Last visit was: 20 Nov 2025, 04:35 It is currently 20 Nov 2025, 04:35
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
User avatar
Spectre26
User avatar
Joined: 20 May 2023
Last visit: 19 Jun 2025
Posts: 104
Own Kudos:
127
 [8]
Given Kudos: 82
Location: India
Concentration: Strategy, Operations
Schools: ISB '27 IIMA '26 (II) NUS '27
GMAT Focus 1: 645 Q85 V81 DI79
GPA: 8.5/10
WE:Project Management (Manufacturing)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: ISB '27 IIMA '26 (II) NUS '27
GMAT Focus 1: 645 Q85 V81 DI79
Posts: 104
Kudos: 127
 [8]
Which of the following expresses a flaw in the reasoning? 07 Jul 2024, 10:21
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
6
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
D
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

45% (medium)

Question Stats:

67% (01:33) correct 33% (01:46) wrong based on 279 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Peter: Recent evidence suggests that moderate alcohol consumption has certain beneficial effects on health. In particular, alcohol creates an inhospitable environment in the human body for certain bacteria that can cause illness. Thus, alcohol consumption is, on balance, beneficial.

Which of the following most accurately expresses a flaw in the reasoning?

A. It takes for granted that people choose to consume alcohol because they believe it is beneficial to their health.
B. It draws a comparison based on popular belief rather than on scientific opinion.
C. It fails to consider methods of achieving the same beneficial effects that do not involve alcohol.
D. It draws a conclusion about alcohol consumption in general from a premise about moderate alcohol consumption.
E. It fails to consider that alcohol may have no effect on many bacteria that cause illness in human beings.
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
D
User avatar
Priyanshu_57
User avatar
Joined: 19 Dec 2023
Last visit: 09 Aug 2024
Posts: 6
Own Kudos:
10
 [3]
Given Kudos: 4
Posts: 6
Kudos: 10
 [3]
Which of the following expresses a flaw in the reasoning? 17 Jul 2024, 20:26
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
In the last line of argument, it says alcohol consumption is, on balance,, benefical. So doesn't the argument indicates on balance as to be moderate consumption.
Why option D is correct over C?
User avatar
bb
User avatar
Founder
Joined: 04 Dec 2002
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 42,395
Own Kudos:
82,126
 [1]
Given Kudos: 24,110
Location: United States
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
GPA: 3
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
Posts: 42,395
Kudos: 82,126
 [1]
Which of the following expresses a flaw in the reasoning? 19 Jul 2024, 12:22
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The way I read the argument and "on balance" indicates to me that after weighing pros and cons of alcohol consumption, the conclusion is that it is beneficial.

I did not read on balance to mean the same as moderate. I see no reason to equate it really. Per Cambridge dictionary:

Quote:
ON BALANCE meaning: after considering the power or influence of both sides of a question:
Show more
User avatar
bb
User avatar
Founder
Joined: 04 Dec 2002
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 42,395
Own Kudos:
82,126
 [2]
Given Kudos: 24,110
Location: United States
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
GPA: 3
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
Posts: 42,395
Kudos: 82,126
 [2]
Which of the following expresses a flaw in the reasoning? 19 Jul 2024, 12:27
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Spectre26
Peter: Recent evidence suggests that moderate alcohol consumption has certain beneficial effects on health. In particular, alcohol creates an inhospitable environment in the human body for certain bacteria that can cause illness. Thus, alcohol consumption is, on balance, beneficial.

Which of the following most accurately expresses a flaw in the reasoning?

A. It takes for granted that people choose to consume alcohol because they believe it is beneficial to their health.
B. It draws a comparison based on popular belief rather than on scientific opinion.
C. It fails to consider methods of achieving the same beneficial effects that do not involve alcohol.
D. It draws a conclusion about alcohol consumption in general from a premise about moderate alcohol consumption.
E. It fails to consider that alcohol may have no effect on many bacteria that cause illness in human beings.
Show more
­

Correct answer: D. We need to find a flaw. D is flawed that it assumes all alcohol consumption will be moderate (not light or heavy) and while the argument does not talk about negative sides of alcohol, we all know they exist in general per the warnings on the labels. 

Let's disprove the other answer choices: 

A. this is not true rather than a flaw. People do not believe that it is benefitial
B. There is no comparison
C. Good point but not a flaw - we are considering alternatives with other methods. We are not after health benefits, we are after convincing people that moderate alchol is benefitial. This is a red herring
E. This is a potential candidate for a falw - the benefits of alchol consumption could be overstated, but we are not able to evaluate the impact of this statment since we do not know from setup or this statement what % of bacteria are impacted. ­
avatar
bronaugust
avatar
Joined: 06 Jun 2024
Last visit: 29 Aug 2024
Posts: 233
Own Kudos:
315
 [3]
Given Kudos: 33
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 233
Kudos: 315
 [3]
Which of the following expresses a flaw in the reasoning? 19 Jul 2024, 21:15
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
­To solve this question, let us deploy IMS's four-step technique.

STEP #1 -> IDENTIFY THE QUESTION TYPE

Let us read the question stem to identify the question type.
Quote:
Which of the following most accurately expresses a flaw in the reasoning?
Show more
The stem indicates a flaw question.

STEP #2 -> DECONSTRUCT THE ARGUMENT

In a flaw question, it is a must to deconstruct the argument by figuring out the conclusion and the premise(s). Let us therefore read the argument and deconstruct it.
Quote:
Peter: Recent evidence suggests that moderate alcohol consumption has certain beneficial effects on health. In particular, alcohol creates an inhospitable environment in the human body for certain bacteria that can cause illness. Thus, alcohol consumption is, on balance, beneficial.
Show more
CONCLUSION: Alcohol consumption is, on balance, beneficial.
PREMISES: -> Recent evidence suggests that moderate alcohol consumption has certain beneficial effects on health.
-> In particular, alcohol creates an inhospitable environment in the human body for certain bacteria that can cause illness.

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

STEP #3 -> FRAME A SHADOW ANSWER

In order to frame a shadow answer, we need to know what the right answer should do. In the given flaw question, we are to figure out the flaw in the reasoning of Peter. We notice that Peter says alcohol consumption is beneficial overall ('on balance' means 'overall' or 'all things considered', so those of you who are confused have probably misunderstood the meaning of this phrase. 'On balance', let me emphasise, does not mean 'moderate'). So, the author is actually speaking of moderate alcohol consumption in the premise but is drawing a conclusion about alcohol consumption in general. Should he not have spoken of moderate alcohol consumption in his conclusion as well? Now, this becomes the flaw.

SHADOW ANSWER: An option that indicates Peter's mistake of drawing a generalised conclusion about alcohol consumption while basing the conclusion on a premise that speaks of moderate alcohol consumption.

Now that a shadow answer is framed, let us proceed to the final step.

STEP #4 -> ELIMINATE INCORRECT OPTIONS

Options that do not match the shadow answer can be eliminated.

A. It takes for granted that people choose to consume alcohol because they believe it is beneficial to their health. - NOT A MATCH - Peter does not talk of people's beliefs. And if he does not talk of it, it is wrong to say he takes for granted something about it. - ELIMINATE

B. It draws a comparison based on popular belief rather than on scientific opinion. - NOT A MATCH - Peter has quoted evidence, so he is definitely not drawing the stated comparison. - ELIMINATE

C. It fails to consider methods of achieving the same beneficial effects that do not involve alcohol. - NOT A MATCH - We do not know if there are methods of achieving the SAME beneficial effects that do not involve alcohol. - ELIMINATE

D. It draws a conclusion about alcohol consumption in general from a premise about moderate alcohol consumption. - MATCHES THE SHADOW ANSWER - Based on the shadow answer we have, this is our best bet. - KEEP

E. It fails to consider that alcohol may have no effect on many bacteria that cause illness in human beings. - NOT A MATCH - Peter speaks of CERTAIN bacteria, so it would be wrong on our part to say his argument fails to consider that alcohol may have no effect on many bacteria that cause illness in human beings. - ELIMINATE

Hence, (D) is the correct answer. ­
User avatar
bb
User avatar
Founder
Joined: 04 Dec 2002
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 42,395
Own Kudos:
82,126
 [1]
Given Kudos: 24,110
Location: United States
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
GPA: 3
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
Posts: 42,395
Kudos: 82,126
 [1]
Which of the following expresses a flaw in the reasoning? 20 Jul 2024, 09:31
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Th am you b_sudharsan!

PS. Just a quick note that I have enabled expert status for your account. Now all of your posts will carry an expert reply badge as you have met the qualifications of 100 posts and Quality of posts.

if you make over seven posts per week, your badge will be orange in color indicating that you are an active expert. it will take a few days to catch up and turn orange.

Thank you so much for being a part of GMAT club and your great answers!

Posted from my mobile device
avatar
bronaugust
avatar
Joined: 06 Jun 2024
Last visit: 29 Aug 2024
Posts: 233
Own Kudos:
315
 [1]
Given Kudos: 33
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 233
Kudos: 315
 [1]
Which of the following expresses a flaw in the reasoning? 20 Jul 2024, 18:27
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
bb
Th am you b_sudharsan!

PS. Just a quick note that I have enabled expert status for your account. Now all of your posts will carry an expert reply badge as you have met the qualifications of 100 posts and Quality of posts.

if you make over seven posts per week, your badge will be orange in color indicating that you are an active expert. it will take a few days to catch up and turn orange.

Thank you so much for being a part of GMAT club and your great answers!

Posted from my mobile device
Show more
­Thanks to YOU for doing what you are doing! :please:
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7443 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
231 posts
miag
189 posts