Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Apr 2308:00 PM PDT
-09:00 PM PDT
Video explanations + diagnosis of 10 weakest areas + 150+ short videos + study plan!
Apr 2301:30 AM EDT
-02:30 AM EDT
Struggling with GMAT Verbal as a non-native speaker? Harsh improved his score from 595 to 695 in just 45 days—and scored a 99 %ile in Verbal (V88)! Learn how smart strategy, clarity, and guided prep helped him gain 100 points.
Apr 2512:30 AM EDT
-01:30 AM EDT
At one point, she believed GMAT wasn’t for her. After scoring 595, self-doubt crept in and she questioned her potential. But instead of quitting, she made the right strategic changes. The result? A remarkable comeback to 695. Check out how Saakshi did it.
Apr 2610:00 AM EDT
-11:00 AM EDT
The Target Test Prep course represents a quantum leap forward in GMAT preparation, a radical reinterpretation of the way that students should study. Try before you buy with a 5-day, full-access trial of the course for FREE!
Apr 2711:00 AM EDT
-12:00 PM EDT
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors
Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
13 Mar 2022, 09:51
Kudos
Bookmarks
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
80% (01:47) correct
20%
(02:02)
wrong
based on 1170
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Crowding on Mooreville’s subway frequently leads to delays, because it is difficult for passengers to exit from the trains. Over the next ten years, the Mooreville Transit Authority projects that subway ridership will increase by 20 percent. The authority plans to increase the number of daily train trips by only 5 percent over the same period. Officials predict that this increase is sufficient to ensure that the incidence of delays due to crowding does not increase.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest grounds for the officials’ prediction?
(A) The population of Mooreville is not expected to increase significantly in the next ten years.
(B) The Transit Authority also plans a 5 percent increase in the number of bus trips on routes that connect to subways.
(C) The Transit Authority projects that the number of Mooreville residents who commute to work by automobile will increase in the next ten years.
(D) Most of the projected increase in ridership is expected to occur in off-peak hours when trains now are sparsely used.
(E) The 5 percent increase in the number of train trips can be achieved without an equal increase in Transit Authority operational costs.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest grounds for the officials’ prediction?
(A) The population of Mooreville is not expected to increase significantly in the next ten years.
(B) The Transit Authority also plans a 5 percent increase in the number of bus trips on routes that connect to subways.
(C) The Transit Authority projects that the number of Mooreville residents who commute to work by automobile will increase in the next ten years.
(D) Most of the projected increase in ridership is expected to occur in off-peak hours when trains now are sparsely used.
(E) The 5 percent increase in the number of train trips can be achieved without an equal increase in Transit Authority operational costs.
Note: This question is similar to one from the OG. However, the second and third lines of the passage are different, as are answer choices (A) and (C).
Show SpoilerSource
ID: 500400
06085
06085
If this question felt shaky,
try an adaptive mini quiz of similar problems in
GMAT Club Forum Quiz →. Free plan gives 5 questions per day.
18 Mar 2022, 12:34
Kudos
Bookmarks
All right. Since there is no dialogue whatsoever on this question as of day five, I will get the ball rolling.
Why would this be so, given that ridership will increase by 20 percent? This presents a paradox, and a paradox can be solved by fitting in some missing piece of the puzzle. Which answer choice will supply that logically sound missing piece?
In the end, only answer choice (D) holds up as a strengthener. This may be an old question, and it may be on the easier side, but it has good bones, as it were, a solid structure on which to build a firm foundational understanding of the CR task.
Good luck with your studies.
- Andrew
Quote:
Note that if we are aiming to strengthen the officials' prediction, we need to understand exactly what that prediction entails. That prediction is as follows: [An increase in the number of daily train trips by 5 percent over the next ten years] is sufficient to ensure that the incidence of delays due to crowding [on Mooreville's subway] does not increase.
Why would this be so, given that ridership will increase by 20 percent? This presents a paradox, and a paradox can be solved by fitting in some missing piece of the puzzle. Which answer choice will supply that logically sound missing piece?
Quote:
Whether the population of the city at large is expected to increase is beside the point. The fact remains that ridership is expected to increase 20 percent (even if the population of the city remains the same). This information does not supply the reasonable explanation that we seek to reconcile two conflicting pieces of information and strengthen the prediction.
Quote:
Bus trips do not address the core problem of crowding on Mooreville's subway... because it is difficult for passengers to exit from the trains. Buses are nothing more than a distraction here. People might get to the subway faster, but what about when they need to get off?
Quote:
Again, this new information could be true, but it does not change the prediction that ridership [on the subway] will increase by 20 percent. Keep your eye on the prize to avoid chasing associations such as this one.
Quote:
If most of the increase affects off-peak hours, when fewer riders overall would be using the subway, then perhaps this 5 percent increase in the number of daily train trips could alleviate crowding during peak hours. The paradox is resolved, and the officials' prediction makes a lot more sense.
Quote:
Sure, a transit authority needs to consider its operational budget, but such costs have nothing to do with linking the conflicting pieces of information from the passage: a 20 percent increase in ridership, yet just a 5 percent increase in daily train trips to address and maybe fix a problem.
In the end, only answer choice (D) holds up as a strengthener. This may be an old question, and it may be on the easier side, but it has good bones, as it were, a solid structure on which to build a firm foundational understanding of the CR task.
Good luck with your studies.
- Andrew
General Discussion
25 Jun 2025, 08:08
Kudos
Bookmarks
Crowding on Mooreville’s subway frequently leads to delays, because it is difficult for passengers to exit from the trains. Over the next ten years, the Mooreville Transit Authority projects that subway ridership will increase by 20 percent. The authority plans to increase the number of daily train trips by only 5 percent over the same period. Officials predict that this increase is sufficient to ensure that the incidence of delays due to crowding does not increase.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest grounds for the officials’ prediction?
This question is a Strengthen Plan question.
Expected outcome of the plan:
ensure that the incidence of delays due to crowding does not increase
The plan:
increase the number of daily train trips by only 5 percent
As is fairly common in Plan questions, the passage doesn't explicitly provide a reason to believe the plan will work.
Rather, it provides a reason to wonder how the plan can work, which is the following:
the Mooreville Transit Authority projects that subway ridership will increase by 20 percent
So, the correct answer will provide reason to believe that a 5 percent increase in train trips will be sufficient for ensuring that the incidence of delays doesn't increase even though ridership will increase by 20 percent.
(A) The population of Mooreville is not expected to increase significantly in the next ten years.
This choice is tricky to eliminate because it could seem to indicate that the plan of increasing train trips by 5 percent will work because subway ridership won't increase because the population won't increase.
The issue with that line of reasoning is that the correct answer has to provide grounds for the expectation that the plan will work even though ridership is expected to increase by 20 percent.
So, this choice doesn't provide grounds for the officials' prediction.
Eliminate.
(B) The Transit Authority also plans a 5 percent increase in the number of bus trips on routes that connect to subways.
Adding more bus trips to the subways won't prevent overcrowding or delays of the subways.
Eliminate.
(C) The Transit Authority projects that the number of Mooreville residents who commute to work by automobile will increase in the next ten years.
The fact that the number of people commuting by automobile is expected to increase doesn't change the fact that subway ridership is expected to increase by 20 percent.
So, this choice doesn't provide a reason to believe that a 5 percent increase in train trips will be sufficient for handling a 20 percent increase in ridership.
Eliminate.
(D) Most of the projected increase in ridership is expected to occur in off-peak hours when trains now are sparsely used.
This choice is interesting.
After all, if most of the increase in ridership occurs in off-peak hours when trains now are sparsely used, then ridership on crowded subways won't increase much. After all, in that case, the increase in ridership will for the most part result in an increase in the number of riders on uncrowded trains, rather than in increased ridership during peak hours, when trains are crowded.
So, if this choice is true, then an increase of 5 percent in train trips may be sufficient for ensuring that there isn't an increase in crowding or delays.
Keep.
(E) The 5 percent increase in the number of train trips can be achieved without an equal increase in Transit Authority operational costs.
This choice supports the wrong prediction.
It supports a prediction along the lines of that the Transit Authority can afford to increase the number of train trips.
While this choice indicates that the plan may make sense financially, it doesn't provide grounds for the officials' prediction, which is not about finances or whether the plan makes sense in general.
Eliminate.
Correct answer: D
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest grounds for the officials’ prediction?
This question is a Strengthen Plan question.
Expected outcome of the plan:
ensure that the incidence of delays due to crowding does not increase
The plan:
increase the number of daily train trips by only 5 percent
As is fairly common in Plan questions, the passage doesn't explicitly provide a reason to believe the plan will work.
Rather, it provides a reason to wonder how the plan can work, which is the following:
the Mooreville Transit Authority projects that subway ridership will increase by 20 percent
So, the correct answer will provide reason to believe that a 5 percent increase in train trips will be sufficient for ensuring that the incidence of delays doesn't increase even though ridership will increase by 20 percent.
(A) The population of Mooreville is not expected to increase significantly in the next ten years.
This choice is tricky to eliminate because it could seem to indicate that the plan of increasing train trips by 5 percent will work because subway ridership won't increase because the population won't increase.
The issue with that line of reasoning is that the correct answer has to provide grounds for the expectation that the plan will work even though ridership is expected to increase by 20 percent.
So, this choice doesn't provide grounds for the officials' prediction.
Eliminate.
(B) The Transit Authority also plans a 5 percent increase in the number of bus trips on routes that connect to subways.
Adding more bus trips to the subways won't prevent overcrowding or delays of the subways.
Eliminate.
(C) The Transit Authority projects that the number of Mooreville residents who commute to work by automobile will increase in the next ten years.
The fact that the number of people commuting by automobile is expected to increase doesn't change the fact that subway ridership is expected to increase by 20 percent.
So, this choice doesn't provide a reason to believe that a 5 percent increase in train trips will be sufficient for handling a 20 percent increase in ridership.
Eliminate.
(D) Most of the projected increase in ridership is expected to occur in off-peak hours when trains now are sparsely used.
This choice is interesting.
After all, if most of the increase in ridership occurs in off-peak hours when trains now are sparsely used, then ridership on crowded subways won't increase much. After all, in that case, the increase in ridership will for the most part result in an increase in the number of riders on uncrowded trains, rather than in increased ridership during peak hours, when trains are crowded.
So, if this choice is true, then an increase of 5 percent in train trips may be sufficient for ensuring that there isn't an increase in crowding or delays.
Keep.
(E) The 5 percent increase in the number of train trips can be achieved without an equal increase in Transit Authority operational costs.
This choice supports the wrong prediction.
It supports a prediction along the lines of that the Transit Authority can afford to increase the number of train trips.
While this choice indicates that the plan may make sense financially, it doesn't provide grounds for the officials' prediction, which is not about finances or whether the plan makes sense in general.
Eliminate.
Correct answer: D
