In Masonville few streets currently have shade trees. The city's newly adopted goal is to have shade trees on all...

GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions

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Critical Reasoning

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In Masonville few streets currently have shade trees. The city's newly adopted goal is to have shade trees on all streets that are wide enough. The trees will cool summer temperatures in the city as well as improve its appearance. Because statistics show that \(\frac{3}{4}\) trees planted in the city die before maturity, the city will plant a tree every \(10\) feet in order to achieve an eventual spacing of \(30\) to \(50\) feet between trees.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the city's plan depends?

The trees that will be planted as shade trees are hardier and have a greater chance of surviving to maturity than do the trees that have typically been planted in the city in the past.

The streets that currently have shade trees are no wider than the streets for which shade-tree plantings are planned.

Trees planted in the region of Masonville but outside the city would have a lower mortality rate than trees planted along city streets.

The growing conditions do not vary so much from district to district within the city that the mortality rate of trees differs greatly according to the district in which they are planted.

Apart from the issue of whether shade trees can be grown, the width of a city street does not contribute to the temperature there on hot summer days.

Solution

Passage Analysis:

Text from Passage	Analysis
In Masonville few streets currently have shade trees.	What it says: Masonville doesn't have many shade trees on its streets right now What it does: Sets up the current situation that needs improvement What it is: Author's description of current state Visualization: Current state: 10-20% of streets have shade trees
The city's newly adopted goal is to have shade trees on all streets that are wide enough.	What it says: The city wants to put shade trees on every street that can fit them What it does: Introduces the city's ambitious plan to change the current situation What it is: Author's statement of city policy Visualization: Goal: 100% of suitable streets with shade trees (vs current 10-20%)
The trees will cool summer temperatures in the city as well as improve its appearance.	What it says: Shade trees provide two benefits - cooler temps and better looks What it does: Explains why the city wants this goal (gives reasoning behind the plan) What it is: Author's explanation of benefits
Because statistics show that three of every four trees planted in the city die before maturity, the city will plant a tree every ten feet in order to achieve an eventual spacing of 30 to 50 feet between trees.	What it says: 75% of planted trees die, so they'll plant extra trees (every 10 feet) to end up with proper spacing What it does: Reveals the city's specific strategy to deal with the high tree death rate What it is: Author's explanation of city planning strategy Visualization: Plant every 10 feet → 75% die → Survivors spaced 30-50 feet apart

Argument Flow:

The argument starts by showing us the current problem (few shade trees), then tells us the city's goal (trees on all suitable streets), explains why this goal matters (cooling and appearance), and finally describes their specific strategy to achieve it (planting extra trees to account for deaths).

Main Conclusion:

The city will plant trees every ten feet to eventually achieve proper spacing of 30 to 50 feet between mature trees.

Logical Structure:

This is a plan-based argument where the conclusion (planting strategy) logically follows from the premises: if 75% of trees die and we want final spacing of 30-50 feet, then we need to plant much closer together initially. The argument assumes this math will work out and that the survival rate will remain consistent.

Prethinking:

Question type:

Assumption - We need to find statements that MUST be true for the city's plan to work. These are unstated beliefs the argument relies on.

Precision of Claims

The argument makes precise quantitative claims: 75% tree death rate, planting every 10 feet, achieving 30-50 feet spacing. We need to focus on what mathematical and logical assumptions make this plan viable.

Strategy

For assumption questions, we identify ways the conclusion could fail while respecting the given facts. The city's plan assumes their math works out and that certain conditions will hold true. We'll look for gaps between what they state and what they need to assume for success.

Answer Choices Explained

The trees that will be planted as shade trees are hardier and have a greater chance of surviving to maturity than do the trees that have typically been planted in the city in the past.

This suggests the new shade trees are hardier than previously planted trees. However, the argument already incorporates the 75% mortality rate into their planning strategy. Whether these trees are hardier than past trees doesn't matter - the city is planning based on existing mortality statistics, not hoping for better survival rates.

The streets that currently have shade trees are no wider than the streets for which shade-tree plantings are planned.

This compares the width of current tree-lined streets to planned streets. The argument doesn't require any relationship between existing tree-lined streets and new ones. The city is simply planning to plant on all streets that are 'wide enough,' regardless of what currently exists elsewhere.

Trees planted in the region of Masonville but outside the city would have a lower mortality rate than trees planted along city streets.

This discusses mortality rates outside the city versus inside the city. The city's plan only concerns trees planted within city limits, so the survival rate of trees planted outside the city is irrelevant to their urban planning strategy.

The growing conditions do not vary so much from district to district within the city that the mortality rate of trees differs greatly according to the district in which they are planted.

This addresses whether growing conditions vary significantly across different districts within the city. The city's plan assumes they can use one uniform strategy (planting every 10 feet) across all suitable streets to achieve consistent final spacing. If mortality rates varied dramatically by district due to different growing conditions, this uniform approach wouldn't work. Some areas might end up with too few survivors while others might have overcrowding. For the plan to succeed, growing conditions must be relatively consistent citywide.

Apart from the issue of whether shade trees can be grown, the width of a city street does not contribute to the temperature there on hot summer days.

This discusses whether street width affects temperature independent of trees. This is irrelevant to the city's tree-planting strategy. The argument focuses on achieving proper tree spacing and survival, not on the relationship between street width and temperature.

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