GMAT Verbal: Critical Reasoning Assumptions 2

Question 1

A city argues that adding bike lanes will reduce car accidents because cyclists will be safer. Which is a necessary assumption?

Accepted Answer

The presence of bike lanes does not increase overall traffic conflict

Answer

The conclusion fails if bike lanes introduce new conflicts that offset the safety gain.

Question 2

An ad claims a supplement boosts memory because users scored higher on a test after taking it. What assumption does this rely on?

Accepted Answer

No other factor caused the score improvement

Answer

The causal claim assumes the supplement, not some confounding factor, produced the gain.

Question 3

A manager concludes morale is high because few employees complained. The argument assumes that:

Accepted Answer

Employees feel free to voice complaints

Answer

Absence of complaints only signals morale if employees would actually speak up when unhappy.

Question 4

A study of a single hospital shows a new drug works, so the company says it will work nationwide. The key assumption is that:

Accepted Answer

That hospital's patients are representative of the broader population

Answer

Generalizing from one sample assumes that sample resembles the larger group.

Question 5

A pundit says lower taxes will raise government revenue because economic activity will increase. This assumes that:

Accepted Answer

The increase in activity outweighs the lost revenue per transaction

Answer

Revenue rises only if the growth effect exceeds the per-unit revenue loss.

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