Recently, Samirs Hummus Shop added three new versions of hummus

Question

Recently, Samir’s Hummus Shop added three new versions of hummus to its menu. Since the new versions were added, the shop’s weekly revenue has been much higher than it ever was before. Clearly, therefore, the new versions are popular with customers.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

(A) The new versions of hummus are creations developed by Samir that are not available at any other hummus shops.

(B) To celebrate the addition of the new versions of hummus to the menu, Samir’s held tasting parties that were widely publicized.

(C) The number of hummus shops in the town in which Samir’s is located has been the same since Samir’s first opened several years ago.

(D) The location of Samir's is such that getting to the shop is somewhat difficult.

(E) When Samir’s customers purchase hummus, they generally purchase drinks and other items to go along with it.

Source:  Marty Murray Coaching

Prakharvats · Answer

I don't agree with c 
it should be E as it directly establishes relationship between revenue and hummus popularity

MartyMurray · Answer

Interesting.

(C) works by eliminating an alternative cause.

At the same time, I've adjusted (E) so that it no longer tends to confirm that a large increase in revenue is likely due to excitement about new versions.

MartyMurray · Answer

Recently, Samir’s Hummus Shop added three new versions of hummus to its menu. Since the new versions were added, the shop’s weekly revenue has been much higher than it ever was before. Clearly, therefore, the new versions are popular with customers.

The conclusion of the argument is the following:

Clearly, therefore, the new versions are popular with customers.

The support for the conclusion is the following:

Since the new versions were added, the shop’s weekly revenue has been much higher than it ever was before.

We see that the reasoning of the argument is basically that, since revenue increased after the new hummus versions were added, it must be the case that the new versions are popular, in other words, that the revenue increase can be attributed to customers' purchasing the new hummus versions.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

This is a Strengthen question, and the correct answer will somehow help to confirm the conclusion that the new versions are popular with customers.

(A) The new versions of hummus are creations developed by Samir that are not available at any other hummus shops.

This choice has no effect on the support for the conclusion.

After all, regardless of whether the new versions are available at any other hummus shops, they may or may not be popular with customers.

Eliminate.

(B) To celebrate the addition of the new versions of hummus to the menu, Samir’s held tasting parties that were widely publicized.

This choice doesn't strengthen the argument. After all, the fact that Samir's had tasting parties doesn't mean that the new versions are popular.

In fact, if anything, this choice weakens the case for the conclusion by indicating that publicity associated with the addition of the new versions, rather than popularity of the new versions, could be responsible for the revenue increase.

Eliminate.

(C) The number of hummus shops in the town in which Samir’s is located has been the same since Samir’s first opened several years ago.

This choice could seem off topic because it's not clearly about recent events. Rather, it seems to be about the past "several years."

At the same time, what we can notice about this choice is that it does indicate that the number of hummus shops in the town has not decreased at any point in the past several years, including "recently." After all, if the number of shops has "remained the same," then it hasn't decreased at any point in time over the past several years.

So, this choice strengthens the case for the conclusion by serving to eliminate the possibility that the reason for Samir's revenue increase is that there has been a decrease in the number of hummus shops people can go to.

Eliminating that possibility serves to increase the likelihood that the revenue increase is a result of the addition of the new versions.

Keep.

(D) The location of Samir's is such that getting to the shop is somewhat difficult.

This choice could seem to confirm the conclusion by indicating that something, such as popular new hummus versions, must be drawing people to this difficult-to-get-to shop.

At the same time, the truth is that anything could be causing people to go to the shop. In other words, the fact that people are going to the shop despite difficulty doesn't indicate that any particular factor is causing them to do so.

Eliminate.

(E) When Samir’s customers purchase hummus, they generally purchase drinks and other items to go along with it.

This choice could seem to confirm that customers are driving up revenue by purchasing the new hummus versions along with other items.

However, the truth is that, even if this choice is true, they could be driving up revenue by purchasing other hummus versions or anything else that the shop offers.

So, the fact that customers purchase drinks and other items when they purchase hummus doesn't clearly indicate that the revenue increase has resulted from customers' purchasing the new versions.

Eliminate.

Correct answer:   C

pk14y · Answer

I'm a bit confused with C. I ruled it out the pretense that he opened the shop years ago and the amount of shops have been closing since. However, since the introduction of e new hummus items on the menu, his sales have been increasing. Is there any information on how many shops have closed down since the introduction of these products? We don't know that, therefore I don't think C is a good answer.

If it said that the number of shops have not decreased since the introduction of these new products, then I would have easily selected that.

If it said that the number of shops have not decreased since the introduction of these new products, then I would have easily selected that.

MartyMurray · Answer

Good point  pk14y .

I've edited (C) to make it more clearly indicate that the number of shops has not decreased since the introduction of the products.

I appreciate the feedback, and we can see why it costs GMAC thousands to make one Critical Reasoning question. It takes work to ensure that there aren't any subtle issues.

Recently, Samirs Hummus Shop added three new versions of hummus

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Recently, Samirs Hummus Shop added three new versions of hummus

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