Critical Reasoning: Inference Questions
Which of the following best completes the passage below?
The interest of consumers in Company A's product is directly affected by the weather. When the weather is good, salespeople working for Company A are not contacted by any potential customers. The weather in Company A's area is good for about three quarters of the days of the year. A local competitor offering the same product, Company B, is equally affected by the weather. Based on these factors, it follows that __________.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice is in no way supported by the premises and cannot, therefore, complete the argument. The sales representatives of Company A have a chance of making an impact on anyone who calls them and provides a sales opportunity, not just 12.5% of the callers.
Note that the figure of 75% refers to the part of the year when people don't call Company A, rather than to a proportion of its callers. Also, even if only 25% of the callers were available to salespersons, just because there are two companies doesn't mean each of them receives an exact half, or 12.5%.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice is in no way supported by the premises and cannot, therefore, complete the argument. The sales representatives of Company A have a chance of making an impact on anyone who calls them and provides a sales opportunity, not just 25% of the callers.
Note that the figure of 75% refers to the part of the year when people don't call Company A, rather than to a proportion of its callers.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice makes an unsupported leap from the premises and cannot, therefore, complete the argument. We have no data on the revenues earned by either company; theoretically, they could cover their expenses and even create a profit. The idea that the revenues that are earned from the sales during bad weather are not sufficient to prevent bankruptcy is not backed by any evidence.
Incorrect.
[[snippet]]This answer choice makes an unbased leap from the argument and cannot, therefore, offer a logical conclusion. No comparison between any factors belonging to the two companies is made so we have no reason to believe that Company A will become more successful.
Excellent work!
[[snippet]]This answer choice takes a logical next step to form a based conclusion. Since both companies are negatively affected by good weather, moving to an area with worse weather is likely to have a positive effect on their business.
