Trancorp Currently Transports All Its Goods To Burland Island By Truck GMAT Critical Reasoning

Question: Trancorp currently transports all its goods to Burland Island by truck. The only bridge over the channel separating Burland from the mainland is congested, and trucks typically spend hours in traffic. Trains can reach the channel more quickly than trucks, and freight cars can be transported to Burland by barges that typically cross the channel in an hour. Therefore, to reduce shipping time, Trancorp plans to switch to trains and barges to transport goods to Burland.

Which of the following would be most important to know in determining whether Trancorp’s plan, if implemented, is likely to achieve its goal?

(A) Whether transportation by train and barge would be substantially less expensive than transportation by truck
(B) Whether there are boats that can make the trip between the mainland and Burland faster than barges can
(C) Whether loading the freight cars onto barges is very time consuming
(D) Whether the average number of vehicles traveling over the bridge into Burland has been relatively constant in recent years
(E) Whether most trucks transporting goods into Burland return to the mainland empty

“Trancorp currently transports all its goods to Burland Island by truck GMAT Critical Reasoning”- is a critical-thinking topic on the GMAT. Each set of five options in this GMAT critical question presents a different argument. The candidates must read the passage and then choose the response that best fits it. The GMAT critical reasoning section is intended to assess candidates' capacity for rational thought and effectiveness. A candidate must look for any evidence that could undermine the claim or expose logical flaws in the argument in order to answer the question. Candidates have 65 minutes to complete the 36 MCQ questions in the GMAT's critical reasoning section.

Answer: C
Explanation:

This is an Evaluate the Argument question, as indicated by the phrase most crucial to understanding in the question stem. Finding a piece of information that would be crucial to know in order to assess the validity of the conclusion is the aim of these questions. Depending on how that element is evaluated, the proper answer might either support or refute the conclusion. Analyzing each option separately is the best way of finding the correct answer.

Option A: Incorrect

This option compares the costs of trucking versus transportation by train and barge. The conclusion only concerns shipping time, so the price of shipping methods is irrelevant.

Option B: Incorrect

This option discusses boats that can travel more quickly than barges between the mainland and Burland. The only conclusion is that shipping by barge and train would be quicker than shipping by truck. Boats and other forms of transportation are not relevant in this comparison.

Option C: Correct

This option talks about the amount of time needed to load the freight cars onto the barges. In order to ship using this method, it is necessary to transfer the cars from trains to barges. The conclusion would be undermined if this step took a long time, as that might indicate that the entire shipping process takes longer than truck shipping. However, if this process is quick, the author may be right that shipping by trains and barges is quicker, which would support the conclusion.

Option D: Incorrect

This option only discusses past traffic volume. According to the argument, the current state of traffic is a challenge that slows truck shipping. Comparing shipping times would not benefit from additional information about traffic trends.

Option E: Incorrect

This choice discusses the trucks that deliver goods to Burland and then return empty to the mainland. Only shipping times to Burland are at issue in the debate. The amount of time it takes to deliver goods into Burland is independent of whether trucks are empty when they return.

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