Forum Home > GMAT > Quantitative > Problem Solving (PS)
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.
Jan 1810:00 AM PST
-11:00 AM PST
In this video, we talked to Rishi, an ambitious Indian student who successfully secured admission into HEC Paris and ESSEC Business School, two of the top Masters in Management (MiM) programs in Europe.
Jan 1911:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this session to evaluate your current skill level, learn process skills, and solve through tough Arithmetic questions- Jan 20
12:01 AM PST
-11:59 PM PST
On Monday the 20th GMAT Club Tests will be Absolutely Free! Including all the Quizzes, Questions, and Tests. 12 AM - 11:59 PM PST - Jan 20
10:00 AM PST
-11:00 AM PST
Join us for an inspiring talk with Dhruvi, an ambitious Indian student who secured admission to Imperial College London's prestigious Masters in Management (MiM) program. In this podcast, Dhruvi shares her candid journey... - Jan 21
09:00 AM PST
-10:00 AM PST
If you're aiming for top MBA programs like Stanford, Harvard, or Wharton, this video is your ultimate guide to crafting a standout application that B-schools can't ignore! We'll walk you through: - Jan 22
08:00 AM PST
-09:00 AM PST
In this video, two MBA interview experts and a communications coach holds a mock interview of a prospective MBA applicant. The experts assess the responses of the applicant on important interview questions and provide their feedback. 
Jan 2410:00 AM EST
-12:00 PM EST
The Target Test Prep team is proud to introduce GMAT OnDemand, a video course created by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder and CEO, designed to provide you with everything you need to master the GMAT and achieve your score goals.
13 Dec 2021, 14:54
Kudos
Bookmarks
tkorzhan1995
GMATNinja, thank you for providing a detailed explanation. It seems like I made a mistake in this argument because I did not understand the definition of ships who escaped domestication. How do we know from the argument that ships who escaped domestication are not wild ships, but rather ships who were domesticated and then escaped?
That's a good question -- how are we supposed to interpret the phrase "sheep that escaped from domestication?" If they "escaped from domestication," would that make them wild sheep? How are we supposed to know?One way to approach that specific question is to analyze the phrase "escaped from domestication" more closely. Anything that "escaped from domestication" must have been domesticated at some point -- the same way anyone who "escaped from imprisonment" must have been imprisoned at some point. So whether the sheep who "escaped from domestication" should be considered wild at that point is no longer relevant. As long we know they were domesticated at some point, we're in good shape to analyze the answers.
Another approach is to look at the larger context of the passage.
Notice that the second sentence tells us that wild Mouflon sheep "provide archaeologists with a picture of what some early domesticated sheep looked like..." And this conclusion is supported by the fact that wild Mouflon sheep are descendants of sheep that "escaped from domestication."
For this argument to make sense at all, those sheep that "escaped from domestication" must have been domesticated at some point. And that's why their descendants (wild Mouflon sheep) would resemble early domesticated sheep. So just by considering the logic of the passage, we see that sheep who "escaped from domestication" MUST have been domesticated at some point.
I hope that helps!
29 Aug 2023, 08:50
Kudos
Bookmarks
GMATNinja
tkorzhan1995
GMATNinja, can you please explain why A is not correct?
MS is the descendant of ships that escaped domestication=wild ships. MS provides a picture of how domesticated ships looked like before the deliberate selective breeding began. I struggle to understand the linkage between being descendant of ships that escaped domestication, and providing archeologists with the picture of what early domesticated ships looked like.
Let's start by figuring out the structure of the argument.MS is the descendant of ships that escaped domestication=wild ships. MS provides a picture of how domesticated ships looked like before the deliberate selective breeding began. I struggle to understand the linkage between being descendant of ships that escaped domestication, and providing archeologists with the picture of what early domesticated ships looked like.
The argument concludes that wild Mouflon sheep "provide archaeologists with a picture of what some early domesticated sheep looked like, before the deliberate selective breeding that produced modern domesticated sheep began." This conclusion is supported by the fact that wild Mouflon sheep "are direct descendants of sheep that escaped from domestication on the island 8,000 years ago."
But how does this support the conclusion?
Well, today's Mouflon sheep are apparently descendants of early domesticated sheep. That is, they are the descendants of sheep that "escaped from domestication."
Put another way -- 8,000 years ago, some sheep escaped from domestication. In other words, they were domesticated, but then they escaped. Their descendants are today's wild Mouflon sheep. So wild Mouflon sheep are descended from sheep which were domesticated 8,000 years ago, but then escaped.
Let's now consider (A):
Quote:
The argument above makes which of the following assumptions?
(A) The domesticated sheep of 8,000 years ago were quite dissimilar from the wild sheep of the time.
An assumption is a statement that strengthens an argument and that is necessary to draw the conclusion. So how does (A) affect the argument?(A) The domesticated sheep of 8,000 years ago were quite dissimilar from the wild sheep of the time.
Notice that the argument doesn't have anything to do with the wild sheep of 8,000 years ago. Rather, we're trying to establish that today's wild Mouflon sheep are similar to the domesticated sheep that escaped 8,000 years ago. So (A) isn't relevant.
One side note -- notice the sheep which "escaped domestication" 8,000 years ago are different than the "wild sheep of the time" (i.e. the wild sheep from 8,000 years ago). Presumably, the "wild sheep of the time" were not domesticated at all, and never "escaped domestication." Rather, they were born wild.
Let's now consider (D):
Quote:
(D) Mouflon sheep are more similar to their fore bears of 8,000 years ago than modern domesticated sheep are to theirs.
Is this statement necessary to draw the conclusion? Well, we're trying to conclude that Mouflon sheep "provide archaeologists with a picture of what some early domesticated sheep looked like, before the deliberate selective breeding that produced modern domesticated sheep began."
For this to make sense, Mouflon sheep would need to be similar to "early domesticated sheep." In fact, they'd need to be more similar to "early domesticated sheep" than "modern domesticated sheep" are. Otherwise, wild Mouflon sheep would NOT provide a picture of what early domesticated sheep looked like before selective breeding began.
From another angle -- what if (D) were NOT true? What if today's domesticated sheep were more similar to to early domesticated sheep than today's wild Mouflon sheep are?
Well, the argument would fall apart. Because in that case, modern domestic sheep would provide a better picture of early domestic sheep than wild Mouflon sheep would. And if that were the case, Mouflon sheep would NOT provide a picture of what "early domesticated sheep looked liked" before the selective breeding that produced modern sheep began. For that picture, we'd have to look at today's domesticated sheep.
So because the statement is necessary for the argument to hold, it's an assumption and (D) correct.
I hope that helps!
GMATNinja
Can you please explain the bold sentences, how modern ships providing a better picture of early domestic sheep than wild mouflon leads to Mouflon sheep "NOT" providing a picture of early domesticated sheep?
08 Dec 2023, 16:38
Kudos
Bookmarks
shanks2020
GMATNinja
tkorzhan1995
GMATNinja, can you please explain why A is not correct?
MS is the descendant of ships that escaped domestication=wild ships. MS provides a picture of how domesticated ships looked like before the deliberate selective breeding began. I struggle to understand the linkage between being descendant of ships that escaped domestication, and providing archeologists with the picture of what early domesticated ships looked like.
Let's start by figuring out the structure of the argument.MS is the descendant of ships that escaped domestication=wild ships. MS provides a picture of how domesticated ships looked like before the deliberate selective breeding began. I struggle to understand the linkage between being descendant of ships that escaped domestication, and providing archeologists with the picture of what early domesticated ships looked like.
The argument concludes that wild Mouflon sheep "provide archaeologists with a picture of what some early domesticated sheep looked like, before the deliberate selective breeding that produced modern domesticated sheep began." This conclusion is supported by the fact that wild Mouflon sheep "are direct descendants of sheep that escaped from domestication on the island 8,000 years ago."
But how does this support the conclusion?
Well, today's Mouflon sheep are apparently descendants of early domesticated sheep. That is, they are the descendants of sheep that "escaped from domestication."
Put another way -- 8,000 years ago, some sheep escaped from domestication. In other words, they were domesticated, but then they escaped. Their descendants are today's wild Mouflon sheep. So wild Mouflon sheep are descended from sheep which were domesticated 8,000 years ago, but then escaped.
Let's now consider (A):
Quote:
The argument above makes which of the following assumptions?
(A) The domesticated sheep of 8,000 years ago were quite dissimilar from the wild sheep of the time.
(A) The domesticated sheep of 8,000 years ago were quite dissimilar from the wild sheep of the time.
An assumption is a statement that strengthens an argument and that is necessary to draw the conclusion. So how does (A) affect the argument?
Notice that the argument doesn't have anything to do with the wild sheep of 8,000 years ago. Rather, we're trying to establish that today's wild Mouflon sheep are similar to the domesticated sheep that escaped 8,000 years ago. So (A) isn't relevant.
One side note -- notice the sheep which "escaped domestication" 8,000 years ago are different than the "wild sheep of the time" (i.e. the wild sheep from 8,000 years ago). Presumably, the "wild sheep of the time" were not domesticated at all, and never "escaped domestication." Rather, they were born wild.
Let's now consider (D):
Quote:
Mouflon sheep are more similar to their fore bears of 8,000 years ago than modern domesticated sheep are to theirs.
Is this statement necessary to draw the conclusion?
Well, we're trying to conclude that Mouflon sheep "provide archaeologists with a picture of what some early domesticated sheep looked like, before the deliberate selective breeding that produced modern domesticated sheep began."
For this to make sense, Mouflon sheep would need to be similar to "early domesticated sheep." In fact, they'd need to be more similar to "early domesticated sheep" than "modern domesticated sheep" are. Otherwise, wild Mouflon sheep would NOT provide a picture of what early domesticated sheep looked like before selective breeding began.
From another angle -- what if (D) were NOT true? What if today's domesticated sheep were more similar to to early domesticated sheep than today's wild Mouflon sheep are?
Well, the argument would fall apart. Because in that case, modern domestic sheep would provide a better picture of early domestic sheep than wild Mouflon sheep would. And if that were the case, Mouflon sheep would NOT provide a picture of what "early domesticated sheep looked liked" before the selective breeding that produced modern sheep began. For that picture, we'd have to look at today's domesticated sheep.
So because the statement is necessary for the argument to hold, it's an assumption and (D) correct.
I hope that helps!
GMATNinja
Can you please explain the bold sentences, how modern ships providing a better picture of early domestic sheep than wild mouflon leads to Mouflon sheep "NOT" providing a picture of early domesticated sheep?
How does the author support this? They tell us that wild Mouflon sheep are direct descendants of earlier sheep that escaped domestication. So if the Mouflon sheep are similar to these earlier "forebears of 8,000 years ago," the conclusion would make sense.
Implicit in this argument is the idea that modern domesticated sheep no longer resemble early domesticated sheep. Because if they did, we could just look at modern domesticated sheep to see an example of early domesticated sheep. In other words, archaeologists would NOT have to look at wild Mouflon sheep for this example.
So how does (D) affect all this?
Notice the argument hinges on the idea that wild Mouflon sheep are not only similar to their forebears, but MORE similar than modern domesticated sheep are to theirs. Otherwise, modern domesticated sheep (NOT wild Mouflons) would provide an example of early domesticated sheep.
I hope that helps!
