Civic Leader: The High Cancer Rate Among Our Citizens is the Result of Hazardous Material Produced at Your Plant.

Question:

Civic Leader: The high cancer rate among our citizens is the result of hazardous material produced at your plant.

Board of Directors: Our statistics show that rates of cancer are high throughout the valley in which the plant is situated because local wells that supply drinking water are polluted, not because of the plant.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the board’s claims?

(A) The statistics do not differentiate between types of cancer.
(B) Nearby communities have not changed the sources of their drinking water.
(C) Cancer-causing chemicals used at the plant are discharged into a nearby river and find their way into local wells.
(D) The plant both uses and produces chemicals that have been shown to cause cancer.
(E) Some of the pollutants cited by the board as contaminating the local wells have been present in the wells for decades.

“Civic Leader: The high cancer rate among our citizens is the result of hazardous material produced at your plant.” – is a GMAT Critical question. This particular GMAT Critical Reasoning topic has been taken from the book ‘GMAT Official Guide Verbal Review, 2016 Edition’. This weakens the argument type of GMAT CR question. To answer the question, a candidate can by either finding a piece of evidence that would weaken the argument or logical flaws in the argument. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. This topic requires candidates to find the strengths and weaknesses of the argument, or find the logical flaw in the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Question Type: This weakens the argument type of GMAT CR question. Candidates can answer this GMAT critical reasoning question by either finding a piece of evidence that would weaken the argument or logical flaws in the argument.

Hypothesis: The Civic Leader states that the high cancer rate among our citizens is the result of hazardous material produced at your plant.

The Board of Directors states that the rates of cancer are high throughout the valley in which the plant grows because local wells that supply drinking water are polluted.

Conclusion: The Board of Directors makes the water content in the wells responsible for the cancer.

(A) The statistics do not differentiate between types of cancer.
Option A does not follow the board's rebuttal. Hence option A is incorrect.

(B) Nearby communities have not changed the sources of their drinking water.
Option B focused on the civic leader's community. Hence option B is incorrect.

(C) Cancer-causing chemicals used at the plant are discharged into a nearby river and find their way into local wells.
Option C is correct as the board of the directors makes wells responsible for the water causing it cancer-causing chemicals.

(D) The plant both uses and produces chemicals that have been shown to cause cancer.
Option D states that the board of the directors does not dispute this. Additionally, this statement claims that this is not responsible for cancer but the wells are.

(E) Some of the pollutants cited by the board as contaminating the local wells have been present in the wells for decades.
Option E states that the amount of time the water has been in the well is not followed. Hence option E is incorrect.

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