NEW HERE? LEARN MORE
closeclose
Last visit was: 26 Apr 2024, 19:10 It is currently 26 Apr 2024, 19:10
Decision Tracker
My Rewards
New posts
New comers' posts

Close
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

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel

Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosond

SORT BY:
Date
Kudos
Tags:
Find Similar Topics 
Show Tags
Hide Tags
User avatar
L
Bunuel
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 92948
Own Kudos [?]: 619248 [2]
Given Kudos: 81609
Send PM
CAT Tests Forum Quiz Mode
Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosond [#permalink] New post   21 Jan 2022, 02:30
2
Bookmarks
Expert Reply
00:00
A
B
C
D
E

Difficulty:

35% (medium)

Question Stats:

73% (01:31) correct 27% (01:39) wrong based on 236 sessions
Hide Show timer Statistics
Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosonde. an unmanned airplane designed to collect atmospheric data, to be $20,000. An ordinary weather balloon, by contrast, can collect virtually the same information for about $200. Therefore, weather balloons are clearly the more cost-efficient method for gathering information.

Which of the following, if true, calls the above conclusion into question?

A. Aerosondes are less costly than piloted planes and also do not put human life at risk.
B. Politicians who have lobbied for federal funds to construct the aerosonde are astonished at its in-flight agility.
C. Weather balloons are subject to violent weather changes that can blow them miles off course.
D. Aerosondes can be used over and over again. But weather balloons, because of their frailty, can only be used once.
E. in the time it takes to launch an aerosonde, it is possible to launch more than 100 weather balloons at once.
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
D
User avatar
P
gloomybison
Manager
Manager
Joined: 30 Mar 2021
Posts: 228
Own Kudos [?]: 192 [3]
Given Kudos: 93
Location: Turkey
Schools: Yale '26 (A) LBS '26 (WL) Booth '26 (A) Columbia CBS'26 (A) Kellogg '26 (A) Tuck '26 (A) Wharton '26 (D) Sloan '26 (D)
GMAT 1: 720 Q51 V36
GPA: 3.69
Send PM
Re: Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosond [#permalink] New post   21 Jan 2022, 15:53
3
Kudos
-Aerosondes are less costly than piloted planes and also do not put human life at risk.
This doesn't call the above conclusion into question, but in contrary it further strengthens the argument

-Politicians who have lobbied for federal funds to construct the aerosonde are astonished at its in-flight agility.
We don't care about what politicians think of it

-Weather balloons are subject to violent weather changes that can blow them miles off course.
this may be tempting but our concern is about cost. Also we don't really know weather aerosondes are subject to such errors

-Aerosondes can be used over and over again. But weather balloons, because of their frailty, can only be used once.
Correct, Think about it, in the beginning balloons may seem a plausible option, but after 100 balloon launches than cost of monitoring with a balloon would surpass that with an aerosonde

-In the time it takes to launch an aerosonde, it is possible to launch more than 100 weather balloons at once.
Irrelevant, we are not concerned about any comparison between differences in their launches
avatar
D
TarunKumar1234
VP
VP
Joined: 14 Jul 2020
Posts: 1139
Own Kudos [?]: 1292 [0]
Given Kudos: 351
Location: India
Send PM
Re: Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosond [#permalink] New post   22 Jan 2022, 00:59
Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosonde. an unmanned airplane designed to collect atmospheric data, to be $20,000. An ordinary weather balloon, by contrast, can collect virtually the same information for about $200. Therefore, weather balloons are clearly the more cost-efficient method for gathering information.

Which of the following, if true, calls the above conclusion into question?

A. Aerosondes are less costly than piloted planes and also do not put human life at risk. -> We didn't talk about weather balloons. Incorrect.
B. Politicians who have lobbied for federal funds to construct the aerosonde are astonished at its in-flight agility. -> Irrelevant.
C. Weather balloons are subject to violent weather changes that can blow them miles off course. -> We didn't talk about aerosonde. Incorrect.
D. Aerosondes can be used over and over again. But weather balloons, because of their frailty, can only be used once. -> It makes sense. Let's keep it.
E. in the time it takes to launch an aerosonde, it is possible to launch more than 100 weather balloons at once. -> It will strengthen conclusion. We need to make the conclusion questionable. Incorrect.

So, I think D. :)
avatar
Suryaaai
Intern
Intern
Joined: 24 Aug 2021
Posts: 1
Own Kudos [?]: 0 [0]
Given Kudos: 0
Send PM
Re: Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosond [#permalink] New post   22 Jan 2022, 08:03
The answer should be C as it puts some doubt upon the efficacy of the weather balloon. D on the other hand may look correct however, we'll have to launch 100 ballons to break even the cost of an aerosonde which seems a bit unreasonable.
User avatar
B
MeghShah
Intern
Intern
Joined: 22 May 2021
Posts: 43
Own Kudos [?]: 17 [0]
Given Kudos: 22
Send PM
Re: Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosond [#permalink] New post   23 Jan 2022, 05:44
Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosonde. an unmanned airplane designed to collect atmospheric data, to be $20,000. An ordinary weather balloon, by contrast, can collect virtually the same information for about $200. Therefore, weather balloons are clearly the more cost-efficient method for gathering information.

Which of the following, if true, calls the above conclusion into question?

A. Aerosondes are less costly than piloted planes and also do not put human life at risk. The passage compared aerosondes to balloons not piloted planes
B. Politicians who have lobbied for federal funds to construct the aerosonde are astonished at its in-flight agility. This is irrelevant since the passage is about cost efficiency and there is no link between agility and cost
C. Weather balloons are subject to violent weather changes that can blow them miles off course. - Seems correct because vulnerability to weather and being blown miles of course would collect the data for a different region rendering the whole flight useless. Therefore potentially requiring many many balloon flights.
D. Aerosondes can be used over and over again. But weather balloons, because of their frailty, can only be used once. - the cost of $20,000 and $200 is for a single flight, not manufacturing an aerosonde / baloon.
E. in the time it takes to launch an aerosonde, it is possible to launch more than 100 weather balloons at once. - the passage is about cost efficiency, not Time efficiency.
avatar
B
Vignesh11794
Intern
Intern
Joined: 23 Apr 2021
Posts: 2
Own Kudos [?]: 0 [0]
Given Kudos: 3
Send PM
Re: Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosond [#permalink] New post   23 Jan 2022, 06:49
The conclusion is "weather balloons are clearly the more cost-efficient method for gathering information."

So, we need to focus on the option that strengthens the argument that aerosonde is more cost effective than an air balloon. Or we need an option that somehow says that balloons are not the most cost efficient method.

Only option 'D' talks about cost.
User avatar
darcyrobert
Intern
Intern
Joined: 14 Feb 2024
Posts: 2
Own Kudos [?]: 0 [0]
Given Kudos: 0
Location: United States
Send PM
Re: Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosond [#permalink] New post   14 Feb 2024, 11:20
Option D calls this conclusion into question. If aerosondes can be used over and over again, while weather balloons can only be used once due to their frailty, the cost efficiency could shift in favor of aerosondes over time. For example, if an aerosonde can be used 200 times, the cost per use would be $100, which is cheaper than the $200 for a single-use weather balloon. Therefore, the long-term cost efficiency could favor aerosondes, despite the higher initial cost.

The other options do not directly challenge the cost-efficiency comparison between aerosondes and weather balloons. They introduce other factors (risk to human life, in-flight agility, susceptibility to weather changes, and launch time), but these do not necessarily impact the cost efficiency of gathering information.
GMAT Club Bot
gmatclubot
Re: Scientists estimate the cost of a transatlantic flight for an aerosond [#permalink]
14 Feb 2024, 11:20
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
6923 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
238 posts
mysterymanrog
CR Forum Moderator
832 posts

Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group | Emoji artwork provided by EmojiOne
Main navigation
GMAT Resources
Partners
MBA Resources
www.gmac.com|www.mba.com | | GMAT Club Rules | Terms and Conditions