The Dear One Baby Carrier is the safest and most comfortable baby carr

Question

The Dear One Baby Carrier is the safest and most comfortable baby carrier available today. The hard plastic exterior retains its shape when subjected to minor impacts, while the thick interior “comfort pad” acts as a shock absorber. The design is based on the results of the most comprehensive baby carrier study performed to date, which analyzed comfort preferences both of infants placed inside the carriers and of adults carrying the devices. As a bonus, the Dear One Baby Carrier converts easily from an at-large carrier to a car seat, reducing the risk to infants when they are being transferred from a carrier to a car seat.

Which of the following, if true, would most undermine the safety and comfort claims made about the Dear One Baby Carrier?

(A) The hard plastic exterior of the Dear One Baby Carrier does not retain its shape when dropped from an average carrying height.

(B) On average, the number of babies injured each year while riding in a car seat is greater than the number of babies injured each year while being transferred from a carrier to a car seat.

(C) According to the study on which the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier was based, the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of a baby carrier scheduled to be released next year by a rival company is significantly higher than the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of the Dear One Baby Carrier.

(D) Studies suggest that car seats that double as baby carriers are, on average, slightly less safe than single-function baby car seats.

(E) A rival company has successfully replicated the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier while utilizing a new type of plastic that is significantly stronger and lighter than the type used in the Dear One Baby Carrier.

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

The conclusion is that "the Dear One Baby Carrier is the safest and most comfortable baby carrier available today." The author then provides several pieces of evidence in support of that conclusion:

When subjected to minor impacts, the carrier's hard plastic exterior retains its shape while the thick interior "comfort pad" absorbs the shock, presumably protecting the baby from the impact. 
 When designing the carrier, the company took into consideration the comfort preferences of both the babies riding in the carrier and the adults carrying it (based on the most comprehensive baby carrier study to date). 
  The carrier converts easily from an at-large carrier to a car seat, reducing the risk to infants when they are being transferred from a carrier to a car seat.

Which of the following, if true, would most undermine the safety and comfort claims made about the Dear One Baby Carrier?

The author never claims that the exterior would retain its shape when the carrier is dropped from an average carrying height. The author only claims that it would retain its shape when subjected to minor impacts. Thus, choice (A) does not undermine the claims made in the passage and can be eliminated.

It doesn't matter how the number of transfer injuries compares to the number of car seat injuries. All that matters is whether the carrier reduces the risk to infants when they are being transferred from a carrier to a car seat. Choice (B) has no impact on the author's claims and can be eliminated.

The author only claims that "the Dear One Baby Carrier is the safest and most comfortable baby carrier available  today ." Thus, we do not care how the Dear One compares to a carrier that is scheduled to be released  next year . Eliminate (C).

Since dual-function carriers are only slightly less safe on average, there is no strong reason to believe that ALL dual-functions carriers are less safe than single-function baby car seats. The Dear One could easily be safer than the average dual-function carrier, in which case choice (D) would not necessarily undermine the author's claims. Eliminate (D).

If this is true, than the rival company's carrier will have all of the same advantages of the Dear One. In addition, the rival's carrier will have stronger and lighter plastic. In other words, the only difference between the two carriers is that the rival's has stronger and lighter plastic. This implies that the rival's carrier would be even safer and more comfortable than the Dear One, undermining the author's conclusion.

Choice (E) is the best answer.

sjpb · Answer

Definitely E. We are asked to look for the option that most undermines the claim made by the author that "The Dear One Baby Carrier is the safest and most comfortable baby carrier available today". So we are looking for some information that gives us proof that there is another carrier which is more comfortable and safer.

(A) The hard plastic exterior of the Dear One Baby Carrier does not retain its shape when dropped from an average carrying height.

Despite it gives us information that the Dear One Baby Carrier is not as safe as we might think, it could still be the "safest and most comfortable in the market". Not relevant.

(B) On average, the number of babies injured each year while riding in a car seat is greater than the number of babies injured each year while being transferred from a carrier to a car seat.

This gives us no information regarding how safe or comfortable is the Dear One Baby Carrier compared to other options available in the market.
 
(C) According to the study on which the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier was based, the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of a baby carrier scheduled to be released next year by a rival company is significantly higher than the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of the Dear One Baby Carrier.

Besides the fact that I find it strange that babies find one carrier more comfortable than the other, this option could be relevant but there is one detail that makes it incorrect. It says that there is a new design which is more comfortable (it would help us to undermine the statement), however, this new design is scheduled to be released next year. So even if it IS more comfortable it would still be incorrect since the Dear One Baby Carrier would continue to be the safest and most confortable option available in the market TODAY.

(D) Studies suggest that car seats that double as baby carriers are, on average, slightly less safe than single-function baby car seats.

I'm not a native speaker but I find "car seats that double as baby carriers are, on average, less..." to be strangely written. Maybe "double" is used in a way I don't know. Anyway, it's not relevant. It gives us no information regarding how safe is the Dear One Baby Carrier compared to other options available in the market.

(E) A rival company has successfully replicated the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier while utilizing a new type of plastic that is significantly stronger and lighter than the type used in the Dear One Baby Carrier.

This option is correct, it is exactly what I was looking for. It gives us proof that there is another option available in the market TODAY that replicated the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier but uses a new type of plastic that makes it stronger and lighter, therefore, making it safer.

gmatexam439 · Answer

Another tough one --> My answer: B (Awaiting OA)

The Dear One Baby Carrier is the safest and most comfortable baby carrier available today. The hard plastic exterior retains its shape when subjected to minor impacts, while the thick interior “comfort pad” acts as a shock absorber. The design is based on the results of the most comprehensive baby carrier study performed to date, which analyzed comfort preferences both of infants placed inside the carriers and of adults carrying the devices. As a bonus, the Dear One Baby Carrier converts easily from an at-large carrier to a car seat, reducing the risk to infants when they are being transferred from a carrier to a car seat.

Which of the following, if true, would most undermine the safety and comfort claims made about the Dear One Baby Carrier?

(A) The hard plastic exterior of the Dear One Baby Carrier does not retain its shape when dropped from an average carrying height. - This doesn't mean that the carrier is not safe. Maybe the shock absorbents absorb the shock very well that the outer layer can be made by using a lighter substance. 
(B) On average, the number of babies injured each year while riding in a car seat is greater than the number of babies injured each year while being transferred from a carrier to a car seat. - Correct. If the number of babies injured while riding a car is more than the number of babies injured while being transferred to the car, then that means that the carrier won't be safe most of the times. 
(C) According to the study on which the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier was based, the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of a baby carrier scheduled to be released next year by a rival company is significantly higher than the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of the Dear One Baby Carrier. - We are not worried about the comfort. 
(D) Studies suggest that car seats that double as baby carriers are, on average, slightly less safe than single-function baby car seats. - Okay, this option is comparing the car seat with the carrier. But, it doesn't mean that the carrier is not safe. For example, if a person uses an iphone and another one uses a google pixel, it doesn't mean that the pixel is not good. It's just that out of the two, iphone is better. 
(E) A rival company has successfully replicated the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier while utilizing a new type of plastic that is significantly stronger and lighter than the type used in the Dear One Baby Carrier. - We are not worried about the rival company's achievements

GMAT121217 · Answer

IMO D

ArguementL D one (Dear One) is safer and comfortable

Task: undermine safety/comfort

(A) The hard plastic exterior of the Dear One Baby Carrier does not retain its shape when dropped from an average carrying height. (OFS)
(B) On average, the number of babies injured each year while riding in a car seat is greater than the number of babies injured each year while being transferred from a carrier to a car seat. (this supports D one)
(C) According to the study on which the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier was based, the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of a baby carrier scheduled to be released next year by a rival company is significantly higher than the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of the Dear One Baby Carrier. (okay, but does this undermine their original claim?)
(D) Studies suggest that car seats that double as baby carriers are, on average, slightly less safe than single-function baby car seats. (Best option explaining why D one is not not as safe as advertised) 
(E) A rival company has successfully replicated the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier while utilizing a new type of plastic that is significantly stronger and lighter than the type used in the Dear One Baby Carrier. (OFS)

amargad0391 · Answer

Hi GMAT121217, In my opinion Option D is not correct. Because argument neither talks about "Car Seat double as baby carriers" nor about "Single function baby Car seats" (both describing about car seats). These issues are out of scope/irrelevant according to argument. BTW i am stuck between option A and option E

Hope it helps. Thanks

Squib17 · Answer

Took me 4:14 minutes to solve this

But I just wanted to be sure, since I had got the last QOTD wrong, because of a silly mistake. Let me highlight the important portions of the passage: CONCLUSION : The Dear One Baby Carrier is the safest and most comfortable baby carrier available today . Premise : The hard plastic exterior retains its shape when subjected to minor impacts, while the thick interior “comfort pad” acts as a shock absorber. The design is based on the results of the most comprehensive baby carrier study performed to date, which analyzed comfort preferences both of infants placed inside the carriers and of adults carrying the devices . As a bonus, the Dear One Baby Carrier converts easily from an at-large carrier to a car seat, reducing the risk to infants when they are being transferred from a carrier to a car seat. We need to weaken the argument, so we are looking for an answer option, which would tell us that DOBC is not the safest and comfortable carrier. Which of the following, if true, would most undermine the safety and comfort claims made about the Dear One Baby Carrier? (A) The hard plastic exterior of the Dear One Baby Carrier does not retain its shape when dropped from an average carrying height. Irrelevant: Even if it does not retain, that does not mean that it is not the "safest" and "most comfortable carrier" ] (B) On average, the number of babies injured each year while riding in a car seat is greater than the number of babies injured each year while being transferred from a carrier to a car seat. The last part of the premise about carrier and car seat, was just a bonus feature, so even if that was not satisfied, doesn't mean that DOBC is not the safest - discarded this option ] (C) According to the study on which the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier was based, the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of a baby carrier scheduled to be released next year by a rival company is significantly higher than the percentage of infants who prefer the comfort of the Dear One Baby Carrier. This option took up a lot of time - but I eliminated it using two reasons - rival carrier will be released next yea r, so as of now DOBC is the most comfortable! And nothing has been mentioned about the safety of the rival company, hence this does not undermine the argument completely - Hence removed ] (D) Studies suggest that car seats that double as baby carriers are, on average, slightly less safe than single-function baby car seats. Discarded it because of the same reasons mentioned in Option B ] (E) A rival company has successfully replicated the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier while utilizing a new type of plastic that is significantly stronger and lighter than the type used in the Dear One Baby Carrier. Now this could undermine the argument because - The replication is done! So now we have a rival who has a better product than DOBC, hence DOBC cannot be the safest and most comfortable. ] Correct Answer : E

Madhavi1990 · Answer

I have some trouble interpreting the conclusion - what it implies - it says 'Which of the following, if true, would most undermine the safety and comfort claims made about the Dear One Baby Carrier?' --> This can mean EITHER A) DOBC is not as safe as it claims (for whatever reason) or B) OTHER BRANDS can be safer

This deems both B and E correct --> B) says "On average, the number of babies injured each year while riding in a car seat is greater than the number of babies injured each year while being transferred from a carrier to a car seat." - [u]its a bonus, but it does reduce the veracity of the claim made by DOBC. For instance, even if 10 parents who bought the DOBC and used the bonus feature experienced some safety issues while riding with their baby [not transferring only], DOBC maybe deemed unsafe, thus undermining the conclusion[/u]
E) says 'A rival company has successfully replicated the design of the Dear One Baby Carrier while utilizing a new type of plastic that is significantly stronger and lighter than the type used in the Dear One Baby Carrier.' - this again doesn't undermine the claim, it just says xyz new brand is better at the safety than DOBC - but that doesn't mean DOBC is any less safe.

Request any help, especially experts, in clearing my reasoning. I'm sure there will be more questions like these

GMATNinja · Answer

The passage does not claim that babies riding in a DOBC car seat are 100% safe from injury. The passage simply claims that the DOBC is the  safest  baby carrier available today.

Choice (B) highlights that more babies are injured while riding in car seats than while being transferred to car seats. This makes sense (driving is by nature dangerous, while simply  transferring  a baby to a car seat is no riskier than putting a baby in a high chair or a crib). But does this make the DOBC unsafe? Who knows. Maybe babies are actually slightly safer riding in DOBC car seats than in other car seats. Choice (B) does not allow us to compare the DOBC to other car seats.

Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid car accidents, but this does not go against the claims in the passage. The car seats obviously do not CAUSE those accidents, but are babies riding in a DOBC car seat safer, less safe, or just as safe as babies riding in another car seat? We have no idea, and as long as the DOBC is safer than OTHER carriers, choice (B) does not impact the safety claims.

I hope that helps!

hohaddict · Answer

GMATNinja

I picked (A) because I thought that it attacked the premise that the carrier's hard plastic exterior would retain its shape when subjected to minor impacts.

Isn't the fact that just dropping the carrier from an average carrying height will compromise its shape, then, providing new info that destroys the claim's validity?

Ex. Oops I dropped it! Oh no, the shape just got warped, even though the company promised it wouldn't even against minor impacts.

Or am I assuming too much?
i.e. minor impact definition or average carrying height definition?

Thanks!

GMATNinjaTwo · Answer

As you noted, the key is the distinction between a "minor impact" and the impact "when dropped from an average carrying height". In order for (A) to be correct, we would have to assume that dropping the carrier from an average carrying height would only result in a "minor impact", and that might not be the case.

In other words, if faced with the statement in choice (A), the author could easily reply, "I said that the hard plastic exterior retains its shape when subjected to  minor impacts . Dropping the carrier from an average carrying height does not constitute a  minor  impact."

I hope that helps!

Tanichi · Answer

Just because the rival has designed a similar product doesn't mean its out in the market??!
i feel E is wrong because language is not precise!

jabhatta2 · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja  -

When one reviews the conclusion

Are 
i)   single-function baby car seats     
ii)  Car seats  that convert to   Baby Carriers     
iii)   Baby Carriers   that convert to  Car Seats

Are all three structure s- types of   baby carriers   ?

I only thought (ii) and (iii) were   baby carriers  . (i) may or may not be considered a   baby carrier

Hence i eliminatd D thinking -- option (i) is mentioned in answer D) but we dont even know if (i) is a   baby carrier   to begin with

Fair strategy or just got lucky you think ?

Thanks !

GMATNinja · Answer

Although you have a point, the reasoning laid out in  this post  is definitely more solid. This is because if the Dear One Baby Carrier was unsafe when placed in a car, then it would likely not be the safest baby carrier. You could argue that, when it functions as a car seat, it has ceased to be a baby carrier. But the product is still a baby carrier at its core.

So, its safety when placed in a car is relevant — even if we’re not comparing it to a car seats because they technically aren’t baby carriers.

I hope that helps!

jabhatta2 · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja  - thank you so much for responding. If my understanding is correct - you eliminated D because of the word  Average

By definition, an  Average  implies -- there will some cases indicating  car seats that double as baby carriers  are  equally or even more safe   than  single-function baby car seats.

An  average  by definition will have some points above the mean or equal to the mean.

Hence if option D variant had  removed  the word " Average " - then this option D variant would be a weakener

( Option D variant ) Studies suggest that car seats that double as baby carriers are,    on average   , slightly less safe than single-function baby car seats.

In this case -- this would be a legitimate weakener per your understanding correct ?

0ExtraTerrestrial · Answer

"The author never claims that the exterior would retain its shape when the carrier is dropped from an average carrying height.", agree, but read the opening sentence, the carrier not retaining its shape is indeed a weakener to that claim that it's the safest option available.

Posted from my mobile device

GMATNinja · Answer

I feel your pain here. It's certainly logical to want the carrier to retain its shape if you drop it, right? So my first time through, I'd have hung on to (A) also.

But here's the issue: we really don't know if other carriers would be any better. In other words, if 100% of carriers fail to retain their shape when dropped from an average carrying height, this one could, in theory, still be the best if it's better than the alternatives at retaining its shape in other circumstances.

(E) is just tougher to quibble with. If another company is making a stronger, lighter product, it's hard to argue that this one is still the safest and most comfortable, right?

This predicament -- choosing between two answers that both seem logical -- is typically the most challenging moment when doing CR questions. So that's when you want to poke and prod the options for weaknesses. ("If this is true, do I really know for sure that it's no longer the safest, most comfortable option?")

Put another way, it's not so much that (A) is a bad answer, necessarily. It's just that (E) is better and more definitive.

I hope that helps a bit!

Aarti0701 · Answer

Author claims it is best available today in first line of argument. Option E tells that rival company has replicated but does it imply availability today? it can be in research phase and can be available later not today. Can you please comment on the same?

RiyaJ0032 · Answer

in (A), average carrying height is a minor impact, the argument does claim that "The hard plastic exterior retains its shape when subjected to minor impacts" as one of the criteria for claiming the product to be safest

A attacks this that in minor impacts, the carrier won't retain it's shape and hence it's claim of the product being safest based on the claim that the product retains it's shape in minor impacts is weakened

Whereas in E,
just because the plastic used is stronger and lighter than the one currently used in Dear one baby carrier does not mean it makes dear one baby carrier less safe?

unless we know the safety from the dear one baby carrier comes entirely from the plastic used

the safety can come from a group of factors including plastic used, thick interior, exterior , etc.

so just because a competitor uses a better plastic, does not automatically make Dear One baby carrier less safe

Overall E is a weaker choice when compared to A

please if any one can clarify!

GMATNinja · Answer

You have a valid point, and there is certainly some ambiguity surrounding what is and what isn't a "minor" impact. That said, we can only go with (A) if we assume that the impact from dropping the carrier completely is just as minor as, say, bumping it on the edge of a door. It would be easy for the author to defend himself or herself against (A) by saying, "I never claimed that the hard plastic exterior of the Dear One Baby Carrier would retain its shape when dropped from an average carrying height . I only claimed that the hard plastic exterior would retain its shape when subjected to minor impacts ." (A) MIGHT undermine the author's claims, but only if have more information regarding what is and isn't a minor impact. (E) says that the rival carrier has the same design, so all other aspects should be the same. All else equal, if the rival carrier is lighter, it should be more comfortable to carry. If it's stronger, it should be safer. Without any other evidence, (E) certainly seems to undermine the author's claims. In short, we'd need more information to conclude that (A) DOES undermine the claims, and we'd need more information to conclude that (E) DOES NOT undermine the claims. Based on what's written, (E) is a better option. Then again, this is an unofficial question, so don't lose too much sleep over it.

The Dear One Baby Carrier is the safest and most comfortable baby carr

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The Dear One Baby Carrier is the safest and most comfortable baby carr

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