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605-655 (Medium)|   Assumption|                  
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 03 Jul 2021, 13:10
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent less particulate pollution than the engine made by its main rival, Onez, now widely used in Marania; Ythex's engine is well-suited for use in the thriving warehousing businesses in Marania, although it costs more than the Onez engine. The Maranian government plans to ban within the next two years the use of diesel engines with more than 80 percent of current diesel engine particulate emissions in Marania, and Onez will probably not be able to retool its engine to reduce emissions to reach this target. So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above depends?
Conclusion: The Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time.
A. Marania's warehousing and transshipment business buys more diesel engines of any size than other types of engines.
B. Ythex is likely to be able to reduce the cost of its small diesel engine within the next two years.Great news for Ythex. But this does not affect sales.
C. The Maranian government is generally favorable to anti-pollution regulations.This does not affect Ythex sales in Marania
D. The government's ban on high levels of pollution caused by diesel engines, if passed, will not be difficult to enforce. [color=#ff0000]Ok, but this does not affect how Ythex engines to be sold.[/color]
E. The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.Correct, if other manufactures HAVE produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex, the argument falls apart because Ythex may not sell as well as anticipated.
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les Updated on: 29 May 2022, 20:12
Originally posted by Dinesh654 on 28 May 2022, 17:30.
Last edited by Dinesh654 on 29 May 2022, 20:12, edited 1 time in total.
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Hello experts,
E looks like a strengthener to me,
It doesn't look like a- must be case

Reasons I eliminated E-
It says- if there are any , what if there are none?
In that case argument can hold.
It's not a must be case.

Second, even if there are other good Diesel engines available, Ythex engine could still sell well. May be when most of engines will be banned and there will be only two and both of them could sell their products very well.

Is it something related with the word- ought to?
Maybe I didn't understand the conclusion exactly? What's the exact meaning of ought to? I thought it means should.

Just like E, A looked liked a strengthener to me, ended up marking A?
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 28 May 2022, 20:59
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Hello experts,
E looks like a strengthener to me,
It doesn???t look like a- must be case

Reasons I eliminated E-
It says- if there are any , what if there are none?
In that case argument can hold.
It???s not a must be case.

Second, even if there are other good Diesel engines available, Ythex engine could still sell well. May be when most of engines will be banned and there will be only two and both of them could sell their products very well.

Is it something related with the word- ought to?
Maybe I didn???t understand the conclusion exactly? What???s the exact meaning of ought to? I thought it means should.

Just like E, A looked liked a strengthener to me, ended up marking A.????
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"Ought to" does mean "should."

So, the conclusion is basically that it is likely that the Ythex engine will sell well in Marania after that time.

Regarding the idea that (E) doesn't have to be true in order for the conclusion to be true, what you're saying is correct, but the evidence doesn't support the conclusion very well if (E) isn't true.

The "if there are any" part doesn't make a material difference. The assumption stated by (E) is that there is not another engine that will compete with the Ythex engine. The "if there are any" part is just an acknowledgement within the assumption that they may not even be other manufacturers. There may be though.

So, since (A), (C), and (D) make no difference to the argument at all and the negation of (B) does not undermine the support the premises provide for the conclusion at all, (E) is the best answer.
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 30 Oct 2022, 07:02
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GMATNinja
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Conclusion: if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time.
E is correct IMHO,
Ythex engine is expensive but there is nothing pushing the businesses to switch to this engine. The ban, if enforced, will ultimately mean they have to switch from their current engines. If there is another company that makes inexpensive, more popular and cleaner engines, surely the businesses will switch to that engine.
D is close, but there is no reason to believe that difficulty in enforcing a ban doesn't mean that the ban WILL NOT be enforced at some point.
sayiurway
I was able to narrow down to D and E but ended up choosing the wrong answer D.

Answer D weakens the conclusion that "So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time". However, the fact that the law is difficult to be enforced does not mean that it will never be enforced.

Otherwise, if we negate the answer E "Other manufacturers can produce engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's", it clearly breaks the conclusion.

Quote:
D. The government's ban on high levels of pollution caused by diesel engines, if passed, will not be difficult to enforce.

Manang and sayiurway are spot on! Just because the ban is difficult to enforce does not mean that it will not be enforced! In order for (D) to work, we'd have to assume that the level of difficulty will actually prevent Marania from enforcing the law.

Quote:

E. The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.

Consider the logic of the passage: Ythex's main rival is Onez. Onez's product is currently widely used and cheaper than Ythex's new product. However, if the ban is passed, the use of Onez's product will be banned.

The specific logic here is that Ythex's product ought to sell well BECAUSE the ban will eliminate Ythex's main competition. But if other manufacturer's have produced a new product that is JUST AS popular and clean-running as Ythex's product, then Ythex WILL in fact have new competition. If there would be new competition, then we cannot reason that Ythex's product ought to sell well BECAUSE the ban will elimination competition!

In other words, the argument is that Ythex's product ought to sell well when Onez's product goes away. But if other products (regardless of how many) will enter the market when Onez's product goes away, then we have no idea whether competition will increase, decrease, or stay the same. Without (E), we cannot conclude that Ythex's new product ought to sell well.

kausikS

Why is A wrong?
Negate A:Marania's warehousing and transshipment business buys a few diesel engines of any size than other types of engines.
This shatters the conclusion that the sale of Ythrex should rise right?

Quote:
A. Marania's warehousing and transshipment business buys more diesel engines of any size than other types of engines.

How the number of diesel engines compares to the number of other types of engines does not matter. Maybe diesel engines only represent 10% of the total engines. Regardless, "Ythex's engine is well-suited for use in the thriving warehousing businesses in Marania." We don't care how sales of the new diesel engine compare to sales of other engines.

If the currently used diesel engines are banned and warehousing businesses replace the banned engines with Ythrex's new product, then Ythrex's new product ought to sell well.

I hope that helps!
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GMATNinja

When you say, "In order for (D) to work, we'd have to assume that the level of difficulty will actually prevent Marania from enforcing the law" does this mean that even if the law was only slightly effective (10% of the population abided to it), Onez engines could still sell well because 10% of the population now abides to the new ban?

What if this small percentage of the population already had a Onez engine?

Thank you!
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 20 Nov 2022, 12:36
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woohoo921
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Manang
Conclusion: if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time.
E is correct IMHO,
Ythex engine is expensive but there is nothing pushing the businesses to switch to this engine. The ban, if enforced, will ultimately mean they have to switch from their current engines. If there is another company that makes inexpensive, more popular and cleaner engines, surely the businesses will switch to that engine.
D is close, but there is no reason to believe that difficulty in enforcing a ban doesn't mean that the ban WILL NOT be enforced at some point.
sayiurway
I was able to narrow down to D and E but ended up choosing the wrong answer D.

Answer D weakens the conclusion that "So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time". However, the fact that the law is difficult to be enforced does not mean that it will never be enforced.

Otherwise, if we negate the answer E "Other manufacturers can produce engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's", it clearly breaks the conclusion.

Quote:
D. The government's ban on high levels of pollution caused by diesel engines, if passed, will not be difficult to enforce.

Manang and sayiurway are spot on! Just because the ban is difficult to enforce does not mean that it will not be enforced! In order for (D) to work, we'd have to assume that the level of difficulty will actually prevent Marania from enforcing the law.

GMATNinja

When you say, "In order for (D) to work, we'd have to assume that the level of difficulty will actually prevent Marania from enforcing the law" does this mean that even if the law was only slightly effective (10% of the population abided to it), Onez engines could still sell well because 10% of the population now abides to the new ban?

What if this small percentage of the population already had a Onez engine?

Thank you!
Show more
Your analysis is conflating "difficult to enforce" with "won't actually be enforced that well." We just can't make that leap. Something can be difficult to enforce and still actually BE enforced -- for instance, maybe it's tough to enforce security measures in modern airports, but security officials go to great lengths to enforce these measures even though it's hard. We can't assume that the security officials just give up, or only partially enforce the rules, because it's difficult.

Similarly, we can't assume that the difficulty of enforcing the pollution ban will actually prevent the Maranian government from enforcing the rules. So there is no way to say that only a portion of the population will abide by the ban -- the government could still enforce the rules really well, even though it's difficult to do so.

I hope that helps!
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 17 Feb 2023, 01:59
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent less particulate pollution than the engine made by its main rival, Onez, now widely used in Marania; Ythex's engine is well-suited for use in the thriving warehousing businesses in Marania, although it costs more than the Onez engine. The Maranian government plans to ban within the next two years the use of diesel engines with more than 80 percent of current diesel engine particulate emissions in Marania, and Onez will probably not be able to retool its engine to reduce emissions to reach this target. So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above depends?

A. Marania's warehousing and transshipment business buys more diesel engines of any size than other types of engines.
B. Ythex is likely to be able to reduce the cost of its small diesel engine within the next two years.
C. The Maranian government is generally favorable to anti-pollution regulations.
D. The government's ban on high levels of pollution caused by diesel engines, if passed, will not be difficult to enforce.
E. The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.


CR75231.01
Verbal Review 2020 NEW QUESTION
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Hi Experts GMATNinja KarishmaB Bunuel egmat mgmat

I get the point that (E) when negated breaks the conclusion but I think there is a little issue with (E), and that's the reason I choose (D). I know I am wrong and that's why wanted your feedback on this issue.

In (E)
Quote:
The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.
Show more
But in the Q stem it says that the government plans to implement the within the next 2 years and currently there are no competitors. There may or may not be new companies which can come up with better cost effective designs. No company will inform beforehand if they are developing something new and can come up suddenly once the ban is implemented. Can you please elaborate more on this thought.

Thanks!
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 20 Feb 2023, 00:08
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Bunuel
Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent less particulate pollution than the engine made by its main rival, Onez, now widely used in Marania; Ythex's engine is well-suited for use in the thriving warehousing businesses in Marania, although it costs more than the Onez engine. The Maranian government plans to ban within the next two years the use of diesel engines with more than 80 percent of current diesel engine particulate emissions in Marania, and Onez will probably not be able to retool its engine to reduce emissions to reach this target. So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above depends?

A. Marania's warehousing and transshipment business buys more diesel engines of any size than other types of engines.
B. Ythex is likely to be able to reduce the cost of its small diesel engine within the next two years.
C. The Maranian government is generally favorable to anti-pollution regulations.
D. The government's ban on high levels of pollution caused by diesel engines, if passed, will not be difficult to enforce.
E. The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.


CR75231.01
Verbal Review 2020 NEW QUESTION

Hi Experts GMATNinja KarishmaB Bunuel egmat mgmat

I get the point that (E) when negated breaks the conclusion but I think there is a little issue with (E), and that's the reason I choose (D). I know I am wrong and that's why wanted your feedback on this issue.

In (E)
Quote:
The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.
But in the Q stem it says that the government plans to implement the within the next 2 years and currently there are no competitors. There may or may not be new companies which can come up with better cost effective designs. No company will inform beforehand if they are developing something new and can come up suddenly once the ban is implemented. Can you please elaborate more on this thought.

Thanks!
Show more

An assumption is what is necessary for the conclusion to hold, not sufficient.
It is necessary that at least as of now, other companies have not developed such an engine. If they have, then the Ythex engine will have competition so we cannot say that it will sell well.

Another assumption would be that no one is able to develop such an engine in the next two years too.
Another assumption is that most warehousing businesses will not switch to another kind of engine.
etc.

Hope the point is clear. Let me know if you have any doubts.
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 20 Feb 2023, 01:26
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Bunuel
Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent less particulate pollution than the engine made by its main rival, Onez, now widely used in Marania; Ythex's engine is well-suited for use in the thriving warehousing businesses in Marania, although it costs more than the Onez engine. The Maranian government plans to ban within the next two years the use of diesel engines with more than 80 percent of current diesel engine particulate emissions in Marania, and Onez will probably not be able to retool its engine to reduce emissions to reach this target. So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument above depends?

A. Marania's warehousing and transshipment business buys more diesel engines of any size than other types of engines.
B. Ythex is likely to be able to reduce the cost of its small diesel engine within the next two years.
C. The Maranian government is generally favorable to anti-pollution regulations.
D. The government's ban on high levels of pollution caused by diesel engines, if passed, will not be difficult to enforce.
E. The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.


CR75231.01
Verbal Review 2020 NEW QUESTION

Hi Experts GMATNinja KarishmaB Bunuel egmat mgmat

I get the point that (E) when negated breaks the conclusion but I think there is a little issue with (E), and that's the reason I choose (D). I know I am wrong and that's why wanted your feedback on this issue.

In (E)
Quote:
The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.
But in the Q stem it says that the government plans to implement the within the next 2 years and currently there are no competitors. There may or may not be new companies which can come up with better cost effective designs. No company will inform beforehand if they are developing something new and can come up suddenly once the ban is implemented. Can you please elaborate more on this thought.

Thanks!

An assumption is what is necessary for the conclusion to hold, not sufficient.
It is necessary that at least as of now, other companies have not developed such an engine. If they have, then the Ythex engine will have competition so we cannot say that it will sell well.

Another assumption would be that no one is able to develop such an engine in the next two years too.
Another assumption is that most warehousing businesses will not switch to another kind of engine.
etc.

Hope the point is clear. Let me know if you have any doubts.
Show more

Hi KarishmaB

Thanks for your response.

As you mentioned that the assumption might not be completely sufficient always and you pointed out other possible assumptions.

Quote:
But, I do have a question - "Is is not always the case that assumption must be true" ?
Show more
.

In this case this assumption can be false and other assumption might be true - "such as no other company is able to develop a new engine".

I am a bit confused.

Thanks again!
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 20 Feb 2023, 02:04
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But, I do have a question - "Is is not always the case that assumption must be true" ?

In this case this assumption can be false and other assumption might be true - "such as no other company is able to develop a new engine".

I am a bit confused.

Thanks again!
Show more

Our entire argument is based on "no competition for Ythex if the ban is passed in 2 years"

Because Onez (a popular brand) will not be able to retool in 2 years, we are concluding that Ythex (Onez's main competitor) will sell well. But we are assuming that no one else will have a diesel engine within specifications either in 2 years.
For this, both should be true - 'no other company has made such an engine as yet' and 'no other company will be able to make it in the next 2 years either'
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 19 Nov 2023, 09:17
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ravigupta2912 You certainly shouldn't expect to be able to predict every answer, but this is one that you might want to see coming, at least in broad terms. When I read it, I noticed that they compared the engine only to its main competitor, so I definitely wondered if other companies might be able to retool their factories more quickly or otherwise produce a competitive product. I also wondered if something might cause the new Ythex engine to become subject to the ban, although the existing wording did not hint at that. These ideas came up because I was trying to drive a wedge between the existing premises (lower pollution than competitor; competitor can't catch up in time to avoid ban) with the conclusion (this particular engine will sell well). It's worth continuing to work on prediction, and then always reviewing to see how you might have predicted any answers you didn't think of. Also, if you ended up predicting one of the wrong answers, you also want to review to see why that answer isn't what you need. Keep at it, but in the end, you'll need to be flexible, and sometimes you can spot an answer just fine when you didn't think of it beforehand.
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DmitryFarber KarishmaB MartyMurray GMATGuruNY GMATNinjaTwo
I request one of you to review my thought process. Thank you for bearing with me, as I tag multiple experts most of the times. It is my way of ensuring that I get at least one response as early as possible. Thanks again!

Did I make medium question more complicated? Or is my thinking clear? Definitely needs work, but what specifically needs to be worked on?

My thought process was mostly similar to what Dmitry Farber has mentioned above. But I did not think of the part of just mentioning one competitor until I read E.

Nonetheless, to evaluate this sentence and evaluate if there is another way that Ythex engine could be banned, I did the following: "The Maranian government plans to ban within the next two years the use of diesel engines with more than 80 percent of current diesel engine particulate emissions in Marania"

Ythex diesel engines produce 30% less pollution than its rival's. Let's assume Onez engines currently produce 70% of emissions. Therefore, Ythex will produce, 70% of 70%, total 49% pollution.
Govt. will ban any diesel engine that produces more than 80% of current emissions. Let's assume the max pollution is 70%, therefore anything above 80% of 70%, that is 56% will be banned. Ythex is below that limit. This helped me eliminate D. Theoretically as well, even if it is difficult to enforce, we cannot assume that ban won't be enforced.

I was stuck on A, but realized it is more irrelevant. How does the size matter? Probably a tricky distraction.

Finally E is the answer.
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 19 Nov 2023, 13:46
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I request one of you to review my thought process. Thank you for bearing with me, as I tag multiple experts most of the times. It is my way of ensuring that I get at least one response as early as possible. Thanks again!

Did I make medium question more complicated? Or is my thinking clear? Definitely needs work, but what specifically needs to be worked on?

My thought process was mostly similar to what Dmitry Farber has mentioned above. But I did not think of the part of just mentioning one competitor until I read E.

Nonetheless, to evaluate this sentence and evaluate if there is another way that Ythex engine could be banned, I did the following: "The Maranian government plans to ban within the next two years the use of diesel engines with more than 80 percent of current diesel engine particulate emissions in Marania"

Ythex diesel engines produce 30% less pollution than its rival's. Let's assume Onez engines currently produce 70% of emissions. Therefore, Ythex will produce, 70% of 70%, total 49% pollution.

Govt. will ban any diesel engine that produces more than 80% of current emissions. Let's assume the max pollution is 70%, therefore anything above 80% of 70%, that is 56% will be banned. Ythex is below that limit. This helped me eliminate D.
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The passage in this question is not written very well. So, it's not 100 percent clear what "80 percent of current diesel engine particulate emissions in Marania" means. At the same time, it appears to mean "80 percent of the typical particulate emissions of a diesel engine in Marania."

So, since, the passage says that Onez engines are "now widely used in Marania," it appears that Onez engines are typical diesel engines now used in Marania. So, it's likely that an Onez engine produces about 100 percent of the typical emissions typically produced by a diesel engine in Marania, not 70 percent, as you suggested is possible.

Also, since the passage says, "Onez will probably not be able to retool its engine to reduce emissions to reach this target," which is 70 percent of the typical emissions currently produced by a diesel engine in Marania, it appears that an Onez engine produces significantly more than 70 percent of the typical emissions of a diesel engine in Marania.

So, long story short, your reasoning doesn't fit the information provided and was not necessary.

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Theoretically as well, even if it is difficult to enforce, we cannot assume that ban won't be enforced.
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Yes, "difficult" does not mean "will not occur."

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I was stuck on A, but realized it is more irrelevant. How does the size matter? Probably a tricky distraction.
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Exactly.

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Finally E is the answer.
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Yes, E is a necessary assumption.
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 19 Nov 2023, 22:14
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ravigupta2912 You certainly shouldn't expect to be able to predict every answer, but this is one that you might want to see coming, at least in broad terms. When I read it, I noticed that they compared the engine only to its main competitor, so I definitely wondered if other companies might be able to retool their factories more quickly or otherwise produce a competitive product. I also wondered if something might cause the new Ythex engine to become subject to the ban, although the existing wording did not hint at that. These ideas came up because I was trying to drive a wedge between the existing premises (lower pollution than competitor; competitor can't catch up in time to avoid ban) with the conclusion (this particular engine will sell well). It's worth continuing to work on prediction, and then always reviewing to see how you might have predicted any answers you didn't think of. Also, if you ended up predicting one of the wrong answers, you also want to review to see why that answer isn't what you need. Keep at it, but in the end, you'll need to be flexible, and sometimes you can spot an answer just fine when you didn't think of it beforehand.


DmitryFarber KarishmaB MartyMurray GMATGuruNY GMATNinjaTwo
I request one of you to review my thought process. Thank you for bearing with me, as I tag multiple experts most of the times. It is my way of ensuring that I get at least one response as early as possible. Thanks again!

Did I make medium question more complicated? Or is my thinking clear? Definitely needs work, but what specifically needs to be worked on?

My thought process was mostly similar to what Dmitry Farber has mentioned above. But I did not think of the part of just mentioning one competitor until I read E.

Nonetheless, to evaluate this sentence and evaluate if there is another way that Ythex engine could be banned, I did the following: "The Maranian government plans to ban within the next two years the use of diesel engines with more than 80 percent of current diesel engine particulate emissions in Marania"

Ythex diesel engines produce 30% less pollution than its rival's. Let's assume Onez engines currently produce 70% of emissions. Therefore, Ythex will produce, 70% of 70%, total 49% pollution.
Govt. will ban any diesel engine that produces more than 80% of current emissions. Let's assume the max pollution is 70%, therefore anything above 80% of 70%, that is 56% will be banned. Ythex is below that limit. This helped me eliminate D. Theoretically as well, even if it is difficult to enforce, we cannot assume that ban won't be enforced.

I was stuck on A, but realized it is more irrelevant. How does the size matter? Probably a tricky distraction.

Finally E is the answer.
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There is no Math required here because frankly we can't do any Math. We don't know what exactly the '80% of current' means. All I can say for sure is that emissions need to be reduced; new Ythex engines have acceptable levels while Onex engines cannot be re-tooled on time to become acceptable. That's all.

I eliminated (D) because I have (E). Else I would worry about (D). It is weaker than (E) since 'difficult to enforce' doesn't mean will not be enforced but 'difficult to enforce' does mean issues in enforcing. In another context I might take it to mean that Onex engines will still be used.
Since the entire argument revolves around competition and the point being made is that Ythex will flourish because it will not have competition, so an assumption about no competition from another player makes more sense. Hence I chose (E). It was a close call though.
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 16 Oct 2024, 01:48
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I understand why D is incorrect but I have a doubt regarding E.

E. The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.

Other manufacturers not producing a cleaner engine now doesn't imply that it can't happen between now and 2 years, esp since the ban will be imposed 2 years later. Can someone please clarify?
The question asks us to find an assumption on which the argument depends. In other words, we're looking for an assumption that absolutely MUST be true in order for conclusion to hold water.

For instance, consider this example of a conclusion: "Tomorrow I will run away to a tropical island, assume an alternate identity, and live out the rest of my days as a lobsterwoman."

This conclusion depends on the assumption that "the Earth won't explode at some point today." If the Earth DOES explode, then my conclusion cannot occur. So, it is necessary to assume that the Earth won't explode.

However, this assumption doesn't GUARANTEE that my conclusion will come true. Even if the Earth doesn't explode I may never make it to the island, or I may be terrible at catching lobsters and will have to work as a GMAT tutor instead. :problem:

Back to the official question: you're absolutely right that (E) doesn't guarantee the conclusion -- maybe other companies will come up with a cleaner engine in the next two years! But that's ok, because the question doesn't ask for something that guarantees the conclusion. Instead, we're ask for something that is absolutely necessary in order for the conclusion to have a chance at being valid.

The conclusion completely falls apart if a bunch of other companies have an engine that can compete with Ythex under the new rules, because then we have no reason to believe that Ythex's engine will sell well.

So, we MUST assume that "other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine."

(E) is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!
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Can you please help me out here ?

I am able to eliminate all options (even E) :')

In E, "The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine"
Why do we have to assume it is as clean running as Ythex's.... what if the alternative is worse than Ythex's but acceptable under the new law? Hence, not a MBT statement. Not able to digest the logic of comparison here.

Expanding on this.. maybe users just wanna comply in a cheaper way and they go for this alternative (which could probably be cheaper) even more cheaper than Ythex's (considering Ythex is higher quality), the arguement goes for a toss.

I was able to prethink the assumption that no alternatives to Ythex exist in the market, hence sales will do well.

please let me know what I can do better here :)
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 18 Oct 2024, 22:43
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This gets to an interesting complication about details in necessary assumptions. Details in a POSITIVE statement make it less likely to be necessary, but that's not the case for negative statements. Consider this brief argument:

Tim doesn't feel well today.
He must have a virus.

Clearly, the author is assuming that Tim's illness wasn't caused by something other than a virus. So what about these possible answers?

A) Every time Tim is unwell, he has a respiratory virus.
B) Tim didn't overindulge in tequila last night at a movie premiere in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Is either of these necessary?
A) No. This would be a fantastic strengthener, but it isn't a necessary assumption at all. First, we don't need to know that ALL of Tim's illnesses are caused by viruses--just this one. Second, he doesn't need to have a respiratory virus in particular. If we negate A, we get "Sometimes when Tim is unwell, he does not have a respiratory virus." This doesn't mess up the argument. He could still have a virus (respiratory or otherwise) this time.

B) YES! This might seem oddly specific. But it's necessary that this did NOT happen. If he DID overindulge at that party in Tulsa, then maybe that's why he doesn't feel well today. That's what the negation would tell us.

So basically, if an assumption says that some specific thing did NOT happen, don't let those specifics put you off. Just ask "If those things WERE true, would it hurt the argument?" Getting to E in the Ythex question, if some competitor DID produce a popular, clean-running engine, then maybe Ythex's will sell well. Notice that this actually makes the answer better than a more open-ended answer along the lines of your prediction. If E just said "No alternatives exist," then the negation would be that alternatives DO exist. But that's not terribly compelling. Just because alternatives exist, why shouldn't Ythex's model do well? It does a bit to weaken, but it's not as devastating as knowing that there are alternatives that are both popular and viable.

Nipunh

Can you please help me out here ?

I am able to eliminate all options (even E) :')

In E, "The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine"
Why do we have to assume it is as clean running as Ythex's.... what if the alternative is worse than Ythex's but acceptable under the new law? Hence, not a MBT statement. Not able to digest the logic of comparison here.

Expanding on this.. maybe users just wanna comply in a cheaper way and they go for this alternative (which could probably be cheaper) even more cheaper than Ythex's (considering Ythex is higher quality), the arguement goes for a toss.

I was able to prethink the assumption that no alternatives to Ythex exist in the market, hence sales will do well.

please let me know what I can do better here :)
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 19 Oct 2024, 22:22
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The argument concludes that if the Maranian government passes the ban on diesel engines with more than 80 percent of current particulate emissions, Ythex's cleaner engine will sell well in Marania. This conclusion relies on some key assumptions.

Let's analyze the choices to find the assumption the argument depends on:

A. Marania's warehousing and transshipment business buys more diesel engines of any size than other types of engines.
This choice talks about the type of engines preferred by Marania's businesses but doesn't address the assumption needed to ensure Ythex's engine will sell well, specifically in the context of competition and emission standards.

B. Ythex is likely to be able to reduce the cost of its small diesel engine within the next two years.
While reducing the cost could boost sales, the argument does not claim that price reduction is necessary for Ythex to sell well. This isn't a required assumption for the argument.

C. The Maranian government is generally favorable to anti-pollution regulations.
This choice is related to the likelihood of the ban being passed, but the passage of the ban is already assumed in the argument. The assumption should instead focus on why Ythex's engine will succeed after the ban, not whether the ban will pass.

D. The government's ban on high levels of pollution caused by diesel engines, if passed, will not be difficult to enforce.
This choice strengthens the idea that the ban will have its intended effect and ensure that high-emission engines will be removed from the market. If the ban is difficult to enforce, Onez's engine might continue to be used, weakening the argument that Ythex will sell well. This is a crucial assumption.

E. The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.
This choice is important because if other manufacturers already have engines that meet the emission standards, Ythex might face competition, which could hurt its sales. This assumption is necessary to ensure Ythex's competitive advantage.

Between D and E, both seem relevant. However, E addresses a more direct competitive threat to Ythex. If other manufacturers have clean engines, Ythex may not have the advantage the argument assumes. Therefore, the argument depends on E being true.

Correct answer: E
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 13 Dec 2024, 06:01
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GMATNinja

The conclusion in the argument is - 'So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time'.

Ythen engine will sell well in Marania, only if the ban is passed. The term 'if', made me select Option C as the assumption for the argument. i.e. The Maranian government is generally favorable to anti-pollution regulations.

Kindly share your feedback on how to eliminate option C, and how to avoid such a mistake in the exam.

Thanks!
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 17 Dec 2024, 00:19
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Two things here:

1) Since we already know the government plans to enact the ban, it doesn't really help to know that the government supports anti-pollution regulations in general. This one is already planned, so we know they're in favor of it.
2) More importantly, the presence of IF actually means that we don't care if the ban is passed! The conclusion is conditional: If x, then y. So it's only making a prediction about what will happen if the ban is passed. That doesn't require the ban to be likely to pass. For instance, I might say "If you rob a bank, you will be arrested." This doesn't mean I think you will rob a bank. It just means that I have a belief about what WOULD happen if you DID happen to rob a bank. I'm not assuming you'll do it, and as long as you don't, my conclusion is unaffected.
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The conclusion in the argument is - 'So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time'.

Ythen engine will sell well in Marania, only if the ban is passed. The term 'if', made me select Option C as the assumption for the argument. i.e. The Maranian government is generally favorable to anti-pollution regulations.

Kindly share your feedback on how to eliminate option C, and how to avoid such a mistake in the exam.

Thanks!
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 17 Dec 2024, 07:56
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The conclusion in the argument is - 'So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time'.

Ythen engine will sell well in Marania, only if the ban is passed. The term 'if', made me select Option C as the assumption for the argument. i.e. The Maranian government is generally favorable to anti-pollution regulations.

Kindly share your feedback on how to eliminate option C, and how to avoid such a mistake in the exam.

Thanks!
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Actually, the "if" is the reason why (C) doesn't matter. We don't need to worry about how LIKELY it is for the ban to pass. All we need to think about is what's going to happen IF the ban does pass.

Even if there's only a TINY chance that the ban actually passes, that's fine -- the argument is only concerned with the hypothetical situation in which the ban does pass, and the likelihood of the ban actually passing has no bearing on the argument.

I hope that helps!
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 19 Apr 2025, 09:21
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I could prethink that future competition can hamper Ythex's predicted sale. However, I did not chose option E due to usage of the verb "have".

E. The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean running as Ythex’s new engine.

Per my understanding, "have" implies the current situation. But, author has explicitly stated that currently, the main rival is Onez. Had this option been rephrased as:
"The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, will not be able to produce an engine as popular and clean running as Ythex’s new engine.", or
"The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, cannot produce an engine as popular and clean running as Ythex’s new engine."
Then we could still talk about future competition in this answer choice.

I was able to understand why the option I chose earlier (option D) is incorrect. But, what's wrong with the above reasoning? Please help! :)
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Conclusion: if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time.
E is correct IMHO,
Ythex engine is expensive but there is nothing pushing the businesses to switch to this engine. The ban, if enforced, will ultimately mean they have to switch from their current engines. If there is another company that makes inexpensive, more popular and cleaner engines, surely the businesses will switch to that engine.
D is close, but there is no reason to believe that difficulty in enforcing a ban doesn't mean that the ban WILL NOT be enforced at some point.
sayiurway
I was able to narrow down to D and E but ended up choosing the wrong answer D.

Answer D weakens the conclusion that "So if the ban is passed, the Ythex engine ought to sell well in Marania after that time". However, the fact that the law is difficult to be enforced does not mean that it will never be enforced.

Otherwise, if we negate the answer E "Other manufacturers can produce engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's", it clearly breaks the conclusion.

Quote:
D. The government's ban on high levels of pollution caused by diesel engines, if passed, will not be difficult to enforce.

Manang and sayiurway are spot on! Just because the ban is difficult to enforce does not mean that it will not be enforced! In order for (D) to work, we'd have to assume that the level of difficulty will actually prevent Marania from enforcing the law.

Quote:

E. The other manufacturers of small diesel engines in Marania, if there are any, have not produced an engine as popular and clean-running as Ythex's new engine.

Consider the logic of the passage: Ythex's main rival is Onez. Onez's product is currently widely used and cheaper than Ythex's new product. However, if the ban is passed, the use of Onez's product will be banned.

The specific logic here is that Ythex's product ought to sell well BECAUSE the ban will eliminate Ythex's main competition. But if other manufacturer's have produced a new product that is JUST AS popular and clean-running as Ythex's product, then Ythex WILL in fact have new competition. If there would be new competition, then we cannot reason that Ythex's product ought to sell well BECAUSE the ban will elimination competition!

In other words, the argument is that Ythex's product ought to sell well when Onez's product goes away. But if other products (regardless of how many) will enter the market when Onez's product goes away, then we have no idea whether competition will increase, decrease, or stay the same. Without (E), we cannot conclude that Ythex's new product ought to sell well.

kausikS

Why is A wrong?
Negate A:Marania's warehousing and transshipment business buys a few diesel engines of any size than other types of engines.
This shatters the conclusion that the sale of Ythrex should rise right?

Quote:
A. Marania's warehousing and transshipment business buys more diesel engines of any size than other types of engines.

How the number of diesel engines compares to the number of other types of engines does not matter. Maybe diesel engines only represent 10% of the total engines. Regardless, "Ythex's engine is well-suited for use in the thriving warehousing businesses in Marania." We don't care how sales of the new diesel engine compare to sales of other engines.

If the currently used diesel engines are banned and warehousing businesses replace the banned engines with Ythrex's new product, then Ythrex's new product ought to sell well.

I hope that helps!
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Ythex has developed a small diesel engine that produces 30 percent les 22 Apr 2025, 01:53
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Keep in mind that stronger statements are a liability for assumption answers. One reason is that when negated, they become weaker. So when you make an assumption about what CAN NEVER happen, the negation just tells us what MIGHT be able to happen. Contrast the negation of E to the negation of your version:

E) Other mfrs HAVE produced a popular, clean-running engine.
Okay, this has actually happened. If so, then regardless of who the "main rival" is, perhaps these models will undercut Ythex's sales if Onez's is banned.

Alternate E) Other mfrs CAN produce a popular, clean-running engine.
Hmm. They CAN, but will they? Just because other companies have the ability to do something doesn't tell us that they will do so. This doesn't knock down the argument nearly as effectively as the negation of the original E.
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