Test: Inference - GMAT MCQ

A. Mastering the Critical Reasoning question type will ensure an excellent GMAT score.
This statement goes beyond what is explicitly mentioned in the passage. While the passage suggests that mastering the Critical Reasoning question type is beneficial for dissecting op-ed pieces and television debates, it does not guarantee an excellent GMAT score. Other factors, such as performance in other question types and sections, also contribute to the overall GMAT score. Therefore, this option cannot be properly inferred from the passage.

B. No question type contained on the GMAT is represented in more sections of the GMAT than is Critical Reasoning.
The passage does not provide any information about the representation of question types in different sections of the GMAT. It focuses on the relevance of Critical Reasoning skills in analyzing op-ed pieces and television debates. Therefore, this option cannot be properly inferred from the passage.

C. Op-ed pieces and Television debates contain content that is related in the same way to material tested in GMAT Critical Reasoning.
This statement aligns with the information provided in the passage. The passage suggests that the skills used in analyzing op-ed pieces and television debates are relevant and beneficial for mastering the Critical Reasoning question type in the GMAT. It implies that the content found in op-ed pieces and television debates is related in the same way to the material tested in GMAT Critical Reasoning.

D. Logical flaws and assumptions are question types that appear only on the GMAT.
The passage does not mention logical flaws and assumptions as specific question types that appear on the GMAT. It discusses the skills of pointing out assumptions and analyzing logical flaws, but it does not specify that these are exclusive question types found only on the GMAT. Therefore, this option cannot be properly inferred from the passage.

E. Thinking like a detective has no impact on one's GMAT Score.
The passage does not provide any information about the impact of thinking like a detective on one's GMAT score. It highlights the value of thinking like a detective in dissecting op-ed pieces and television debates, but it does not make a statement about its direct impact on GMAT scores. Therefore, this option cannot be properly inferred from the passage.

A. Measured in dollars, the total profits for XYZ Corporation have remained stable over the last five years.
This option cannot be inferred from the given statements. The statements provide information about the proportion of transactions and profits generated by each division, but they do not provide any information about the stability or changes in total profits over the last five years.

B. Interment Services is an increasingly competitive field, while Toxic Household Products are a largely untapped market.
This option cannot be inferred from the given statements. The statements provide information about the division's contributions to the corporation's transactions and profits, but they do not provide any information about the competitiveness of the Interment Services field or the market potential of Toxic Household Products.

C. The Toxic Household Products Division yields a lower average profit per transaction than does the Interment Services Division.
This option can be inferred from the given statements. The statements indicate that the Interment Services Division accounts for 30% of the transactions but 50% of the profits. This suggests that, on average, the Interment Services Division generates higher profits per transaction compared to the Toxic Household Products Division.

D. XYZ Corporation’s Toxic Household Products line has remained consistent over the past five years.
This option cannot be inferred from the given statements. The statements provide information about the contributions of each division to the corporation's transactions and profits but do not provide any information about the consistency or changes in the Toxic Household Products line.

E. Most families will, over a given five-year period, spend more money on Interment Services than on Toxic Household Products.
This option cannot be inferred from the given statements. The statements provide information about the proportion of transactions and profits generated by each division but do not provide any information about the spending patterns of families or the relative amounts spent on Interment Services and Toxic Household Products.

Therefore, the only valid inference that can be made from the given statements is option C: The Toxic Household Products Division yields a lower average profit per transaction than does the Interment Services Division.

A. Approximately half the population carries a gene that lowers cholesterol levels.
The given information does not provide any data or indication about the prevalence of genes that lower cholesterol levels in the population. Therefore, this option is not strongly supported by the information.

B. Most of those at risk of heart disease may be able to reduce their risk by adopting a low-cholesterol diet.
The given information does not provide any data on the effectiveness of a low-cholesterol diet in reducing the risk of heart disease. It only demonstrates the different responses to a high-cholesterol diet based on genetic differences. Therefore, this option is not strongly supported by the information.

C. The bodies of those who have the Apo-A-IV-2 gene excrete cholesterol when blood cholesterol reaches a certain level.
The given information does not provide any data or indication about the cholesterol excretion mechanism based on the Apo-A-IV-2 gene. It only states that the blood cholesterol levels of individuals with this gene remained unchanged after consuming a high-cholesterol diet. Therefore, this option is not strongly supported by the information.

D. The presence of the Apo-A-IV-l gene seems to indicate that a person has a lower risk of heart disease.
The given information does not provide any data or indication about the overall risk of heart disease based on the presence of the Apo-A-IV-l gene. It only shows that individuals with this gene experienced a 20 percent increase in blood cholesterol levels after consuming a high-cholesterol diet. Therefore, this option is not strongly supported by the information.

E. The presence of the Apo-A-IV-2 gene may inhibit the elevation of blood cholesterol.
This option is strongly supported by the information provided. The fact that individuals with the Apo-A-IV-2 gene did not experience an increase in blood cholesterol levels after consuming a high-cholesterol diet suggests that the presence of this gene may have an inhibitory effect on the elevation of blood cholesterol levels.

A. Ace Motor's executives who live in the city spend less time commuting to work than do those who live in the suburbs.
The passage states that executives living in the suburbs have less free time per week because some of their commuting time is spent on leisure by the urban executives. From this, we can infer that urban executives have less commuting time compared to suburban executives, which means they spend less time traveling to work. Therefore, the inference that executives living in the city spend less time commuting to work is supported by the statements made in the passage.

B. The majority of Ace's executives live in the suburbs rather than near the downtown headquarters in Metropolis.
The passage does not provide any information about the proportion or majority of executives living in the suburbs versus those near the downtown headquarters. Hence, this inference is not supported by the given statements.

C. A handful of Ace Motor's executives live neither in the city nor in the surrounding suburbs but fly in from out of town each week.
The passage does not mention anything about executives flying in from out of town. It only focuses on executives living in the suburbs and the city. Therefore, this inference is not supported.

D. Ace Motor's executives who live in the suburbs spend more time commuting than they have for leisure.
The passage does not provide information about the specific amount of time spent commuting or on leisure activities. It only mentions that suburban executives have less free time due to commuting time being spent on leisure by urban executives. Therefore, this inference is not supported.

E. Most of Ace's executives who live in the city walk to work each morning.
The passage does not provide any information about how executives travel to work, whether they walk or use any other means of transportation. Therefore, this inference is not supported.

Based on the information given, only option A is supported by the statements made in the passage.

C. The corn market in any state is part of the national corn market even if most of the corn consumed in the state is produced in the state.

The statement states that if a poor harvest season in a major corn-producing state leads to higher prices for corn, those higher prices will affect corn prices in other states, regardless of whether those states are net importers of corn. This implies that the corn market in any state is connected to the national corn market, even if most of the corn consumed in the state is produced within the state itself. Therefore, the conclusion that the corn market in any state is part of the national corn market is best supported by the given statement.

A. Agricultural commodities companies in states that are not net importers of corn are excluded from the national corn market when there is a disruption in the national corn supply.
The statement does not mention anything about agricultural commodities companies being excluded from the national corn market. Therefore, this conclusion is not supported.

B. National corn supply disruptions have little, if any, effect on the price of local corn as long as the locality is in a state that is not a net importer of corn.
The statement specifically states that national corn supply disruptions, such as a poor harvest season, result in higher prices for corn in other states as well. Therefore, this conclusion is not supported.

D. Poor harvesting seasons come at predictable regular intervals.
The statement does not provide any information about the predictability or regularity of poor harvesting seasons. Therefore, this conclusion is not supported.

E. Higher prices for corn tend to lead to increased prices for livestock, which rely on corn feed.
The statement does not provide any information about the impact of higher corn prices on livestock prices. Therefore, this conclusion is not supported.

Based on the information given, only option C is supported by the statement.

(A) A decrease in the level of atmospheric heat causes a decrease in the amount of carbon that rain washes into the oceans from the air.
Based on the information provided, when there is a decrease in atmospheric carbon, it causes the atmosphere to hold less heat, which leads to decreased evaporation from the oceans and less rain. As a result, less carbon is washed into the oceans. Therefore, this statement can be inferred from the passage, and it is supported.

(B) An increase in the level of carbon in the atmosphere causes increased evaporation of ocean water.
The passage does not mention any direct relationship between an increase in atmospheric carbon and increased evaporation of ocean water. Therefore, this statement cannot be inferred from the passage.

(C) An increase in the level of atmospheric heat causes increased rainfall.
The passage states that an increase in the level of atmospheric carbon causes the atmosphere to hold more heat, which leads to increased evaporation from the oceans and increased rain. Therefore, this statement can be inferred from the passage, and it is supported.

(D) A decrease in the level of carbon in the atmosphere causes decreased evaporation of ocean water.
The passage states that a decrease in atmospheric carbon causes the atmosphere to hold less heat, which leads to decreased evaporation from the oceans and less rain. Therefore, this statement can be inferred from the passage, and it is supported.

(E) A decrease in the level of atmospheric heat causes a decrease in the level of carbon in the atmosphere.
The passage does not provide any information about a direct relationship between a decrease in atmospheric heat and a decrease in the level of carbon in the atmosphere. Therefore, this statement cannot be inferred from the passage.

Based on the information provided, the statement that cannot be inferred from the passage is (E) A decrease in the level of atmospheric heat causes a decrease in the level of carbon in the atmosphere.

(A) Animals that eat meat travel in relatively small groups and across relatively small ranges compared to animals that eat plants.

This statement is not directly supported by the information provided. The correlation mentioned in the statement is between the distance animals travel, the size of their groups, and their diets. However, the given information does not explicitly state that animals that eat meat travel in smaller groups and across smaller ranges compared to herbivorous animals. Therefore, option (A) is not the most supported choice.

(B) Animals that have varied diets can be expected to be larger and more robust than animals that eat only one or two kinds of food.

The given information does not provide direct support for this statement. It mentions the correlation between diet, teeth, and face, but it does not establish a direct link between the variety of diets and the size or robustness of animals. This option goes beyond the information provided and is not the most supported choice.

(C) When individual herd animals lose their teeth through age or injury, those animals are likely to travel at the rear of their herd.

This statement is not supported by the information provided. The given information discusses the correlation between diet, teeth, face, and the behavior of animals, but it does not make any claims about the specific behavior of individual herd animals that lose their teeth. Option (C) is not the most supported choice.

(D) Information about the size and shape of an animal’s face is all that is needed to identify the species to which that animal belongs.

The given information does not support this statement. It discusses the correlation between diet, teeth, face, distance traveled, and group size, but it does not claim that the size and shape of an animal's face alone are sufficient to identify its species. This option is not the most supported choice.

(E) Information about the size and shape of an extinct animal’s teeth and face can establish whether that animal is likely to have been a herd animal.

This statement aligns with the given information. The information mentions that the size and shape of animals' teeth and faces are linked to their diets, and diet influences their behavior, such as living in herds. Therefore, analyzing the teeth and face of an extinct animal can provide insights into its likely social behavior, specifically whether it was a herd animal. Option (E) is the most supported choice based on the provided information.

(A) Whether governmental action will be taken to lessen a common risk depends primarily on the prominence given to the risk by the news media.
This statement is not strongly supported by the information provided. While the passage mentions that common threats like automobile and industrial accidents are not prominently reported, it does not directly address whether governmental action depends on media prominence.

(B) People tend to magnify the risk of a threat if the threat seems particularly dreadful or if those who would be affected have no control over it.
This statement is not directly supported by the information given. The passage does not discuss whether people tend to magnify the risk of a threat based on dreadfulness or lack of control. It focuses more on how attention given by the media influences people's risk estimation.

(C) Those who get their information primarily from the news media tend to overestimate the risk of uncommon threats relative to the risk of common threats.
This statement is strongly supported by the information provided. The passage explicitly states that people estimate the risk of various threats based on how frequently those threats come to their attention. Since uncommon threats, like product tampering, are universally reported in featured stories, individuals who rely on the news media as their primary source of information are likely to overestimate the risk of such uncommon threats compared to common threats.

(D) Reporters tend not to seek out information about long-range future threats but to concentrate their attention on the immediate past and future.
This statement is not directly supported by the passage. It discusses how reporters concentrate on the immediate past and future but does not address their approach to long-range future threats.

(E) The resources that are spent on avoiding product tampering are greater than the resources that are spent on avoiding threats that stem from the weather.
The passage does not provide any information about the allocation of resources. It focuses on how news media coverage influences risk estimation but does not discuss resource allocation between product tampering and weather-related threats.

Based on the information given, option (C) is the most strongly supported statement.

A. Support Sarah’s contention that recycling is too expensive.
This option is not supported by Lauren's response. Lauren disagrees with Sarah's focus on cost-effectiveness and instead emphasizes the importance of conserving resources through recycling. Lauren's response does not support Sarah's argument that recycling is too expensive.

B. Refute Sarah’s argument that recycling is more expensive than taking trash to the landfill.
This option is supported by Lauren's response. Sarah argues that the recycling program is not cost-effective compared to landfill disposal. However, Lauren counters this argument by stating that the purpose of recycling is not primarily about saving money but about conserving resources and reducing waste in landfills. By refuting Sarah's cost-focused argument, Lauren suggests that recycling has benefits beyond just financial considerations.

C. Suggest to Sarah that there is an alternate view of why recycling makes good sense for the people of their city.
This option is strongly supported by Lauren's response. Lauren presents an alternate perspective to Sarah by highlighting the environmental benefits of recycling and the importance of conserving resources. By doing so, Lauren suggests that there is another viewpoint that considers the broader implications of recycling beyond its cost-effectiveness.

D. Points to a fundamental value difference between the two when it comes to conservation.
This option is supported by Lauren's response. Lauren's emphasis on conserving resources through recycling while downplaying the financial aspect suggests a fundamental difference in values between her and Sarah. Sarah focuses on the cost-effectiveness of the recycling program, while Lauren prioritizes the long-term benefits of conserving resources.

E. Points out her ignorance of municipal finances.
This option is not supported by Lauren's response. While Lauren disagrees with Sarah's cost-focused argument, she does not directly point out any ignorance on Sarah's part regarding municipal finances. Lauren's response revolves more around the broader purpose and benefits of recycling.

Based on the conversation, option (C) is the most accurate explanation of Lauren's response to Sarah.

(A) The company’s present operations require increased funding.
This option is not directly supported by the shareholder's statements. While the shareholder mentions that funds may be diverted from the company's current operations, it does not explicitly state that increased funding is necessary for those operations.

(B) Investment into pharmaceuticals would not siphon off money from other operations.
The shareholder's statements do not directly address the potential impact of investing in pharmaceuticals on other operations. Therefore, this option is not strongly supported by the statements.

(C) The company will lose money as it expands into the food service industry.
This option aligns with the shareholder's concerns about the higher inherent risk and volatility of the food service industry. The shareholder suggests that investing in food services may siphon off funds needed by other operations. Although it does not explicitly state that the company will lose money, the concern about diverting funds implies a potential negative impact on the company's financial performance.

(D) Only if the company expands its operations into pharmaceuticals are increased profits possible.
The shareholder's statements do not directly support this option. While the shareholder mentions pharmaceuticals as an area the company has considered expanding into, it does not make any statements about increased profits being possible only through this expansion.

(E) The company has a greater chance of losing money in food services than in pharmaceuticals.
This option is strongly supported by the shareholder's statements. The shareholder explicitly mentions that the food service industry is volatile and carries higher inherent risk compared to pharmaceuticals. This suggests that the company is more likely to face financial losses in food services than in pharmaceuticals if it decides to expand into both areas.

Based on the provided information, option (E) is the statement most strongly supported by the shareholder's statements.