GMAT Section 3

GMAT Section 3 practice questions, page 25 of 31, with answer review and explanations.

Question 121

Technological improvements have made electric cars far more cost-efficient in the last decade. However, the threshold of economic viability for electric cars (that is, the cost of running an electric car compared to a gasoline powered car) has remained unchanged. Which of the following, if true, does most to help explain why the increased cost-efficiency of electric cars has not decreased its threshold of economic viability?

  1. The cost of manufacturing gasoline-powered cars has fallen dramatically.
  2. The reduction in the cost of manufacturing electric cars has occurred despite increased raw material costs for those cars.
  3. Technological changes have increased the efficiency of gasoline-powered cars.
  4. Most electricity is generated by coal-fired or nuclear, rather than oil-fired, power plants.
  5. When the price of oil increases, reserves of oil not previously worth exploiting become economically viable.

Question 122

Generally, marine biologists enter their field with the goal of doing important new research. They expect their colleagues to have similar goals. Therefore, when any marine biologist becomes a household name in the field of documentary nature films, most other scientists conclude that this biologist should no longer be regarded as a true colleague. The explanation offered above for the low esteem in which marine biologists who make documentary films are held by research scientists assumes that

  1. Serious scientific research is not a solitary activity, but relies on active cooperation among a group of colleagues
  2. Research scientists tend not to regard as colleagues those scientists whose renown they envy
  3. A scientist can become famous as a marine biologist who makes documentary films without having completed any important research
  4. Research scientists believe that those who are well known as marine biologists who make documentary films are not motivated to do important new research
  5. No important new research can be accessible to or accurately assessed by those who are not themselves scientists

Question 123

New stores financed by investors have a much lower failure rate than stores financed by other means. Source of financing, therefore, must be a more important causative factor in the success of a new store than are such factors as the location of the store, the quality of the staff, or the choice of merchandise. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

  1. Investors tend to be more responsive than others to changes in a new store's financial needs.
  2. The strategic planning of a new store is a less important factor in the long-term success of the business than are the personal characteristics of the owner.
  3. More than half of all new stores close within three years.
  4. The management of new stores is generally less formal than the management of ongoing stores.
  5. Investors base their decisions to fund new stores on such factors as the personal characteristics of the owner, location of the store, and marketing goals.

Question 124

The proportion of Afro-American students enrolled in Gilmore Community College has increased over the past decades. This is partly shown by the fact that in 1965, only 6 percent of Afro-American between twenty and twenty-three in the town of Gilmore were enrolled in college, while in 1997, 13 percent of the Afro- Americans between twenty and twenty-three were enrolled in Gilmore Community College. To evaluate the argument above, it would be most useful to compare 1965 and 1997 with regard to which of the following characteristics

  1. The percentage of Afro-American students between twenty and twenty-three who were not enrolled in Gilmore Community College
  2. The percentage of Afro-American students between twenty and twenty-thirty who graduated from Gilmore Community College
  3. The percentage of Afro-American students who, after attending Gilmore Community College, entered highly paid professions
  4. The non-Afro-American students between twenty and twenty-three who were enrolled in Gilmore Community College
  5. The percentage of -Afro-American students who graduated from high school

Question 125

When three Indian-owned trains purchased from Transcontinental Trains crashed within a two month time period, the Indian parliament ordered the acquisition of three new Transcontinental trains as replacements. This decision surprised many because it is customary for users to shun a product after it is involved in accidents. Which of the following, if true, provides the best indication that the decision of the Indian government was well supported?

  1. Although during the previous year only one transcontinental train crashed, competing manufacturers had a perfect safety record.
  2. The Transcontinental-built trains crashed due to sabotage, but because of the excellent quality of the trains, fire was averted increasing the number of survivors.
  3. The Indian Railway Commission issued new guidelines for trains in order to standardize safety requirements governing inspections.
  4. Consumer advocates pressured two major railway companies into purchasing safer trains so that the public would be safer.
  5. Many Transcontinental Train employees had to be replaced because they found jobs with the competition