#14- A study at a company found that most meetings showed diminishing returns after 30 minutes...

[pablourioste]

Why is it C and not A? Is it because the argument is a conditional, and C is a conditionally formatted answer and A is nnot?

[katehos]

Hi pablourioste!

It's not quite that simple, but you're on the right track! The reason why (C) is correct and answer choice (A) is not stems from the fact that (C) properly conveys the conditional logic while (A) contains a mistaken reversal.

From the information in the stimulus, we find that the conclusion is in the last sentence in which it states "for a meeting to achieve maximum productivity, then, it needs to have a clear time frame and be no more than 30 minutes long." So, we can create a conditional relationship from these terms. The word 'then' is a necessary condition indicator, so the following phrase will be the necessary condition.

Thus, our diagram looks like this: Maximum Productivity Clear Time Frame & More than 30 Minutes

Comparing this diagram to answer choice (A) and (C), we can see where (A) goes wrong. When diagrammed, answer choice (A) looks like:

More than 30 Minutes & Clear Time Frame Maximum Productivity

So, you can see that (A) is effectively a Mistaken Reversal! It flipped the conditions improperly.

Turning to answer choice (C), we can diagram this statement to look like:

Maximum Productivity Clear Time Frame & More Than 30 Minutes. This matches our original diagram perfectly! Thus, we can see that it's a slightly rephrased version of the exact conclusion contained in the stimulus and accurately characterizes the conclusion.

I hope this helps
Kate

[svd24]

I had originally selected answer choice C, however, I ultimately changed my answer to A because I got tripped up on the “only if” part of answer choice C. Could someone please help me to better understand why C’s “only if” is correct? Thank you!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi svd24!

Answer choice (C) can be diagrammed as:

MP CTF & 30min

That is, if a meeting is maximally productive, then we know that the meeting must have had a clear time frame and lasted no more than 30 minutes. This is the same way one would diagram the final sentence of the stimulus.

Answer choice (A) mistakes necessary and sufficient conditions. In effect, it is making the following statement:

CTF & 30min MP

In other words, if a meeting has a clear time frame and lasts no longer than 30 minutes, then it will be maximally productive. We don't know that to be true from the stimulus, though. Rather, we only know that if a meeting has been maximally productive, then it necessarily must have had a clear time frame and lasted no longer than 30 minutes.