If the flowers Drew received today had been sent by someone who knows

Question

If the flowers Drew received today had been sent by someone who knows Drew well, that person would have known that Drew prefers violets to roses. Yet Drew received roses. On the other hand, if the flowers had been sent by someone who does not know Drew well, then that person would have sent a signed card with the flowers. Yet Drew received no card. Therefore, the florist must made some sort of mistake: either Drew was supposed to receive violets, or a card, or these flowers were intended for someone else.

Which of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument?

Which of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument?

(A) Most people send roses when they send flowers

(B) Some people send flowers for a reason other than the desire to please

(C) Someone who does not know Drew well would be unlikely to send Drew flowers

(D) The florist has never delivered the wrong flowers to Drew before

(E) Some people who know Drew well have sent Drew cards along with flowers

bv8562 · Accepted Answer

If the flowers Drew received today had been sent by someone who knows Drew well, that person would have known that Drew prefers violets to roses. Yet Drew received roses. On the other hand, if the flowers had been sent by someone who does not know Drew well, then that person would have sent a signed card with the flowers. Yet Drew received no card. Therefore, the florist must made some sort of mistake: either Drew was supposed to receive violets, or a card, or these flowers were intended for someone else.

Which of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument?

Which of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument?

(A)  Most people send roses when they send flowers  -  Even if what this choice says is true the argument could still hold based on the given premises.

(B)  Some people send flowers for a reason other than the desire to please  -  The conclusion is based these two premises:

1)  If the flowers Drew received today had been sent by someone who knows Drew well, that person would have known that Drew prefers violets to roses. Yet Drew received roses.

2)  If the flowers had been sent by someone who does not know Drew well, then that person would have sent a signed card with the flowers. Yet Drew received no card.

If what this option says is true then it's possible the flowers were sent by someone who knows drew well but at the same time that person does not want to please Drew by sending him the flowers Drew prefers/likes. And from statement two we know the other condition for someone who knows Drew well has been met i.e Drew did not receive any card. So, together this shows that the florist might not have made any mistake and it's possible that the flowers were indeed sent for Drew.

(C)  Someone who does not know Drew well would be unlikely to send Drew flowers  -  Even if what this choice says is true the third possibility could still be true that Drew received this flower by mistake.

(D)  The florist has never delivered the wrong flowers to Drew before  -  This option talks about something that has not happened yet but it does not mean it can never happen in the future. It's possible. Therefore, it does not weaken the argument.

(E)  Some people who know Drew well have sent Drew cards along with flowers  -  Same as D

gullyboy09 · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja ,  KarishmaB ,  MartyMurray

For this particular question I chose B as it directly attack the assumption that someone who knows Drew well, will send what Drew prefers. But I wanted to check my understanding for the rest of the options, can you please help me if I am correct or not.

(A) Most people send roses when they send flowers .  -> I considered this a weakener (but very weak comparing to B), because if that's a case then it suggest that florist might not be the culprit, it reduces the force of the conclusion per se.

(B) Some people send flowers for a reason other than the desire to please  -> Correct, as attacks the assumption directly.

(C) Someone who does not know Drew well would be unlikely to send Drew flowers  -> It does the opposite, given he received flowers, which means he is someone knows Drew well, then actually florist might be the culprit.

(D) The florist has never delivered the wrong flowers to Drew before  -> It also weakens the conclusion (very weak though), given he 'never' delivered the wrong flower, it weakens the conclusion

(E) Some people who know Drew well have sent Drew cards along with flowers  -> Can you please help with this option? It does nothing in my opinion.

Reason I asked is to help me understand my reasoning is correct or not, as in weaken/strenghten questions we need to find the best one. Is it right to consider A and D also as weakener but B weakens more so B is answer?

guddo · Answer

If the flowers Drew received today had been sent by someone who knows Drew well, that person would have known that Drew prefers violets to roses. Yet Drew received roses. On the other hand, if the flowers had been sent by someone who does not know Drew well, then that person would have sent a signed card with the flowers. Yet Drew received no card. Therefore, the florist must made some sort of mistake: either Drew was supposed to receive violets, or a card, or these flowers were intended for someone else.

Which of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument?

Which of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument?

The argument says: if the sender knows Drew well, they would choose violets; if the sender does not know Drew well, they would include a signed card. Since Drew got roses and no card, the argument concludes the florist must have made an error.

(A) Most people send roses when they send flowers

This weakens some, because it gives a normal reason for roses even from someone who knows Drew well. But it still does not explain the missing card, so the argument can still push toward “mistake.”

(B) Some people send flowers for a reason other than the desire to please

This attacks the hidden assumption that senders always try to match Drew’s preference. If the sender’s goal is not to please Drew, then even someone who knows Drew well could intentionally send roses, so roses no longer suggests a florist error. This directly undercuts a key step in the logic, so it is the strongest weaken.

(C) Someone who does not know Drew well would be unlikely to send Drew flowers

This is about likelihood, not what would happen if they did send flowers. The argument is conditional (“if they did”), so this does not break the logic.

(D) The florist has never delivered the wrong flowers to Drew before

This is weak. Past accuracy does not rule out a mistake today.

(E) Some people who know Drew well have sent Drew cards along with flowers

This is irrelevant. The argument never claims that knowing Drew well means no card; it only claims not knowing Drew well would mean a card.

Answer: (B)

MartyMurray · Answer

Here's (A):

(A) Most people send roses when they send flowers.

Information on what most people do does not weaken the argument since this argument is about flowers sent to Drew, who prefers violets. So, regardless of what "most people" do, the conclusion is supported by the information presented by the passage.

Here's (D):

(D) The florist has never delivered the wrong flowers to Drew before.

I agree that this choice presents a weak reason to doubt the conclusion. So, it's a very weak weakener, partly because that the florist delivered the wrong flowers is only one option presented by the conclusion, which suggests that Drew may have been "supposed to receive ... a card" or "these flowers were intended for someone else."

This type of somewhat arguably correct choice is found more in LSAT questions, in which choosing the best answer is fairly commonly required, than in GMAT questions, in which there is usually just one choice that at all does what the correct answer must do.

If the flowers Drew received today had been sent by someone who knows

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If the flowers Drew received today had been sent by someone who knows

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