The governor of state X in a speech to the Chamber of Commerce in stat

weaken conclusion State X has spent more money per airport on improvements than has any other state in the country over the last five year

COrrect option E ; States spending the largest amount per airport on improvements are those with airports that typically cannot be made adequate

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Kaplan Official Explanation

This is a Weaken question, as it asks for something that undermines reasoning. The correct choice will make it less likely that the conclusion follows from the stated evidence.

The governor's conclusion is that businesspeople who believe that state X's airports are inadequate are mistaken. In other words, state X's airports are not inadequate. She bases this conclusion on the fact that the state has spent more money per airport on improvements than has any other state in the last five years, as well as on statistics about improved airport quality.

The central assumption of this argument is that these pieces of evidence actually point to adequate airports in state X. The correct answer will point out some reason that this evidence does not support that conclusion.

(E) shows that the governor's evidence suggests the opposite of what she claims. The fact that state X spent more per airport on improvements than did any other state is not something to brag about, (E) says, because it indicates that the airports were so inadequate that they can't even be made adequate. Thus, (E) weakens the governor's reasoning and is correct.

(A) focuses on the rate of growth in spending on airport improvements. This doesn't change the governor's argument, which is only based on the fact that state X has spent more total money per airport than has any other state. (A) is therefore irrelevant to the argument.

(B) presents an irrelevant comparison. Whether businesspeople care more about hotels than airports has nothing to do with the question of whether the spending by state X demonstrates that the airports are now adequate.

(C) relates information about businesses relocating in and out of state X. This is completely immaterial to the question of whether the airports are adequate.

(D) is irrelevant to the argument as well. Business taxes don't indicate anything about the connection between the spending on airports and whether the airports are adequate right now.

TAKEAWAY: With Weaken questions, keep the focus on the connection between the stated evidence and the conclusion—the assumption. Don't forget that the task is to attack that connection. Keeping your focus here will make it easier to avoid wrong choices.