Critical Reasoning: Conclusion Weakening Questions
Ceramic floors require large amounts of water to be kept clean. Carpets, however, do not need water to be cleaned. An environmental protection group is urging the public to use carpeted flooring instead of ceramic tiles since carpets save water and, therefore, are better for the preservation of resources.
Which of the following, if true, undermines the environmental protection group's explanation for the preferred use of carpeted flooring?
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the conclusion. The prices of the two types of flooring are irrelevant, as the argument focuses on comparing their environmental effect.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the conclusion. While this certainly constitutes a disadvantage for carpets, it does not necessarily mean they require more resources. Thus, carpets are still found to be superior to ceramic tiles in the field of resources preservation.
It is true that poor heat insulation can lead to using up more resources, but this cannot be automatically inferred or assumed. Furthermore, there is an answer choice which directly links carpets with using up resources. Did you read all the answer choices?
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the conclusion as the conclusion makes a judgement about which flooring is better for the environment, while this answer choice is about how this knowledge can be implemented.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice strengthens the conclusion, but you are required to weaken it. Stating that the manufacturing of ceramic tiles uses a lot of wood means that it is a process that wastes a lot of resources - both water and burning fuel, giving us another reason to believe that carpeting is better for the preservation of resources.
Superb work!
[[snippet]]This answer choice attacks the argument's assumption by stating that carpets too require the use of some form of resource if they are to be kept clean, which makes then no better than ceramic floors.
Great, this is what you should have done. According to the Critical Reasoning Work Order, once we find an answer choice we think is correct, we should still scan the other answer choices to make sure there isn't a better answer choice.
Well, you should have.
According to the Critical Reasoning Work Order, once you find an answer choice you think is correct, you should still scan the other answer choices to make sure there isn't a better answer choice. Remeber that on the GMAT, the correct answer choice is the best answer choice, not just a possibly correct answer choice.
