Homeowners Aged 40 to 50 are more Likely to Purchase Ice Cream

Question: Homeowners aged 40 to 50 are more likely to purchase ice cream and are more likely to purchase it in larger amounts than are members of any other demographic group. The popular belief that teenagers eat more ice cream than adults must, therefore, be false.

The argument is flawed primarily because the author

(A) fails to distinguish between purchasing and consuming
(B) does not supply information about homeowners in age groups other than 40 to 50
(C) depends on popular belief rather than on documented research findings
(D) does not specify the precise amount of ice cream purchased by any demographic group
(E) discusses ice cream rather than more nutritious and healthful foods

Answer: A

Explanation:

A GMAT Critical Reasoning section comprises some facts and statements. GMAT critical reasoning tests the reasoning, logical and analytical thinking abilities of the candidate. The candidate has to deduce the correct option by finding the logically correct argument or by eliminating the irrelevant arguments.

The statement states -Homeowners aged 40 to 50 are more likely to purchase ice cream and are more likely to purchase it in larger amounts than are members of any other demographic group. The popular belief that teenagers eat more ice cream than adults must, therefore, be false.

The argument is flawed primarily because the author

(A) this option fails to distinguish between purchasing and consuming. Correct answer.

(B) This option does not supply information about homeowners in age groups other than 40 to 50. Even if the author provided more information about other age groups, say 25-40, 10-25 etc, it does not address the core issue of the argument.

(C) this depends on popular belief rather than on documented research findings. This may probably be relevant if a popular belief (which may not be supported by documented research) was used to make a particular conclusion. Then, the validity of the belief can be questioned to ask if the conclusion is valid. Not relevant here. In this argument, the conclusion (claim) is not made on the basis of a popular belief, instead, the conclusion is about a popular belief. Option C cannot be a flaw in this argument.

(D) This does not specify the precise amount of ice cream purchased by any demographic group. It is not a necessary detail for this argument to be made. The argument is purely a comparison between demographics. Exact amounts do not matter or have any impact on teh argument.

(E) discusses ice cream rather than more nutritious and healthful foods. Completely irrelevant to the argument, cannot be the flaw.

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