In Response to a Recent Survey Conducted by a Newspaper in Quantos City.

Question: In response to a recent survey conducted by a newspaper in Quantos city, 70% of the respondents states that they are very happy with the performance of the mayor and 20% stated that they are reasonably happy with the performance of the mayor. Only 10% of the respondents stated that they were unhappy with the performance of the mayor. So, it seems safe to conclude that the residents of Quantos city are in general happy with the mayor’s performance.

Which of the following options most strongly weakens the above argument?

1. The mayor has been in the news a lot lately because of corruption charges that have been pressed against him.
2. The primary readership of the newspaper that conducted the survey comprises the economically well-to-do people, a demographic that makes up only 20% of the population of Quantos city.
3. The crime rate in Quantos city has not gone down during the term of the mayor.
4. The mayor is against the abolition of property tax in Quantos city whereas most of the residents of the city are in favour of such a move.
5. The survey is representative of the entire population of Quantos city.

Answer: B
Explanation: This is a GMAT critical reasoning question. We have to find the option that most strongly weakens the argument presented in the passage.

Let’s go through each of the available options and select the one that is most suitable.

Option A: The mayor has been in the news a lot lately because of corruption charges that have been pressed against him.
Option A states that the mayor has been in the news because he has corruption charges that have been pressed against him. This statement says nothing about the happiness of the people with the performance of the mayor. It is possible that the performance of the mayor is corrupt, but it still makes people happy. This statement does not weaken the argument. So, Option A is incorrect.

Option B: The primary readership of the newspaper that conducted the survey comprises the economically well-to-do people, a demographic that makes up only 20% of the population of Quantos city.
Option B states that the primary readers of the newspaper that conducted the survey are economically well-to-do people and these people only make up 20% of the total population. So, it shows that the respondents are not adequate respondents of the residents. This statement clearly weakens the argument presented in the passage. So, Option B is correct.

Option C: The crime rate in Quantos city has not gone down during the term of the mayor.
According to Option C, the crime rate in the city has not gone down during the term of the mayor. Even when the crime rates are high, the performance of the mayor could be significantly good in other aspects of the city and it is possible that people are happy with all the other aspects. This statement does nothing to weaken the argument. So, Option C is incorrect.

Option D: The mayor is against the abolition of property tax in Quantos city whereas most of the residents of the city are in favour of such a move.
Option D states that the mayor is not in favour of the abolition of property tax, whereas most of the people are in the favour of this move. This one difference is not enough to prove that the people of the city are not in general happy with the mayor’s performance. This statement does not weaken the argument. So, Option D is incorrect.

Option E: The survey representative of the entire population of Quantos city.
Option E states that the survey is representative of the whole population of the city. If this statement is true, then instead of weakening the argument, it supports it. It shows that most of the people are in general happy with the performance of the mayor and the servery mentioned represents the entire population of the city. So, Option E is incorrect.

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