Question: Since the passage of the state’s Clean Air Act ten years ago, the level of industrial pollutants in the air has fallen by an average of 18 percent. This suggests that the restrictions on industry embodied in the act have worked effectively. However, during the same period, the state also suffered a period of economic decline. The number of businesses in the state has fallen by 10 percent, and the number of workers employed has fallen by 12 percent. It is probable that the business decline, rather than the regulations in the act, is responsible for at least half of the decline in pollution.

Which of the following is an assumption made in the passage above?

(A) Most businesses in the state have obeyed the regulations embodied in the Clean Air Act.
(B) The economic decline of the state can be attributed, in part, to the effects of the Clean Air Act.
(C) The amount of air pollution in a given area is likely to be proportional to the number of businesses and workers active in that area.
(D) The restrictions on business activity in other states are less stringent than are those embodied in the Clean Air Act.
(E) The Clean Air Act has been only very slightly successful in achieving the goal of reduced air pollution.

Answer: C
Explanation:

Analytical and critical thinking abilities are assessed on the GMAT's critical reasoning section. The candidate must have strong cognitive abilities in order to react coherently.

Pre-thinking:
The level of pollutants has decreased by 18% since the Clean Air Act.
This implies that it has done so well.
However, the state's economy declined at the same time. The number of firms in the state has decreased by 10%, while employment levels have decreased by 12%.

Conclusion: It is likely that the business downturn, rather than the act's provisions, is what caused at least half of the pollution drop.

The author comes to the conclusion that the economic downturn was responsible for at least 50% of the pollution decline (9–10%). Why? He seems to be presuming that enterprises and pollution are related. He is presuming that since enterprises decreased by 10%, that 10% of the decrease in pollution may be attributable to it.

Let's look at each option separately.

C: Accurate

It is an incorrect answer. Air pollution is mainly due to industries so obviously, this is the correct assumption.

A: Incorrect

It is an incorrect choice. It may or may not be the case that the states have obeyed the law. It is not mentioned in the passage.

B: Inaccurate

Option B is incorrect because the clean air act is not responsible for the businesses to decline within years. The opposite of it might be true.

D: Inaccurate

This choice is irrelevant and incorrect. The restriction in different states has not been discussed in the given passage.

E: Inaccurate

E is incorrect. No it is not the assumption made. It has been discussed that it has been a great initiative to reduce pollution. Hence it is eliminated.

“Since the passage of the state’s Clean Air Act ten years ago, the level of industrial pollutants in the air has fallen” – is a GMAT Critical question. To answer the question, a candidate can either find a piece of evidence that would weaken the argument or have logical flaws in the argument. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. This topic requires candidates to find the argument's strengths and weaknesses or the logical flaw in the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

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