Market Analyst: Recent research confirms that the main cause of bad br

Question

Market Analyst: Recent research confirms that the main cause of bad breath is bacteria build-up on the tongue. The research also concludes that tongue scrapers, when used properly, can eliminate up to 40% of the bacteria from the tongue. As the effectiveness of tongue scrapers becomes more widely known, the market for less effective breath freshening products, such as mints, gums, and sprays, will decline significantly.

Which of the following provides the best evidence that the analyst’s argument is flawed?

(A) Some breath freshening products are advertised to eliminate up to 30% of the bacteria from the tongue.

(B) Tongue scrapers have already been on the market for a number of years.

(C) Many dentists recommend regular flossing, and not the use of the tongue scraper, to combat bad breath.

(D) A recent survey shows that 94% of those who regularly purchase breath freshening products are aware of the effectiveness of the tongue scraper.

(E) Some people buy breath freshening products for reasons other than to fight bad breath.

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This question is part of the GMAT Club Critical Reasoning: "Weaken an argument" revision Project.

dvinoth86 · Accepted Answer

This is a causal reasoning.

The argument says

Knowing the effectiveness of scrapper (cause) ---------> Decrease in sales of less effective breath freshening
products, such as mints, gums, and sprays (effect)

Option D points out the flaw by saying that "When Cause occured, the EFFECT DID NOT Occur"

Knowing the effectiveness of scrapper -----> more than 94% of the people continue to buy less effective breath freshening products and this says that sales will not decrease.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

The market analyst concludes that the market for breath freshening products will decline as the effectiveness of the tongue scraper becomes more widely known.

To show that this argument is flawed, we must attack one of two assumptions: that consumers are primarily interested in products that are most effective in fighting bad breath, or that consumers are currently unaware of the effectiveness of the tongue scraper.

(A) This statement does not attack either one of the assumptions. In fact, it may actually strengthen the argument by pointing out that some breath freshening products are less effective than tongue scrapers at eliminating bacteria.

(B) This statement could weaken the argument by attacking the second assumption (consumers are currently unaware of the tongue scraper). If the tongue scraper has been on the market for a while, maybe consumers are already aware of its effectiveness. However, just because the product is on the market doesn't mean consumers are aware of its effectiveness. The analyst’s conclusion states that as consumers learn about tongue scrapers, the market for breath freshening products will decline, regardless of whether the tongue scraper has already been on the market.

(C) While this certainly doesn’t help the market analyst’s case, we don’t know what percentage of dentists recommend flossing over the tongue scraper, and we can’t be sure how this recommendation affects the consumption of breath freshening products.

(D) CORRECT.  This statement weakens the argument by attacking one of the main assumptions of the argument: people who use breath freshening products don’t already know about the effectiveness of the tongue scraper. If 94% of those who consume breath freshening products already know about the tongue scraper, and if these consumers have continued to purchase breath freshening products, then only 6% of those who consume breath freshening products could decide to stop purchasing these products upon learning about the tongue scrapers effectiveness in fighting bad breath. Even if all 6% stopped purchasing the products, this would hardly create a “significant decline” in the market.

(E) This statement could weaken the argument by attacking the first assumption (consumers are primarily interested in products that are most effective in fighting bad breath). These particular consumers would not necessarily stop consuming breath freshening products upon learning of a more effective product, such as the tongue scraper. However, we have no information on what percentage of the market these people represent.

KarishmaB · Answer

Let's sort out the confusion between (D) and (E):

Focus on the conclusion: As the effectiveness of tongue scrapers becomes more widely known, the market for less effective breath freshening products, such as mints, gums, and sprays, will decline significantly

D. A recent survey shows that 94% of those who regularly purchase breath freshening products are aware of the effectiveness of the tongue scraper.
This directly attacks the conclusion. The conclusion says that when people will come to know about the effectiveness of tongue scrapers, they will stop buying breath fresheners. But this option tells you that most people who buy breath fresheners already know about the effectiveness of tongue scrapers. They still choose to buy breath fresheners means that the market for mints is not likely to see a significant decline. Hence, this weakens our conclusion.

E. Some people buy breath freshening products for reasons other than to fight bad breath.
Some people - One or more people buy breath freshening products for other uses. Their mint buying decisions are unlikely to be affected by the information that tongue scrapers are more effective in controlling bad breath. But there still could be many more people who buy mint to fight bad breath. The effectiveness of tongue scrapers could make them switch to tongue scrapers and it is quite possible that you see a significant decline in the market for mints. So (E) doesn't really weaken the conclusion.

Answer (D)

anairamitch1804 · Answer

Conclusion :- market for breath freshening products will decline as the effectiveness of the tongue scraper becomes more widely known.
Weaken :- market for breath freshening products will not decline as the effectiveness of the tongue scraper becomes more widely known.
We are looking for a flaw in argument :-
The flaw in the argument hinges on a implied causal relationship between people knowing certain information, and changing their behaviour. Specifically, the argument is that if people know that tongue scraping is a good way to eliminate bad breath, they will stop purchasing other products (mints, gums, and sprays) for eliminating bad breath.

Answer D directly addresses the flaw:

A recent survey shows that 94% of those who regularly purchase breath freshening products are aware of the effectiveness of the tongue scraper.

Answer D undermines the notion of a causal relationship between knowledge and behaviour change. It says the opposite: that most people who buy other products DO KNOW that tongue scraping is a good way to eliminate bad breath (but they buy the other products anyway).

Answer E is more of a follow up and counterpoint to answer D than it is evidence of a flaw in the passage. Maybe those people like to buy products that are green, for example. That "fact" does not point out a flaw in the argument, it just suggests a reason why people buy the other products.

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Market Analyst: Recent research confirms that the main cause of bad br

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