GMAT

A restaurant that comes up with an innovative dish can normally increase its profits by capitalizing on the novelty of the dish. Since recipes can be easily replicated, the restaurant with a new dish advertises it aggressively to attract customers while the novelty factor can still be used as a selling point. But aggressive advertising generates a fear of losing customers in the competitors and gives them a strong incentive to quickly replicate the new dish. Therefore, the strategy to maximize overall profit from a new dish is to advertise it selectively.

Which of the following, if true, strengthens the suggestion given by the author?

Researchers bet their bottom dollar on a combination of polar ice cores, tree-rings, geochemistry, and a medieval chronicle little-known in the West to solve one of vulcanology’s most enduring mysteries: which peak blew its top in the mid-13th century, causing a catastrophic eruption that ranks as one of the biggest in the recorded history? As with any investigation, the team had to rule out other suspects as it followed a trail of clues - and even read palms, or at least palm leaves, ultimately finding the culprit of the massive 1257 AD eruption, which the researchers say is Samalas volcano on Lombok Island in Indonesia.

For decades, scientists have been searching for the volcano responsible for the largest spike in sulfate deposits in the last 7,000 years, which were revealed in the ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica. The spike indicated a massive eruption around 1257 that may have sent up to eight times more sulfate into the stratosphere than the 1883 eruption of Karaktau, often held up as an archetype of volcanoes behaving badly. Researchers say the 1257 mystery spew is comparable in scope to a second-century AD eruption in the Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand, known as the most intense historic volcanic event. Multitude of futile attempts for a few decades compelled the researchers to write the project off as “unsolved”. Some thirty years later, one of the researchers’ tips came from Babad Lombok, a 13th century historical record in Old Javanese, written on palm leaves, the chronicle referencing a massive eruption of Samalas that created an enormous caldera.The current research zeroed in on Samalas, part of the Mount Rinjani volcanic complex.

The team was able to accumulate a sizable amount of incriminating evidence, including pyroclastic deposits from the eruption more than 100 feet thick found more than 15 miles from the ruins of the volcano. The range of deposits and the volume suggest that the Samalas eruption exceeded that of the Tambora event in 1815. The team sampled carbonized tree trunks and branches in the Samalas deposit zone and used radiocarbon dating to confirm a mid 13th-century eruption. Reviewing wind patterns, researchers were even able to narrow the timeframe for the eruption. The distribution, to the west, of volcanic ash and other ejecta from Samalas suggest that the dry season’s easterly trade winds were prevalent, putting the eruption window between May and October of 1257.

The author of the passage alludes to the discovery made in Greenland and Antarctica in order to

The seafront properties in Southern coastal regions of India had always been expensive and most sought after. After the Tsunami hit the coastal regions of India last year, the prices of the seafront properties dropped as most inhabitants started evacuating their homes and moved inlands.  As a result the property values of inland homes started increasing.  The installation of the Tsunami sensors will definitely bring the seafront property prices to its original glory and thus the original price.

Which of the following, if true, most calls into question the reasoning on which the plan is based?

Eating fish and other foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids could help people maintain healthy brains as they age as well as protect their hearts, new research suggests. Per this research, participants with low levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had slightly smaller brains and scored lower on memory and cognitive tests than people with higher blood levels of omega-3s.

The researchers then looked at and ranked the level of omega-3 fatty acids in the participants' blood. People who scored in the bottom 25% in omega-3 fatty acid levels were compared with the rest of the study participants. Researchers found that those who had the lowest level of omega-3 fatty acid levels in their blood had lower brain gray matter volume compared with those with higher levels.

Gray matter volume is crucial to brain health. When it remains higher, brain health is being maintained. Decrease in gray matter volume indicates that brain cells are shrinking. The findings showed that consumption of baked or broiled fish on a weekly basis was positively associated with retention of gray matter volume in several areas of the brain. In fact the greater hippocampal, posterior cingulate, and orbital frontal cortex volumes obtained by optimal fish consumption led to reduced risk of contracting MCI or Alzheimer’s by almost five-fold.

The most recent U.S. dietary guidelines—released last year—recommend at least two servings of seafood a week. Some doctors and diet experts recommend that patients consume fish three times a week or take fish-oil supplements so they get enough omega-3 fatty acids to obtain health benefits.

According to the passage, people who eat foods rich in Omega 3 acids experience which of the following benefits

Fast food chains constantly face the problem of low employee retention, to counter which the companies offer high salaries. The companies have come up with the solution of hiring retired people who have a very low attrition rate. However, their time taken to service an order is more and they require going through long training programs at regular intervals. Thus, for most fast food chains the gain in employee retention does not compensate for the increase in time taken to serve each customer. Nevertheless, since the customers continue to be more appreciative when served by retired people, their employment is likely to become an industry-wide feature.

In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

In an attempt to improve the economic and social welfare of the people, the government has recently announced a scheme under which it will provide certain staple foods at 30% discount to the authorized dealers. The reduction in the prices of these foods will significantly improve the economic conditions of the people from low income groups.

Which of the following would be most useful to establish in evaluating the argument?

Eating fish and other foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids could help people maintain healthy brains as they age as well as protect their hearts, new research suggests. Per this research, participants with low levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had slightly smaller brains and scored lower on memory and cognitive tests than people with higher blood levels of omega-3s.

The researchers then looked at and ranked the level of omega-3 fatty acids in the participants' blood. People who scored in the bottom 25% in omega-3 fatty acid levels were compared with the rest of the study participants. Researchers found that those who had the lowest level of omega-3 fatty acid levels in their blood had lower brain gray matter volume compared with those with higher levels.

Gray matter volume is crucial to brain health. When it remains higher, brain health is being maintained. Decrease in gray matter volume indicates that brain cells are shrinking. The findings showed that consumption of baked or broiled fish on a weekly basis was positively associated with retention of gray matter volume in several areas of the brain. In fact the greater hippocampal, posterior cingulate, and orbital frontal cortex volumes obtained by optimal fish consumption led to reduced risk of contracting MCI or Alzheimer’s by almost five-fold.

The most recent U.S. dietary guidelines—released last year—recommend at least two servings of seafood a week. Some doctors and diet experts recommend that patients consume fish three times a week or take fish-oil supplements so they get enough omega-3 fatty acids to obtain health benefits.

The experiment discussed in paragraph 2 suggests

Directions: The data sufficiency problem consists of a question and two statements, labeled (1)
and (2), in which certain data are given. You have to decide whether the data given in the
statements are sufficient for answering the question. Using the data given in the statements plus
your knowledge of mathematics and everyday facts (such as the number of days in July or the
meaning of counterclockwise), you must indicate whether
Q.
Is (y/x)*(1+x)² > 2y
1. xy > 0
2. x + y > 5