To combat persistent counterfeiting, Lacland's currency was redesigned to include images that cannot be convincingly duplicated by the means that...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
To combat persistent counterfeiting, Lacland's currency was redesigned to include images that cannot be convincingly duplicated by the means that were successfully used to counterfeit the old bills. Last year, after the old currency was replaced, many crude counterfeits of the new bills were detected. But now it has been several months since any counterfeit currency has been found. Clearly, therefore, the introduction of the new currency has effectively thwarted would-be counterfeiters of Lacland's currency.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
Passage Analysis:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| To combat persistent counterfeiting, Lacland's currency was redesigned to include images that cannot be convincingly duplicated by the means that were successfully used to counterfeit the old bills. |
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| Last year, after the old currency was replaced, many crude counterfeits of the new bills were detected. |
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| But now it has been several months since any counterfeit currency has been found. |
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| Clearly, therefore, the introduction of the new currency has effectively thwarted would-be counterfeiters of Lacland's currency. |
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Argument Flow:
The argument starts by explaining the problem (counterfeiting) and the solution (redesigned currency). It then shows initial evidence that the solution didn't work immediately (crude counterfeits appeared), but follows with recent evidence of success (no counterfeits found for months). Finally, it concludes that the new currency design has successfully defeated counterfeiters.
Main Conclusion:
The introduction of the new currency has effectively stopped counterfeiters from making fake Lacland money.
Logical Structure:
The author uses a timeline of events as evidence: new currency was introduced → initial counterfeits appeared → months passed with no counterfeits found → therefore the new currency worked. This assumes that the absence of detected counterfeits means the redesign succeeded, rather than other possible explanations for why no fakes have been found recently.
Prethinking:
Question type:
Assumption - We need to find what the argument takes for granted. These are unstated beliefs that must be true for the conclusion to hold.
Precision of Claims
The argument makes specific claims about timing (several months with zero counterfeits found) and causation (new currency design caused counterfeiting to stop)
Strategy
Look for ways the conclusion could fall apart even if all the stated facts remain true. The author concludes the new currency design successfully stopped counterfeiting based on months of no detected fakes. What must the author be assuming about detection methods, counterfeiters' abilities, or alternative explanations?
This choice claims that only people who previously counterfeited the old currency attempted to counterfeit the new currency. However, the argument doesn't depend on this restriction. The conclusion that the new currency stopped counterfeiting would hold true whether the counterfeiters were the same people or entirely new ones. The identity of the counterfeiters is irrelevant to whether the redesign was effective.
This statement about whether old counterfeiting methods work on other countries' currencies is completely outside the scope of the argument. We're only concerned with Lacland's currency and whether the redesign stopped counterfeiting of Lacland's money. What happens with other countries' currencies doesn't affect this conclusion at all.
This is the correct assumption. The argument concludes that the new currency design successfully stopped counterfeiting because no counterfeits have been detected for months. But this reasoning only works if we assume counterfeiters haven't developed more sophisticated methods that could create undetectable fakes. If they had better techniques available, they might be successfully counterfeiting without detection, which would completely destroy the conclusion that the redesign 'effectively thwarted' them.
This choice compares the redesign approach to an alternative approach (increasing penalties). However, the argument doesn't need to assume anything about whether other methods would or wouldn't have worked. The conclusion is specifically about whether the redesign that was actually implemented was effective, not about comparing it to hypothetical alternatives.
The current value of Lacland's currency compared to when it was first introduced is irrelevant to whether the redesign stopped counterfeiting. Currency value fluctuations don't affect the logical connection between the absence of detected counterfeits and the effectiveness of the security features.