In automotive crash tests, certain vehicle components consistently fail before others, with the front bumper assembly showing the highest damage...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
In automotive crash tests, certain vehicle components consistently fail before others, with the front bumper assembly showing the highest damage rates. Safety engineers recognize that the front bumper represents the most ______ component of the car's safety system. It absorbs tremendous impact forces while maintaining a lightweight design, making it the intended point of failure during collisions.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
expensive
complex
visible
susceptible
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'In automotive crash tests, certain vehicle components consistently fail before others,' |
|
| 'with the front bumper assembly showing the highest damage rates.' |
|
| '[MISSING WORD]' |
|
| 'It absorbs tremendous impact forces while maintaining a lightweight design,' |
|
| 'making it the intended point of failure during collisions.' |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The front bumper is designed to be the component that fails first in crashes, absorbing impact while staying lightweight.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that some car parts fail before others in crash tests, identifies the front bumper as having the highest damage rates, then explains this is intentional.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The missing word needs to describe what makes the front bumper special as a component of the car's safety system
- From our analysis, we know that it consistently fails before other parts, shows the highest damage rates, and is designed to absorb impact forces as the intended point of failure
- The word should capture the idea that this component is prone to being affected or damaged
- So the right answer should indicate that the front bumper is the component most likely to be affected or damaged in the safety system
expensive
- 'Expensive' refers to cost, which has nothing to do with the crash test context
- The passage focuses on damage patterns and design function, not financial considerations
complex
- 'Complex' refers to how complicated something is structurally
- The passage emphasizes the bumper's role in absorbing impact and failing intentionally, not its structural complexity
visible
- 'Visible' refers to what can be seen
- The passage discusses crash test performance and engineering design, not visual appearance
susceptible
- 'Susceptible' means likely to be influenced, harmed, or affected by something
- This perfectly captures the bumper's designed role as the component most likely to be affected by crash forces
- Aligns with all the evidence: highest damage rates, intended failure point, absorbs tremendous impact forces