Events & Promotions
|
|
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
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Nov 2007:30 AM PST
-08:30 AM PST
Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
Nov 2211:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Do RC/MSR passages scare you? e-GMAT is conducting a masterclass to help you learn – Learn effective reading strategies Tackle difficult RC & MSR with confidence Excel in timed test environment- Nov 23
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease. 
Nov 2510:00 AM EST
-11:00 AM EST
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors.
10 Sep 2025, 01:58
Kudos
Bookmarks
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
35%
(medium)
Question Stats:
72% (01:14) correct
28%
(01:24)
wrong
based on 265
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The plastics commonly used in household garbage bags take, on average, 100 years to decompose in landfills. From an environmental standpoint, the plastic bag industry should be forced to switch to newly developed plastics, which begin to decompose after only 20 years.
Which of the following pieces of information would be most helpful in evaluating the argument above?
(A) the rate of growth or decline in sales of plastic garbage bags
(B) the number of plastic garbage bags sold last year that eventually wound up in landfills
(C) the feasibility of enforcing legislation that regulates the plastics used in garbage bags
(D) the length of time it takes the newly developed plastic to fully decompose in landfills.
(E) a comparison of the production cost of one bag made with the old plastics and of one bag made with the new plastics
Which of the following pieces of information would be most helpful in evaluating the argument above?
(A) the rate of growth or decline in sales of plastic garbage bags
(B) the number of plastic garbage bags sold last year that eventually wound up in landfills
(C) the feasibility of enforcing legislation that regulates the plastics used in garbage bags
(D) the length of time it takes the newly developed plastic to fully decompose in landfills.
(E) a comparison of the production cost of one bag made with the old plastics and of one bag made with the new plastics
Vaishbab
Joined: 29 Jan 2023
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 70
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 73
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy, Operations
Schools: Booth '26 Darden '26 Duke '26 Haas '26 Kellogg '26 Ross '26
Products:
13 Sep 2025, 16:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
The plastic used in household garbage bags takes 100 years to decompose in landfills, whereas newly developed plastics start decomposing at the 20-year mark. Focusing on the aspects in bold makes it immediately apparent where this argument could hold or fail (which is the point lol).
Even if the new plastics start decomposing after 20 years, what's to say that they finish decomposing when they're 200 years old? That would mean that it takes 180 years to decompose, which would be longer than the original garbage bag plastic, which takes 100 years to decompose. Or the new plastics could finish decomposing after 50 years, meaning it takes 30 years for them to decompose. That'd be quicker than the garbage bag plastic's case.
Hence, the answer is: (D)
Even if the new plastics start decomposing after 20 years, what's to say that they finish decomposing when they're 200 years old? That would mean that it takes 180 years to decompose, which would be longer than the original garbage bag plastic, which takes 100 years to decompose. Or the new plastics could finish decomposing after 50 years, meaning it takes 30 years for them to decompose. That'd be quicker than the garbage bag plastic's case.
Hence, the answer is: (D)
13 Sep 2025, 21:33
Kudos
Bookmarks
I think the misleading word here is starts to decompose; if you miss it, then you are likely to move away from the correct choice.
