Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 23:36 It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 23:36
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
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
Back to Forum
Create Topic
805+ Level|   Weaken|      
User avatar
akela
User avatar
Joined: 30 Jan 2016
Last visit: 23 May 2023
Posts: 1,227
Own Kudos:
5,927
 [39]
Given Kudos: 128
Products:
My Reviews
Posts: 1,227
Kudos: 5,927
 [39]
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of Updated on: 19 Sep 2018, 02:54
Originally posted by akela on 30 Aug 2017, 09:26.
Last edited by Bunuel on 19 Sep 2018, 02:54, edited 2 times in total.
6
Kudos
Add Kudos
33
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

95% (hard)

Question Stats:

33% (02:17) correct 67% (02:22) wrong based on 859 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of smell. In one important study, 100 workers from sulfur-emitting factories and a control group of 100 workers from other occupations were asked to identify a variety of chemically reproduced scents, including those of foods, spices, and flowers. On average, the factory workers successfully identified 10 percent of the scents compared to 50 percent for the control group.

Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument EXCEPT:

(A) The chemicals used in the study closely but not perfectly reproduced the corresponding natural scents.
(B) The subjects in the study were tested in the environments where they usually work.
(C) Most members of the control group had participated in several earlier studies that involved the identification of scents.
(D) Every sulfur-emitting factory with workers participating in the study also emits other noxious fumes.
(E) Because of the factories’ locations, the factory workers were less likely than those in the control group to have been exposed to many of the scents used in the study.

LSAT
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
A
User avatar
sobby
User avatar
Current Student
Joined: 14 Nov 2014
Last visit: 24 Jan 2022
Posts: 444
Own Kudos:
391
Given Kudos: 54
Location: India
Schools: Rotman '20 (S) Kelley '21 (S)  (A)
GMAT 1: 700 Q50 V34
GPA: 3.76
Schools: Rotman '20 (S) Kelley '21 (S)  (A)
GMAT 1: 700 Q50 V34
Posts: 444
Kudos: 391
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 30 Aug 2017, 11:23
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Masshole
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of smell. In one important study, 100 workers from sulfur-emitting factories and a control group of 100 workers from other occupations were asked to identify a variety of chemically reproduced scents, including those of foods, spices, and flowers. On average, the factory workers successfully identified 10 percent of the scents compared to 50 percent for the control group.

Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument EXCEPT:

(A) The chemicals used in the study closely but not perfectly reproduced the corresponding natural scents.
(B) The subjects in the study were tested in the environments where they usually work.
(C) Most members of the control group had participated in several earlier studies that involved the identification of scents.
(D) Every sulfur-emitting factory with workers participating in the study also emits other noxious fumes.
(E) Because of the factories’ locations, the factory workers were less likely than those in the control group to have been exposed to many of the scents used in the study.



LSAT
Show more

Apart from A , each option is giving a reason to doubt on the experiment ... both group have same food to smell..so balance ...

in B - test is performed in different Env...
C- kind of biased test
D-alternate cause of problem
E-again factory worker are not aware of many scents ...
User avatar
akela
User avatar
Joined: 30 Jan 2016
Last visit: 23 May 2023
Posts: 1,227
Own Kudos:
5,927
 [3]
Given Kudos: 128
Products:
My Reviews
Posts: 1,227
Kudos: 5,927
 [3]
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 08 Sep 2017, 02:50
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Quote:
Task: Eliminate the four answers that weaken the argument (select the one answer that is irrelevant or strengthens)

Argument Core:

Conc -
prolonged exposure to sulfur permanently damages one's sense of smell

why?
Prem -
Study (100 sulfur workers vs. 100 other workers ... sulfur workers were less able to identify scents of foods, spices, flowers, etc.)

How might we Weaken this?

I typically start with important terms from the Conclusion and make sure they've been properly established in the Evidence or Linked to it.

How do we know these factory workers have suffered PERMANENT exposure?

How do we know that the sulfur workers have actually had PROLONGED exposure to sulfur fumes?

But I would also anticipate LSAT's usual bag of tricks in weakening an argument based on a Study / Explanation / Causality
- unrepresentative samples
- poor methodology
- anything else that suggests an alternative explanation for the study results / points to another significant difference between the two groups

(A) Hmmm, this doesn't seem to do much. Sure the chemical replacements weren't perfect, but that's an incredibly high standard. Plus, even if they were less than perfect, we still have to figure out why the sulfur workers did so much worse than the other workers. This brings up an attribute of the study that equally affects both groups. Keep it, this is probably the answer.

(B) This weakens by pointing to a significant difference between the two groups. If you took a smell test somewhere where there are heavy sulfur fumes hanging in the air (as the sulfur workers did), then OF COURSE it's hard to identify scents. All you can smell is the sulfur! That doesn't prove the sulfur workers have had their sense of smell damaged ... it just shows that the sulfur overpowered the scents that were being tested. Eliminate.

(C) Significant difference between the two groups! The control group was already good at this task ... they've been primed to perform better at this task by having previous experience with it.

(D) Alternative cause! Maybe the sulfur workers perform worse because some OTHER noxious fume at their work has damaged their sense of smell. Eliminate.

(E) Significant difference between the two groups! The sulfur workers aren't even familiar with some of the scents being tested, so they wouldn't be able to successfully identify them, whether or not their sense of smell had been damaged.

(A) is the correct answer. The easiest way to "feel" how it's different from all the others is to see that it points out a "sameness", whereas all the correct answers point out a DISTINCTION between the sulfur workers and the control group.
Show more
User avatar
chesstitans
User avatar
Joined: 12 Dec 2016
Last visit: 20 Nov 2019
Posts: 987
Own Kudos:
1,923
Given Kudos: 2,562
Location: United States
Schools: Stanford '19 Carroll '19 LBS '19
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V33
GPA: 3.64
Schools: Stanford '19 Carroll '19 LBS '19
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V33
Posts: 987
Kudos: 1,923
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 14 Sep 2017, 14:40
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
yes, although A is not the causal relation, A strengthens the argument.
D gives an alternative causes that may damage the sense ability.
B is an biased test.
C and E are clearly wrong.
User avatar
gmat1393
User avatar
Share GMAT Experience Moderator
Joined: 25 Apr 2018
Last visit: 19 Dec 2022
Posts: 644
Own Kudos:
2,545
Given Kudos: 199
GMAT 1: 680 Q49 V34
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 1: 680 Q49 V34
Posts: 644
Kudos: 2,545
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 08 Dec 2019, 10:12
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bumping this post for discussion
User avatar
RohitSaluja
User avatar
Joined: 02 Aug 2020
Last visit: 21 Sep 2024
Posts: 213
Own Kudos:
92
Given Kudos: 254
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Healthcare
Schools: HEC'22 (J)
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
GPA: 3.8
WE:Consulting (Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: HEC'22 (J)
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
Posts: 213
Kudos: 92
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 17 May 2021, 21:25
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Akela
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of smell. In one important study, 100 workers from sulfur-emitting factories and a control group of 100 workers from other occupations were asked to identify a variety of chemically reproduced scents, including those of foods, spices, and flowers. On average, the factory workers successfully identified 10 percent of the scents compared to 50 percent for the control group.

Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument EXCEPT:

(A) The chemicals used in the study closely but not perfectly reproduced the corresponding natural scents.
(B) The subjects in the study were tested in the environments where they usually work.
(C) Most members of the control group had participated in several earlier studies that involved the identification of scents.
(D) Every sulfur-emitting factory with workers participating in the study also emits other noxious fumes.
(E) Because of the factories’ locations, the factory workers were less likely than those in the control group to have been exposed to many of the scents used in the study.

LSAT
Show more

Hi VeritasKarishma GMATNinja please help here, I selected A because it sort of strengthens the argument i.e. the scents used in the test closely resembled natural scents - This implies that there were no issues with the scents used indicating they should've been identified but still only 10% of factory workers were able to identify compared to 50% of the control group, With this, we can argue that yes factory worker sense of smell has been damaged. But I am not sure what is B doing to the argument.

Apprciate your time on this. Thanks in advance
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 16,267
Own Kudos:
76,984
 [1]
Given Kudos: 482
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,267
Kudos: 76,984
 [1]
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 18 May 2021, 23:43
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Akela
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of smell. In one important study, 100 workers from sulfur-emitting factories and a control group of 100 workers from other occupations were asked to identify a variety of chemically reproduced scents, including those of foods, spices, and flowers. On average, the factory workers successfully identified 10 percent of the scents compared to 50 percent for the control group.

Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument EXCEPT:

(A) The chemicals used in the study closely but not perfectly reproduced the corresponding natural scents.
(B) The subjects in the study were tested in the environments where they usually work.
(C) Most members of the control group had participated in several earlier studies that involved the identification of scents.
(D) Every sulfur-emitting factory with workers participating in the study also emits other noxious fumes.
(E) Because of the factories’ locations, the factory workers were less likely than those in the control group to have been exposed to many of the scents used in the study.

LSAT
Show more

- 100 workers from sulfur-emitting factories and a control group of 100 workers from other occupations were asked to identify a variety of chemically reproduced scents, including those of foods, spices, and flowers.
- On average, the factory workers successfully identified 10 percent of the scents compared to 50 percent for the control group.

Conclusion: Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of smell.

The conclusion says that sulphur fumes damage sense of smell.

(A) The chemicals used in the study closely but not perfectly reproduced the corresponding natural scents.

Whether they were exact replicas or slightly off, doesn't matter. Both groups got the same scents. If 50% of the control group was able to identify, but only 10% of sulphur group was able to identify then there seems to be some loss of smell in the sulphur group.
Option (A) doesn't impact the conclusion.

(B) The subjects in the study were tested in the environments where they usually work.

If the subjects were tested where they work, sulphur factory workers were tested in sulphur factories. So the sulphur fumes could have distorted the smells. We cannot conclude that the sulphur factory workers sense of smell is permanently damaged then. This weakens our conclusion.

(C) Most members of the control group had participated in several earlier studies that involved the identification of scents.

The control group people were experienced in identifying smells. It could account for their superior performance. IT weakens our argument.

(D) Every sulfur-emitting factory with workers participating in the study also emits other noxious fumes.

The loss of smell could be because of something other than sulphur. But our conclusion says that sulphur is the cause. It weakens our conclusion.

(E) Because of the factories’ locations, the factory workers were less likely than those in the control group to have been exposed to many of the scents used in the study.

If the sulphur factory workers do not know what many things smell like, that could be the reason they could not identify the smell. Weakens our conclusion.

Answer (A)
avatar
GAngstA
avatar
Joined: 01 Feb 2021
Last visit: 05 Jul 2022
Posts: 59
Own Kudos:
8
Given Kudos: 22
Posts: 59
Kudos: 8
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 19 May 2021, 09:45
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
having trouble with CR, any strategy to tackle CR,
if some have guide or trick to solve, request you to link it!!!!
User avatar
RohitSaluja
User avatar
Joined: 02 Aug 2020
Last visit: 21 Sep 2024
Posts: 213
Own Kudos:
92
 [1]
Given Kudos: 254
Location: India
Concentration: General Management, Healthcare
Schools: HEC'22 (J)
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
GPA: 3.8
WE:Consulting (Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: HEC'22 (J)
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
Posts: 213
Kudos: 92
 [1]
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 19 May 2021, 10:05
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GAngstA
having trouble with CR, any strategy to tackle CR,
if some have guide or trick to solve, request you to link it!!!!
Show more

Hi GAngstA thanks for your post, have you tried going through the PowerScope bible? It would certainly help you build the basic concepts on how to identify and approach each type of CR question. After going through PowerScope, you can start practicing sub-600 level questions of each category, and then start with difficult level questions. Also, GMATNinja videos and intro guide to CR will help you a lot. Below is the link for the same

1. https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-ninja-live-youtube-videos-by-topic-309678.html#p2396353

I hope this helps.
User avatar
unraveled
User avatar
Joined: 07 Mar 2019
Last visit: 10 Apr 2025
Posts: 2,721
Own Kudos:
2,258
Given Kudos: 763
Location: India
WE:Sales (Energy)
Posts: 2,721
Kudos: 2,258
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 26 Nov 2022, 06:05
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of smell. In one important study, 100 workers from sulfur-emitting factories and a control group of 100 workers from other occupations were asked to identify a variety of chemically reproduced scents, including those of foods, spices, and flowers. On average, the factory workers successfully identified 10 percent of the scents compared to 50 percent for the control group.

Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument EXCEPT:

(A) The chemicals used in the study closely but not perfectly reproduced the corresponding natural scents.
(B) The subjects in the study were tested in the environments where they usually work.
(C) Most members of the control group had participated in several earlier studies that involved the identification of scents.
(D) Every sulfur-emitting factory with workers participating in the study also emits other noxious fumes.
(E) Because of the factories’ locations, the factory workers were less likely than those in the control group to have been exposed to many of the scents used in the study.

Two groups, one of sulphur-emitting factory workers and one of other occupations, are studied in an experiment in which it is identified that prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of smell. How?? It is given in the last sentence of the passage.

What makes the claim go wrong that it was not sulphur fumes behind such a result?

It was close call between A and D. Having considered A earlier, I fell for D. It was because I considered sulphur as noxious fume forgetting about "other". Anyway it was not sulphur but other noxious fumes for such a result.
A neither weakens nor strengthens the claim in the passage.

Answer A.
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,834
Own Kudos:
986
Posts: 18,834
Kudos: 986
Prolonged exposure to sulfur fumes permanently damages one's sense of 06 Nov 2024, 00:48
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7445 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
miag
188 posts