* Strengthen Question

[chandnigaglani]

Hi Ron, Stacey, Nelson

I'm confused about the strengthen questions in which there is an option between an answer choice (a) that provides extra information in support of the conclusion and (b) that states an assumption.

I read Nelson's explaination on this post regarding this query : please-help-tie-these-two-strengthen-cr-s-together-t13037.html. (I've also quoted the explaination by Nelson below)
My takeaway from this was that sometimes there is an overlap between strengthen and assumption question. In such cases, we must pick the answer choice that states the assumption (necessary information that validates the conclusion). (Please correct me if I'm missing something).

However, I also read another post on this forum.. cr-flagrant-fouls-t13362.html . The question discussed in this forum:

GMAT PREP Ques: Almost every modern kitchen today is equipped with a microwave oven, mainly because microwave ovens offer a fast and convenient way of cooking and reheating food. Indeed, it has become a standard appliance in most households. Studies have shown, however, that microwave ovens are not completely safe and their use has occasionally resulted in serious injury. Because of this, some consumer advocates argue that microwave ovens should not be so readily accepted as a standard appliance until they can be certified to be completely safe.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument of the consumer advocates?
(A)Microwave ovens have taken much of the joy out of cooking.
(B)There have been many reported incidences of people who have been scalded by liquids superheated in microwave ovens.
(C)Absolute safety is the only criterion by which an appliance should be judged to be acceptable as "standard."
(D)There is no such thing as a completely safe appliance.
(E)Stoves and ovens that use natural gas consume energy much more efficiently than microwave ovens.

This deals with a strengthen question. It's a similar case and I was confused between the options B and E. The way I see it..

Option B must be one of the assumptions (the negation of which causes the conclusion to collapse) and E provides the extra information that supports the conclusion. However, this post advises to not confuse a strengthen type question with an assumption type. Following this rule, I consciously eliminated C on the "Microwave" question and chose B. (As C states the assumption while B provides that extra information).

Not sure how to approach questions with such answer choices.

It would be great if you could clarify this doubt for me at the earliest.

Nelson's Explaination on the Microwave question:

jnelson0612 wrote:
muzumdar.siddharth wrote:
Quote:
An especially good example of this can be seen in the first argument.
Premise: Microwave ovens have ben associated with injuries.
Conclusion: They should not be certified as standard appliances until they are completely safe.

Wait! We started out talking about injuries, yet the conclusion introduces the idea of a microwave as a standard appliance. We need to link those two in an assumption and can affirm that assumption as a strengthen answer.


Hi,
In the first argument about microwaves, I have understood the premise and the conclusion as the ones mentioned above. However, I am unable to find the difference between the Assumption and the Strengthener in this question. If answer choice C is the correct answer for this Strengthen question, would it also be the same answer if the question were "Find the Assumption"?

How do we differentiate between an Assumption and a Strengthener in such a case? Would the assumption serve as a strengthener if the other options do not match up? Additionally, supporting a premise, as option B does, is not sufficient to Strengthen?

Would be glad if you could help me understand something that I am missing.


Exactly! Sometimes an assumption and a strengthen answer are the exact same thing, or very close! Keep in mind that an assumption is something that we are ASSUMING, meaning that it is not a fact. An assumption may or may not be true.

Here's a very basic argument:
Chocolate contains antioxidants. Therefore, chocolate is good for your health.

Conclusion: Chocolate is good for your health.
WHY?
Premise: Chocolate contains antioxidants.
Assumption: Antioxidants are good for your health. (notice how the assumption bridges the gap between the wording in the premise and the conclusion)

A way to strengthen this argument is to affirm that the assumption is true: Antioxidants are in fact good for your health.

To weaken we attack the assumption: Antioxidants have not been shown to have any impact on human health.

So a strengthen answer is often the one that just says that the assumption is in fact true.

Does this help? Hope so!



P.S. - This is the first time I've posted on this forum. Not sure if I've done it right. Let me know if I need to make any changes. :)

Thanks.

[RonPurewal]

GMAT PREP Ques: Almost every modern kitchen today is equipped with a microwave oven, mainly because microwave ovens offer a fast and convenient way of cooking and reheating food. Indeed, it has become a standard appliance in most households. Studies have shown, however, that microwave ovens are not completely safe and their use has occasionally resulted in serious injury. Because of this, some consumer advocates argue that microwave ovens should not be so readily accepted as a standard appliance until they can be certified to be completely safe.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument of the consumer advocates?
(A)Microwave ovens have taken much of the joy out of cooking.
(B)There have been many reported incidences of people who have been scalded by liquids superheated in microwave ovens.
(C)Absolute safety is the only criterion by which an appliance should be judged to be acceptable as "standard."
(D)There is no such thing as a completely safe appliance.
(E)Stoves and ovens that use natural gas consume energy much more efficiently than microwave ovens.

there are several problems with the writing of this problem -- nonstandard usage, bad grammar, etc. so, unless it has been very ... liberally transcribed, this is not a GMAT PREP problem.
(... and if it were a gmat prep problem, it wouldn't belong in this folder anyway.)

within the next week, please post a citation of the actual, ORIGINAL SOURCE of this problem, or else we will have to delete the thread.
(if this problem is indeed from gmat prep, please post a screenshot directly from the software. thanks.)

[chandnigaglani]

Hi Ron,

Apologies for the confusion. I had copied the question from one of the posts from this forum... please-help-tie-these-two-strengthen-cr-s-together-t13037.html

I had tried including the link in my previous post... not sure why it didn't show up. You're right, it's not a GPREP Ques its a MGMAT CAT 6 Ques 9 (I've tried to attach the screenshot)

I wasn't sure in which folder to post my query cause I had a query in general for all such strengthen questions.

Please let me know if anything else is needed.

P.S. I have my test next week.. it would be great if I received a reply at the earliest!

Thanks.

[jlucero]

Please don't post questions on two different threads- our moderators are trying to answer as many questions as possible, and double posting only gives you two answers and someone else zero. I'm going to lock this thread. Please refer to the other thread for any additional questions.