The famous WXYZ band is about to embark on the international tour that

Question

The famous WXYZ band is about to embark on the international tour that it performs once every 3 years. Since the last tour, an oil crisis led to global inflation which has caused increases in the prices of concert tickets, averaging at 6%. Therefore, in accordance with this trend, fans that wish to calculate how much they will spend on tickets to a concert in the upcoming tour can simply increase the price of a ticket to a concert from the last tour by 6%.

The above conclusion is properly drawn if which of the following is assumed?

The above conclusion is properly drawn if which of the following is assumed?

(A) Because oil is a vital raw material in an abundance of industries, it can affect the prices of consumer products or services.

(B) Global inflation does not necessarily result in the cancellation of entertainment events.

(C) An inflation trend can affect one country one way, and another country another way.

(D) A concert ticket price includes a tax paid to the cultural ministry of a specific country.

(E) Following the oil crisis, the inflation rate in all countries was the same.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The famous WXYZ band is about to embark on the international tour that it performs once every 3 years. Since the last tour, an oil crisis led to global inflation which has caused increases in the prices of concert tickets, averaging at 6%. Therefore, in accordance with this trend, fans that wish to calculate how much they will spend on tickets to a concert in the upcoming tour can simply increase the price of a ticket to a concert from the last tour by 6%.

The above conclusion is properly drawn if which of the following is assumed?

The above conclusion is properly drawn if which of the following is assumed?

(A) Because oil is a vital raw material in an abundance of industries, it can affect the prices of consumer products or services.

Incorrect.

To solve this Assumption question, first break down the argument. Sentences 1 and 2 present factual information, so they are the premises. Sentence 3 begins with the conclusion conjunction Therefore so we can be sure that it's the conclusion.

Now ask yourself: the author believes that the price of a ticket to a concert in the upcoming tour will be 6% higher than the price of a ticket to the last tour. But what has the author overlooked? What must the author assume for this argument to stand?

The second premise already tells us that oil prices affected the ticket prices. This answer choice simply provides additional data about this cause-and-effect relationship. However, what we are trying to find is the assumption that the author made in order to reach the conclusion.

(B) Global inflation does not necessarily result in the cancellation of entertainment events.

Incorrect.

Global inflation's relation to the cancellation of concerts is irrelevant to this argument, which does not discuss cancellation at all. You are looking for the assumption, which should explain how the author drew the conclusion based on the premises.

(C) An inflation trend can affect one country one way, and another country another way.

Incorrect.

This answer choice opposes the conclusion in the argument and therefore cannot be the underlying assumption. If every country is affected differently by inflation, then the author's conclusion becomes weakened: fans of countries A and B cannot both calculate the new ticket price by simply adding 6%.

Remember, the tone of an assumption must be consistent with that of the argument's conclusion, rather than prove it to be incorrect.

(D) A concert ticket price includes a tax paid to the cultural ministry of a specific country.

Incorrect.

This answer choice presents new data about taxes and cultural ministries, which is irrelevant to the argument. Focus on the conclusion. You should be looking for the assumption that helped the author reach this judgment based on the given premises alone.

(E) Following the oil crisis, the inflation rate in all countries was the same.

Based on the fact that the average post-crisis inflation rate is 6%, the author concludes that fans anywhere (in any country) could all simply add 6% to the last ticket price to calculate the new ticket price. This conclusion requires that the author assume that the inflation rate in every country is the same - 6%. Otherwise, every fan would have to add their own country's inflation rate.

Nidzo · Answer

(A) Because oil is a vital raw material in an abundance of industries, it can affect the prices of consumer products or services.
 Provides further explanation to something we already know.

(B) Global inflation does not necessarily result in the cancellation of entertainment events.
 Irrelevant to the argument.

(C) An inflation trend can affect one country one way, and another country another way.
 This would mean that only some could estimate to pay 6% more, while the author implies that all tickets will be 6% more.

(D) A concert ticket price includes a tax paid to the cultural ministry of a specific country.
 Irrelevant.

(E) Following the oil crisis, the inflation rate in all countries was the same.
 Correct. This assumption means that everyone going to one of the world tour concerts can expect to pay 6%/

Thekingmaker · Answer

I almost felt like pressing the A option however yes if we had to figure out the price of each ticket in particular country then of course if it had to adjusted with inflation the inflation has to be uniform otherwise it wouldn't just make sense therefore IMO E

nsdl1985 · Answer

Thx for the wonderful explanation as usual.

However, I am bit confused with wordings-  "averaging at 6%"  in the second statement.
Doesn't this mean that the global average inflation is 6%? 
Say hypothetically we have 4 countries A, B, C and D.
Inflation rate post oil crises for every country was 10%, 2%, 6%, 6% respectively.
The average will be 6% (10+2+6+6)/4= 6%
So in this case how we can say that the inflation in all countries is the same (as stated in option E)

because of the above understanding i was stuck on Option B. I also attempted to negate Option B. I got more convinced.

Kindly help me  Bunuel  where exactly I am going wrong?

MBAaustralia · Answer

E) as per the posts above. OG explanation isn't too bad.

Posted from my mobile device

IanStewart · Answer

Just in case a post above is misleading, this is definitely not an OG question. The conclusion is not "properly drawn" here no matter which answer choice we choose, so the question has no good answer. We only know the increase in ticket prices is "averaging at 6%". We'd need to know that the increase is exactly 6% for all tickets, not just that it averages to 6%, to draw the conclusion in the passage (as nsdl1985 explains above), and no answer choice addresses the argument's misunderstanding of the meaning of an average.

VerbalBot · Answer

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