The Increased Concentration of Salt in the Bay, which is the Result of the Recent Drought and High Temperatures, will Cause Many Fish to Die.

Question: The increased concentration of salt in the bay, which is the result of the recent drought and high temperatures, will cause many fish to die. Shrimp, however, can tolerate high salt levels; the shrimp industry will not, therefore, be hurt by the increased concentration of salt.

Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument above?

1. Some fish will migrate to areas that have lower concentrations of salt.
2. Lack of rainfall for extended periods of time lowers the water level of bays.
3. The organisms on which young shrimp feed cannot survive in such salty waters.
4. Increased water temperature often causes shrimp to multiply more quickly.
5. Shrimp are more abundant in areas of the bay that are sparsely populated by fish.

“The increased concentration of salt in the bay, which is the result of the recent drought and high temperatures, will cause many fish to die.”- is a GMAT Critical reasoning question. This particular GMAT Critical Reasoning topic has been taken from the book ‘GMAT Prep Plus’. In this particular topic, candidates need to choose the option that best suits the passage. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. Critical reasoning in GMAT 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:

A GMAT Critical Reasoning section comprises some facts and arguments. 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 -The increased concentration of salt in the bay, which is the result of recent drought and high temperatures, will cause many fish to die. Shrimp, however, can tolerate high salt levels; the shrimp industry will not, therefore, be hurt by the increased concentration of salt.

Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument above?

Given: increased concentration of salt caused by drought and high temperature will cause many fish to die. but shrimp can endure high levels of salts.

Conclusion: shrimp industry will not be hurt by the increased concern of salts.

If the food that keeps shrimp alive is affected by the salty water then shrimp will not survive industries based on shrimps will be affected.

1. This argument puts strength to the statement given in the question.
2. This argument also strengthens the above statement.
3. This is exactly opposite to what we have deduced. Hence this weakens the argument. This is the correct answer.
4. This is the opposite of what we are looking for. This strengthens the given argument.
5. This is again the opposite of what we are looking for. Wrong answer.

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