CR from GMAT sets

[aham]

Hello,

 

I am not sure if the OAs are correct or not. Ans with explanations will be appreciated.

 

rgds,

aham

 

Highway Official: When resurfacing our concrete bridges, we should use electrically conductive concrete (ECC) rather than standard concrete. In the winter, ECC can be heated by passing an electric current through it, thereby preventing ice buildup. The cost of the electricity needed is substantially lower than the cost of the de-icing salt we currently use.

 

Taxpayer: But construction costs for ECC are much higher than for standard concrete, so your proposal is probably not justifiable on economic grounds.

Which of the following, if true, could best be used to support the highway official’s proposal in the face of taxpayer’s objection?

A. The use of de-icing salt causes corrosion of the reinforcing steel in concrete bridge decks and damage to the concrete itself, thereby considerably shortening the useful life of concrete bridges.

B. Severe icing conditions can cause power outages and slow down the work of emergency crews trying to get power restored.

C. In weather conditions conducive to icing, ice generally forms on the concrete surfaces of bridges well before it forms on parts of the roadway that go over solid ground.

D. Aside from its potential use for de-icing bridges, ECC might also be an effective means of keeping other concrete structures such as parking garages and airport runways ice free.

E. If ECC were to be used for a bridge surface, the electric current would be turned on only at times at which ice was likely to form.

 

 

An overwhelming proportion of the most productive employees at SaleCo’s regional offices work not eight hours a day, five days a week, as do other SaleCo employees, but rather ten

 

hours a day, four days a week, with Friday off. Noting this phenomenon, SaleCo’s president plans to increase overall productivity by keeping the offices closed on Fridays and having all employees work the same schedule—ten hours a day, four days a week.

Which of the following, if true, provides the most reason to doubt that the president’s plan, if implemented, will achieve its stated purpose?

A. Typically, a SaleCo employee’s least productive hours in the workplace are the early afternoon hours.

B. None of the employees who work four days a week had volunteered to work that schedule, but all were assigned to it by their supervisors.

C. Working ten hours a day has allowed the most productive employees to work two hours alone each day in their respective offices relatively undisturbed by fellow employees.

D. Employees at SaleCo are compensated not on the basis of how many hours a week they work but on the basis of how productive they are during the hours they are at work.

E. Those SaleCo employees who have a four-day workweek do not take any of their office work to do at home on Fridays.

 

 

Since it has become known that several of a bank’s top executives have been buying shares in

 

http://www.scoretop.com

their own bank, the bank’s depositors, who had been worried by rumors that the bank faced impending financial collapse, have been greatly relieved. They reason that since top executives evidently have faith in the bank’s financial soundness, those worrisome rumors must be false. They might well be overoptimistic, however since corporate executives have sometimes bought shares in their own company in a calculated attempt to dispel negative rumors about the company’s health.

In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?

A. The first summarizes the evidence used in the reasoning called into question by the argument; the second states the counterevidence on which the argument relies.

B. The first summarizes the evidence used in the reasoning called into question by the argument; the second is an intermediate conclusion supported by the evidence.

C. The first is an intermediate conclusion that forms part of the reasoning called into question by the argument; the second is evidence that undermines the support for this intermediate conclusion.

D. The first is an intermediate conclusion that forms part of the reasoning called into question by the argument; the second is the main conclusion of the argument.

E. The first is an intermediate conclusion that forms part of the reasoning called into question by the argument; the second states a further conclusion supported by this intermediate conclusion.

 

21-29

 

One of the limiting factors in human physical performance is the amount of oxygen that is absorbed by the muscles from the bloodstream. Accordingly, entrepreneurs have begun selling at gymnasiums and health clubs bottles of drinking water, labeled “SuperOXY,” that has extra oxygen dissolved in the water. Such water would be useless in improving physical performance, however, since the only way to get oxygen into the bloodstream so that it can be absorbed bye the muscles is through the lungs.

Which of the following, if true, would serve the same function in the argument as the statement in boldface?

A. the water lost in exercising can be replaced with ordinary tap water

B. the amount of oxygen in the blood of people who are exercising is already more than the muscle can absorb

C. world-class athletes turn in record performance without such water

D. frequent physical exercise increases the body’s ability to take in and use oxygen

E. lack of oxygen is not the only factor limiting human physical performance

[gmatnaive2]

The first one:

 

The taxpayer's objection is based on economic reasons, saying the cost of construction is too high. The official refutes it by saying

"The use of de-icing salt causes corrosion of the reinforcing steel in concrete bridge decks and damage to the concrete itself, thereby considerably shortening the useful life of concrete bridges."

 

In other words because the life is short, either the concrete bridges need to be rebuilt sooner or maintained at a higher cost. So cost of concrete bridges eventually > than ECC.

 

Ans: A

[scmba]

The second one would go with C becasue it states a reason for the extra hours each day producing better results.

[kannn]

1--> A: (as explained by gmatnaive2)

B: It has nothing to do with power outage

C: If ice forms first on concrete surface, it makes sense to use salt over the bridge to prevent and also it has nothing to do with the cost.Nothing is present to say that ECC is better.

D: Parking garages and airports are not part of the argument

E: If electric current is applied only at times when ice was likely to form and salt could also be applied that time. So not that much supportive.

 

2-->C:

 

3: 1st bold statement is another evidence/reason behind top executives action. 2nd bold statement is conclusion based on the counter premise "since corporate executives have sometimes bought shares in their own company in a calculated attempt to dispel negative rumors about the company's health."

Ans : B

 

4:B

 

Wht is the answer u've?

[ReggieSTX]

Hi Folks,

 

I agree with the answers and explanations for 1 & 2.

 

(3) D: because "They might well be overoptimistic" is the conclusion of the passage.

 

(4) B: because the general premise of the bold statement is that the extra oxygen cannot be absorbed i.e. ineffective, if there's already more oxygen that the body can use adding more is also ineffective.

 

My 2 cents,

 

Reggie

[aham]

Oa:

A, C, E, D