MahmoudFawzy wrote:
Post subject: The recent decline in gas prices was generally expected to lead to a d Posted: 17 Feb 2020, 00:05
The recent decline in gas prices was generally expected to lead to a drastic decrease in demand for flights, based on the assumption that people have a limited amount of vacation time and would choose to spend it on road trips rather than airline travel. This assumption, however, is clearly false: A recent telephone survey revealed that a large majority of people who reported an increase in driving over the past year also reported no change in the number of flights they took during that same time period.
Which of the following would it be most useful to determine in order to evaluate the argument?
A) Whether a large majority of the respondents reported flying regularly
B) Whether the number of flights taken is decreasing among those who report rarely or never driving
C) Whether respondents’ flight destinations change the more or less time they spend driving
D) Whether a large majority of the respondents reported increased amounts of driving
E) Whether the respondents’ reports of flights taken include those required for their jobs
Fixing the scope : The argument is resting on the results of the survey which states that large majority of
people who reported an increase in driving also reported no change in the number of flights they took during that same time period.
As per the author's logic - people have limited vacation time, so they either choose road travel or air travel.
Pre-thinking : What if people found other ways to travel, apart from this limited vacation time? Which reflects in no change in number of flights? Any information on this would give us the assumption
A) Whether a large majority of the respondents reported flying regularly
Irrelevant : No link to those who reported increase in driving
B) Whether the number of flights taken is decreasing among those who report rarely or never driving
Not the group we are interested in. We are interested in those who who reported increase in driving
C) Whether respondents’ flight destinations change the more or less time they spend driving
The metric being discussed here is limited vacation time. The destination does not matter.
D) Whether a large majority of the respondents reported increased amounts of driving
Where is the link to flying?
E) Whether the respondents’ reports of flights taken include those required for their jobs
In line with pre-thinking. The survey could have captured flying time of people who travel for work, which is why air travel did not show any decrease.