GMAT Verbal: Critical Reasoning Assumptions 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A city argues that adding bike lanes will reduce car accidents because cyclists will be safer. Which is a necessary assumption?
- Bike lanes are cheap to build
- Drivers prefer cars to bikes
- The presence of bike lanes does not increase overall traffic conflict (Correct answer)
- Most residents own bicycles
Correct answer: The presence of bike lanes does not increase overall traffic conflict
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?
- The supplement is FDA approved
- No other factor caused the score improvement (Correct answer)
- The test was difficult
- Users took the supplement daily
Correct answer: No other factor caused the score improvement
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:
- Employees feel free to voice complaints (Correct answer)
- The company pays well
- Morale surveys are accurate
- Managers are well trained
Correct answer: Employees feel free to voice complaints
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:
- The drug is patented
- That hospital's patients are representative of the broader population (Correct answer)
- The drug is inexpensive
- Doctors prefer the drug
Correct answer: That hospital's patients are representative of the broader population
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:
- Taxes are currently too high
- The increase in activity outweighs the lost revenue per transaction (Correct answer)
- Citizens dislike taxes
- Revenue is needed for services
Correct answer: The increase in activity outweighs the lost revenue per transaction
Revenue rises only if the growth effect exceeds the per-unit revenue loss.
Question 6: A company claims its training reduced errors because error rates dropped after training began. A required assumption is that:
- Errors were costly
- No simultaneous process change also reduced errors (Correct answer)
- Training was mandatory
- Employees enjoyed the training
Correct answer: No simultaneous process change also reduced errors
The causal link breaks if another concurrent change caused the drop.
Question 7: An editor argues a magazine should drop print because online readership is growing. The argument assumes that:
- Print readers will not be lost without replacement (Correct answer)
- Online ads pay more
- Readers prefer screens
- Printing is expensive
Correct answer: Print readers will not be lost without replacement
Dropping print is justified only if doing so does not sacrifice a valuable print audience.
GMAT Verbal: Critical Reasoning Assumptions 2
A city argues that adding bike lanes will reduce car accidents because cyclists will be safer.
Which is a necessary assumption?