hence make the choice correct.

Let me know if you still have questions.

Thanks,
Chiranjeev

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15 Jan 2014, 15:49

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Hi Chiranjeev,
Thanx for ur response. As I said, I have seen very rare such questions. But in the example question you have given, the ans is a little bit clear as there is no other option actually targeting any disadvantage of bamboos over steel and concrete. In fact, in the question all the options assumed something or other and finally, I could easily mark option (b) because of the above said reason. In the current question being discussed, I can clearly see from option (a) that if there are people who won't spend any money when they actually required to, how can govt get the funds or how can govt provide these subsidized electric cars.
U are right that sometimes, we have to assume something to get the right answer, but in this question from option (a), I can explicitly tell that govt won't be able to do so if people aren't willing any more to buy even if they have told the opposite in the surveys. I actually donot have to assume anything. This is quite clear.
But in option (c), firstly, I have to assume that electric cars are more convenient that gasoline cars ( hell of an assumption, considering the fact that 'convenience' word is not even used once during the passage). I say I am an expert and gasoline cars are more convenient than electric cars. Then, option (c) cant be the answer. This was actually what I meant by saying 'vague' assumptions because we are taking too far fetched information to prove a point.
The only concern for govt is funds and an interested market; option (a) destroys the second point (interested market). Govt cannot sell cars if they donot get an interested market. From option (c), we are also (though by taking such assumptions) attacking the second point (an interested market), but via option (a) we donot have to assume anything that is far beyond the scope of the passage.
You can check all examples of OG as well in which assumptions are being taken in the options, but there will be explicit assumptions such as the one you showed. Never will there be any question in which an option explicitly answers the question and an option which answers by assuming way too much.
I think I have made my point. Please correct me wherever I am wrong...
Thanks in advance!!!! :-D

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17 Jan 2014, 00:42

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Sukant2010

Hi Sukant,

I see that you have some good understanding of the official questions. Let me put here two points to explain my case: one in favor of option C and one against option A.

1. In option C, even if you ignore "convenience" part, there is one more information embedded in option C as I explain in my detailed solution. Option C also says that people near retirement age constitute more than 50% of the population. Now, we know from the argument that the government's plan relies on a survey of middle-aged people.

Option C suggests that the government's plan might not work for a majority of population (unless you assume that the priorities of both the categories of people are same).

In other words, option C suggests that the surveyed people are actually not representative of the population. Now, since the argument relies on the survey results, the argument is weakened by option C. Actually, some official questions are actually built around this idea of representative sample. You can refer to my article on Representative Samples:

article-representative-sample-a-concept-tested-in-gmat-cr-158832.html

2. The problem with option A is "some". It suggests that some people will not switch to electric cars. Right?

Now, an important point to consider here is that does the argument require all people to switch for the plan to be successful. The answer is No.

Even if 10% of the people don't switch, the plan will very likely to succeed.

This plan is going to affect the population of the whole country. It is rather expected that there would be some people who will not switch. The plan does not rely on or expect all people to switch.

Just because we know some people will not switch, our belief in the plan does not go down.

On the other hand, if option A had suggested 50% of the people will not switch, then it might be correct.

I hope it helps.

Thanks,
Chiranjeev

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25 Jun 2021, 03:03

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egmat

Please use the poll above. We will post the OA on Tuesday.

Per a recent survey carried out in Rambo City, capital of Papula country, an average middle-aged person drives his or her car for two thousand miles in a year and 99% of these people own a gasoline-run car. In addition, the survey suggested that if offered an economical option to switch to electric cars, most of these people would change their gasoline-run cars. The government of Papula is impressed with the environmental considerations shown by the citizens of Papula and is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost.

Which of the following statements casts the most doubt on the ability of the plan to meet its required objective of significantly reducing air pollution in Papula in the next 5 years?

A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment.
B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country.
C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so.
D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region.
E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan.

Hi e-gmat,

I agree with your explanations for C.

I chose option D, since it states that there will be an increase in number of cars in the region(has emearged ---> leading to)

Now, the arguments states that "The government is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost."

Since, it mentions that the plan allows only for current owners, we cannot say that the new cars(increase in number of cars) will be the electric cars and not the gasoline-cars.

Please throw some light..

Hello,

Option D does not deal with the ability of the plan to reach the required objective here too.

The plan is to allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost.
The required objective is to significantly reduce air pollution in the upcoming five years.

Option D talks about the last two decades and the increase in the number of cars in the region during that period.
So, the current number of cars is this increased number.

Hope this clarifies the case!

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03 Mar 2026, 02:52

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egmat

How can we be sure that the electric cars are not less or equal in the comfort offered by them when compared to the gasoline cars?

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egmat

I have a doubt. How are we assuming here that electric cars are less "convenient" than a normal gasoline car for option C?

egmat

Hi,

Please find below the official Solution:

UNDERSTANDING THE PASSAGE

1. As per a survey:
a. an average middle-aged person drive 2000 miles a year and almost all of them own a gasoline-run car
b. Most of these middle-aged guys would switch their cars to electric ones, if the costs of making the switch are not high

2. The government of Papula is planning to implement a plan that would allow all the current owners of gasoline-run cars to switch to electric cars at a minimal cost.

UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION STEM

The given question is a weaken question; however the conclusion is not stated in the passage but is given in the question stem. Basically, when we say that the conclusion is stated in the question stem, what we mean is that the statement that needs to be weakened is in the question stem.

The relevant conclusion is:
The plan, as envisaged by the government of Papula, will be able to significantly reduce the air pollution in the country in the next five years.

PRE-THINKING

The author in this question makes predictions about the behavior of a population based on data from survey from a sample of the population – middle aged people. Hence, while making the prediction the author makes the assumption that the sample data must be representative of the population data or the preferences of the sample must be representative of the preferences of the majority.

One easy to spot weak point of the argument is that the plan of the government is based on the data of only middle-aged persons whereas the objective that needs to be achieved i.e. reduction in pollution will depend on other sections of population also. Besides, there is nothing to suggest in the passage that middle-aged population is responsible for a large proportion of the total pollution in the country. Thus, we can pre-think two weakeners for the given argument:

1. Any statement that suggests that other sections of population have preferences which are different from middle-aged population
2. Any statement that suggests that middle-aged population accounts for only a small proportion of the total population in the country

ANALYSIS OF ANSWER CHOICES

A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment. – The success of the plan does not require each and every citizen to use the plan. There could be exceptions. This kind of answer choice is one of common type of incorrect choices used by GMAT in weaken question type. Incorrect.

B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country. – We are concerned with the impact of the plan on the pollution in the country. The impact the plan has on the financial status of the country is not the concern of the argument. Incorrect.

C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so. – This statement actually captures both the weakeners that we came up with during the pre-thinking stage. It not only tells that a majority of population is not middle-aged, it also tells that the majority of population prefers convenience, something that the government has not taken into consideration while coming up with it’s plan.-. Therefore, this statement weakens the conclusion. Correct.

D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region. – This statement tell us that the number of cars have increased in the country. But as per the plan, these cars would be replaced with electric ones and once that is done, the pollution should decrease, doesn’t matter the number of cars. Therefore, this option doesn’t affect the conclusion. Incorrect.

E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan. – Like option 2, this option also tries to cast a doubt on whether the plan can be implemented. However, within the context of the conclusion, we are not concerned about such a thing. Incorrect.

Hope this helps

Thanks,
Chiranjeev

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03 Mar 2026, 09:28

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Option A talks about "extra money" to protect environment when in reality they are getting a cheaper substitute in electric cars from gasoline cars, so them not paying anything extra wont cause any issue to the plan and is not a dealbreaker IMO and hence ruled out.

VeritasPrepRon

The question is in effect asking us which will cast doubt on the ability of the plan to reduce air pollution in Papula over the next five years:

A. Though some of the citizens are concerned about the negative environmental impact of air pollution, they will not spend any extra money to protect the environment. If citizens refuse to spend any money to switch from gasoline-run to electric cars, the plan will not change any air polution. And these are the ones concerned about pollution, imagine the ones who aren't. Correct answer
B. The budget deficit of the government of Papula is already at alarming levels, and any further increase in the deficit could lead to the bankruptcy of the country.While the budget deficit of Papula is undoubtedly alarmingly high, no indication is given in the question that this plan will increase the deficit. Any thought that it will is the GMAT preying on your preconceived notions. Incorrect.
C. Since Papula is an aging country, with more than half its population near retirement age, the chief consideration for a large number of its citizens is the convenience to drive rather than the costs to do so. Assuredly true, but out of scope. There is no indication that electric cars are more or less convenient than gasoline. Incorrect.
D. In the last two decades, Papula has emerged as a major economic hub, leading to an increase in the living standard of its citizens and in the number of cars in the region. Great for Papula. If this statement had indicated that a lot of the cars in the country were foreign, maybe there could be some doubt that a Papula-run initiative wouldn't cover these vehicles. As it is, out of scope.
E. Since people who don’t own gasoline cars would not be benefitted from the proposed plan, they may strongly oppose the use of taxpayer money on such a plan Same issue as B, there is no indication that tax payer money will be used to finance this iniative. This seems like another answer choice playing on your preconceived notions, probably of a bylaw you once opposed because it had no direct benefit to you.

A is the only one that casts doubt on the plan's ability to reduce pollution. The plan will be enacted, citizens will be able to switch their vehicles for the low low cost of $X, and no one will do it...

egmat

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05 Mar 2026, 11:06

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The Plan's Logic Chain:
Survey says → people would switch for an economical option → Government offers minimal cost switching → People switch → Pollution reduced

Note that the plan's entire strategy is built on one lever: cost reduction. That's the only incentive it offers.

What does Choice C do?
C tells us: most citizens care about convenience to drive, not costs.

This weakens because the plan targets cost, but cost isn't what drives people's decisions - convenience is. The plan doesn't address convenience at all. That gap alone casts serious doubt on whether people will actually switch.

Now, your doubt: "How do we know electric cars aren't equally convenient?"

Here's the key - you don't need to know that.

In a Weaken question, you don't need to prove the plan fails. You need to cast doubt.

The plan assumes cost is the barrier to switching. C shows that assumption is wrong - convenience is what actually matters. Since the plan offers zero assurance on convenience, there's a massive unaddressed gap.

Think of it this way:
Imagine you want people to switch from Brand A to Brand B cereal. Your plan: make Brand B cheaper. Then someone says: "Most people pick cereal based on taste, not price."

Does this cast doubt? Absolutely - because your plan only addresses price, and taste is what actually drives the decision. You don't need to prove Brand B tastes bad. The plan simply doesn't address the real concern.

Answer: C

arushi118

egmat

How can we be sure that the electric cars are not less or equal in the comfort offered by them when compared to the gasoline cars?

egmat

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05 Mar 2026, 11:15

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We're not assuming electric cars are less convenient, we're showing that the plan bets everything on cost, but cost isn't what these people care about.

I've addressed this exact doubt in detail in my response above - take a look!

Adit_

egmat

I have a doubt. How are we assuming here that electric cars are less "convenient" than a normal gasoline car for option C?