Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT104 S1 Q9 Explanation

If the sales figures cited by the

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TopicsMust be True

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Stimulus

Sales manager: Last year the total number of meals sold in our company's restaurants was much higher than it was the find our meals desirable.

Accountant: If you look at individual restaurants, however, you find that the number of meals sold actually decreased substantially at every one of our restaurants that was in operation both last year and the year before. The desirability of our meals to consumers has clearly decreased, given that this group of restaurants-the between last year and the year before-demonstrates a trend toward fewer sales.

What this question is testing

Must be True

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence gap.

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The question
9.

If the sales figures cited by the accountant and the sales manager are both accurate, which one of the

Answer choices

  1. Correct75% picked this

    The company opened at least one new restaurant in the last

    Why this is right

    This is like what we anticipated. Since we knew the company had more restaurants last year than 2 years ago, we know that they opened at least one new restaurant in the past two years. To resolve the math of "fewer meals per restaurant" with "more total meals", we need to have "more restaurants".

    Skill tested: Must be True · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

  2. Out of Scope: competitive7% picked this

    The company’s meals are less competitive than they

    We have no information in these sales figures about how this restaurant compares to its competitors. If anything, the fact that the restaurant sold more meals last year than two years ago sounds like the company's meals are more competitive than they once were.

  3. Out of Scope: quality4% picked this

    The quality of the company’s meals has not improved over the

    Sales figures are just numbers. We wouldn't be able to derive any subjective ideas like "quality of meal" from sales figures.

  4. Out of Scope: prices7% picked this

    The prices of the company’s meals have changed over the past

    Neither sales figure mentions price or revenue. They only mention quantity.

  5. Out of Scope: market share7% picked this

    The market share captured by the company’s restaurants fell

    We have no information in these sales figures about how this restaurant compares to its competitors, so we can't judge market share. If anything, the fact that the restaurant sold more meals last year than two years ago sounds like the company's market share is increasing.

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