Ordinary automobile engines can be converted to run on ethanol, which can be produced from corn and other grains. In...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
Ordinary automobile engines can be converted to run on ethanol, which can be produced from corn and other grains. In the United States, ethanol is currently much more expensive than gasoline, and there is no prospect that the price of ethanol will decrease. Perhaps, though, as petroleum reserves continue to dwindle, the price advantage of gasoline will diminish and eventually disappear, and ethanol will displace gasoline as the primary automobile fuel. However, few people in the United States could afford to use their automobiles as they do now if gasoline were as expensive as ethanol. So, if ethanol does replace gasoline, a major change in transportation habits would be bound to occur in the United States.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
Understanding the Passage
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| "Ordinary automobile engines can be converted to run on ethanol, which can be produced from corn and other grains." | What it says: Cars can be modified to use ethanol fuel instead of gasoline, and ethanol comes from crops like corn.
Source: Author's factual statement |
| "In the United States, ethanol is currently much more expensive than gasoline, and" | What it says: Right now in the US, ethanol costs significantly more than gasoline per gallon.
Source: Author's factual observation |
| (Boldface 1) "there is no prospect that the price of ethanol will decrease" | What it says: Ethanol prices will not go down in the future - they'll stay high or potentially increase.
Source: Author's factual claim |
| "Perhaps, though, as petroleum reserves continue to dwindle, the price advantage of gasoline will diminish and eventually disappear, and ethanol will displace gasoline as the primary automobile fuel." | What it says: Even though ethanol won't get cheaper, gasoline might become much more expensive as oil runs out, making ethanol competitive. Eventually ethanol could become the main fuel.
Source: Author's hypothetical scenario |
| "However, few people in the United States could afford to use their automobiles as they do now if gasoline were as expensive as ethanol." | What it says: Most Americans can't afford to drive the same amount they currently drive if gas costs as much as ethanol does now.
Source: Author's economic analysis |
| "So," (Boldface 2) "if ethanol does replace gasoline, a major change in transportation habits would be bound to occur in the United States" | What it says: Therefore, if ethanol becomes the main fuel, Americans will definitely have to drastically change how they use their cars.
Source: Author's conclusion |
Overall Structure
The author presents a complex scenario about fuel transition, weighing economic factors against resource constraints. The argument flows from establishing ethanol as a viable but expensive alternative, to showing how it might become competitive, to concluding what would happen if it actually replaced gasoline.
Main Conclusion: If ethanol does replace gasoline, a major change in transportation habits would be bound to occur in the United States.
Boldface Segments
- Boldface 1: there is no prospect that the price of ethanol will decrease
- Boldface 2: if ethanol does replace gasoline, a major change in transportation habits would be bound to occur in the United States
Boldface Understanding
Boldface 1 Function: This statement provides a key economic constraint - ethanol will remain expensive. It seems to argue against ethanol adoption initially.
Boldface 1 Direction: Supports the author's conclusion. While it appears to oppose ethanol use, it actually supports the final conclusion by establishing why ethanol adoption would force behavioral changes.
Boldface 2 Function: This is the author's main conclusion, stating the inevitable consequence if the fuel transition occurs.
Boldface 2 Direction: Supports the author's conclusion (it IS the author's conclusion).
Structural Classification
Boldface 1 Structural Role: Supporting evidence/premise that contributes to the main conclusion by establishing ethanol's permanent cost disadvantage.
Boldface 1 Predicted Answer Patterns: "a premise that supports the argument's conclusion" or "evidence that supports the main conclusion"
Boldface 2 Structural Role: Main conclusion of the entire argument.
Boldface 2 Predicted Answer Patterns: "the main conclusion" or "the argument's conclusion" or "the conclusion the argument reaches"
- 'The first is a judgment that is used to support the main conclusion of the argument' - ✓ CORRECT - The statement about ethanol prices not decreasing provides key support for why transportation habits would change if ethanol replaced gasoline
- 'the second states that conclusion' - ✓ CORRECT - The second boldface is clearly the main conclusion the author is trying to establish
- 'The first is a judgment that is used to support the main conclusion of the argument' - ✓ CORRECT - Same reasoning as above
- 'the second provides further support for that conclusion' - ✗ WRONG - The second boldface IS the conclusion, not additional support for it
- 'The first is a judgment that was used to support a position against which the argument is directed' - ✗ WRONG - The author isn't arguing against any position; the first boldface supports the author's own conclusion
- 'the second states the main conclusion of the argument' - ✓ CORRECT - This part is accurate
- 'The first is a judgment that was used to support a position against which the argument is directed' - ✗ WRONG - Same issue as Choice C; there's no opposing position being argued against
- 'the second is a judgment that is used to support the main conclusion of the argument' - ✗ WRONG - The second boldface IS the conclusion, not support for it
- 'The first states a position against which the argument is directed' - ✗ WRONG - The first boldface doesn't state an opposing position; it provides factual support for the author's argument
- 'the second states the main conclusion of the argument' - ✓ CORRECT - This part is accurate, but the first part makes this choice wrong