PrepTest 123, Section 2, Question 9
By Brandon Beaver | Published October 29, 2024
Type: Weaken
Difficulty:
Explanations
Who cares about “historically”? We’re living in the present! Maybe that age range will change!
A
Nah. This strengthens by dismissing my objection.
B
No thanks. Lots of things could cause a decline in game rentals—including an increase in game sales.
C
No. The argument focuses on the “very near future” which isn’t necessarily “over the next 10 years.” Even if we grant that new tech is bound to come out soon, it would only strengthen this argument.
D
This does nothing, because the logic of the argument stays the same: “Sales will decrease because people in the historic age range will decrease.”
E
Perfect! This suggests that the age range is increasing. What was previously 13 to 16 might soon be 16 to 19.
Passage
Although video game sales have increased steadily over the past 3 years, we can expect a reversal of this trend in the very near future. Historically, over three quarters of video games sold have been purchased by people from 13 to 16 years of age, and the number of people in this age group is expected to decline steadily over the next 10 years.
Question 9
Which one of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the argument?
Most people 17 years old or older have never purchased a video game.
Video game rentals have declined over the past 3 years.
New technology will undoubtedly make entirely new entertainment options available over the next 10 years.
The number of different types of video games available is unlikely to decrease in the near future.
Most of the people who have purchased video games over the past 3 years are over the age of 16.