Two fitness experts have developed a remarkable exercise system that

Question

Two fitness experts have developed a remarkable exercise system that appears to yield immediate and prolonged improvements to a person's physical and mental health. In careful testing, they have found that the system is accessible to people of different ages and fitness levels. Furthermore, since the system involves unusual techniques, custom pieces of small equipment, and natural dietary supplements, the system would take years for competitors to replicate. And when they tested the system during a two-month trial, potential customers stated emphatically that they would pay the stated prices to continue in the system and that they preferred it over other forms of exercise. All evidence indicates that the new exercise system will have successful launch in the market.

Which of the following would it be most useful to determine in order to evaluate the argument?

A. Whether the system is more effective than other systems

B. Whether the system is sufficiently difficult for serious athletes

C. Whether it will be easy to get people to try the system

D. Whether competitors will be able to offer a virtually identical system at lower cost

E. Whether the cost of providing the system to a customer is high relative to its market price

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ribbons · Answer

A. Whether the system is more effective than other systems it is effective (not mentioned if over others) and prefered by customers

B. Whether the system is sufficiently difficult for serious athletes  irrelevant

C. Whether it will be easy to get people to try the system  Correct, may be the best system out there but if customers dont try it then launch will fail

D. Whether competitors will be able to offer a virtually identical system at lower cost  perhaps but it will take years to replicate

E. Whether the cost of providing the system to a customer is high relative to its market price.  doesnt even make sense plus customers are willing to pay the stated price

captain0612 · Answer

IMO Choice C

Confused between C and E.

The argument is about a new exercise system.
 Evidence 1  - The system is accessible to different ages and fitness levels
 Evidence 2  - Due to the complexity of the system, it would take years for competitors to replicate or copy such a system
 Evidence 3  - Potential customers (trial participants) are willing to pay the stated prices

Conclusion  - New exercise system will have successful launch in the market

Question - Evaluate.

A. Whether the system is more effective than other systems  This comparison is not necessary, as we already know based on the evidences that the new system is indeed liked by participants in the trial program  Incorrect

B. Whether the system is sufficiently difficult for serious athletes  As a matter of fact, serious athletes need not necessarily be the prime target group for the new exercise system  Incorrect

C. Whether it will be easy to get people to try the system   Correct    Interesting. This choice evaluates whether there is a demand for the new system. In order for the product to be launched successfully, there needs to be a demand for the product.

D. Whether competitors will be able to offer a virtually identical system at lower cost  Going against evidence. We already know that to replicate such a system would take years  Incorrect

E. Whether the cost of providing the system to a customer is high relative to its market price  Pricing plays a role for the successful launch. What if in the long run the the cost to maintain and sustain such a system is high? Since we are concerned about the launch, long term will not be a concern  Incorrect

PS - I chose E, and during this post, I understood why C is better choice than E. Retro analysis: By the time I reached option E, there was only 1 choice left. I incorrectly eliminated choice C

bronaugust · Answer

To solve this question, let us deploy    IMS's four-step technique   .

STEP #1:     IDENTIFY THE QUESTION TYPE BY READING THE QUESTION STEM

The question stem states, 'Which of the following would be most useful to determine in order to evaluate the argument?' Clearly, we are dealing with an evaluate question. Now that the question type is identified, let us proceed to the second step.

STEP #2:     DECONSTRUCT THE ARGUMENT

Since we need to check which answer option would help us evaluate the argument, let us deconstruct the argument by figuring out the conclusion and the premise(s).

CONCLUSION:   All evidence indicates that the new exercise system will have successful launch in the market.

PREMISES:   -> The new exercise system appears to yield immediate and prolonged improvements to a person's physical and mental health.
                   -> The system is accessible to people of different ages and fitness levels.
                   -> Since the system involves unusual techniques, custom pieces of small equipment, and natural dietary supplements, the system would take years for competitors to replicate.
                   -> When they tested the system during a two-month trial, potential customers stated emphatically that they would pay the stated prices to continue in the system and that they preferred it over other forms of exercise.

Now that the argument is deconstructed, let us proceed to the third step.

STEP #3:    KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT ANSWER SHOULD BE DOING

In an evaluate question, the right answer should, well, be evaluative. Remember, evaluating an argument actually means evaluating the conclusion. There is no need to be overly concerned about the premises. We, therefore, need an answer option that helps us check if the new exercise system will actually have a successful launch in the market or not. Now that we know what the right answer should be doing, let us proceed to the final step.

STEP #4:  ELIMINATE INCORRECT ANSWER OPTIONS

Answer options that go beyond the scope of the argument, those that do not impact the argument in any way, and/or the ones that do not have all the components we need for evaluation purposes can be eliminated.

A. Whether the system is more effective than other systems -   MAKES NO IMPACT   -  We need to evaluate if the launch will be a successful one. So, even if the system happens to be more effective than other systems, it does not tell us anything about the launch.  -   ELIMINATE

B. Whether the system is sufficiently difficult for serious athletes -   MAKES NO IMPACT   -  Again, does not help us evaluate if the launch will be a successful one. -    ELIMINATE

C. Whether it will be easy to get people to try the system -   EVALUATIVE   -  If it will be easy to get people to try the system, the argument that the launch will be successful is strengthened. In contrast, if it will be difficult to get people to try the system, the argument is weakened.  -   KEEP

D. Whether competitors will be able to offer a virtually identical system at lower cost -   OUT OF SCOPE   -  The argument does not concern itself with competitors!  -   ELIMINATE

E. Whether the cost of providing the system to a customer is high relative to its market price -   OUT OF SCOPE   -  The argument does not concern itself with the cost of providing the system to a customer!  -   ELIMINATE

Hence, C has to be the right answer.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

Reading the question: we see a long prompt, and a short stem, so we check out the stem. The phrase "most useful to determine" allows us to create a filter immediately. The phrasing of Critical Reasoning questions tends to be understated. When you are asked what "may be true," look for what must be true. When you're asked what would be "useful to determine," look for what is critical to determine. This is proof by stronger terms, as mentioned in the Critical Reasoning Strategy.

Note: You may be wondering why the question would ask for something "useful," if the answer is something "critical." The reason is that the test maker uses understated language as a cautious practice to ensure that the correct answer is objectively correct. Something "critical to know" is certainly "useful to know." For this exact reason, when you see understated language, you are not guaranteed that the correct answer will be more critical, but if you find a critical answer choice, you'll know it's correct.

Applying the filter, we look for a choice that must be true. (A) is out; we are told the system is effective, and people like it, and it's accessible. And they would pay for it! So it doesn't matter whether or not it's more effective. The prompt even tells us people prefer it to other forms of exercise. So (A) is out. (B) seems irrelevant; the system doesn't have to be for everyone in order to launch well. It's accessible to various types of people and they like it and so on. (B) is out. Choice (C) looks promising. Choice (D) contradicts the evidence. We're told it will take competitors a long time to copy this system, and we aren't concerned with the long term--we are talking about a "launch." Choice (E) is out, since the prompt doesn't say anything about cost. We're left with (C).

Logical proof: Is choice (C) critical? We can analyze by cases. What if it's hard to get people to try the new system? We could see that being an issue. But do we have objective backing in the prompt? Yes: we are told that potential customers liked the product "when they tried it during a two-month trial." What if they don't like the product yet after a month? Or more to the point, if it takes two months to like the product, and we are having trouble getting people to try it at all, that will impede the launch.

The correct answer is (C).

VerbalBot · Answer

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