Transportation researcher Elena Rodriguez studied the effectiveness of different public transit promotion strategies in increasing ridership. Her team...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Transportation researcher Elena Rodriguez studied the effectiveness of different public transit promotion strategies in increasing ridership. Her team observed that some promotional approaches, such as free trial passes and community information sessions, involved direct citizen engagement, while other approaches, such as online advertisements and billboards, relied on passive information exposure. Rodriguez initially hypothesized that engagement-based promotions would be more effective than passive promotions in increasing long-term ridership.
Which finding, if true, would most strongly contradict Rodriguez's initial hypothesis?
Cities using engagement-based promotions saw ridership increases of 15%, while cities using passive promotions saw increases of only 8%.
Cities that relied primarily on online advertisements and billboards experienced significantly larger long-term ridership gains than cities that used free trials and information sessions.
Residents who attended information sessions were more knowledgeable about transit options than residents who only saw advertisements.
Although free trial programs initially boosted ridership, these gains were not sustained six months after the programs ended.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Transportation researcher Elena Rodriguez studied the effectiveness of different public transit promotion strategies in increasing ridership." |
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| "Her team observed that some promotional approaches, such as free trial passes and community information sessions, involved direct citizen engagement," |
|
| "while other approaches, such as online advertisements and billboards, relied on passive information exposure." |
|
| "Rodriguez initially hypothesized that engagement-based promotions would be more effective than passive promotions in increasing long-term ridership." |
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Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Rodriguez hypothesized that direct engagement promotions would be more effective than passive promotions for increasing long-term public transit ridership.
Argument Flow: The passage introduces Rodriguez's study of transit promotions, categorizes the approaches into engagement-based versus passive types, and then states her hypothesis that engagement-based would be more effective for long-term ridership increases.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? Which finding would most strongly contradict Rodriguez's hypothesis
What type of answer do we need? Evidence/data that would go against her prediction that engagement-based promotions are more effective
Any limiting keywords? "Most strongly contradict" means we need the finding that most directly opposes her hypothesis
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Rodriguez hypothesized that engagement-based promotions would be MORE effective than passive promotions for long-term ridership
- To contradict this hypothesis, we need evidence showing that passive promotions actually worked better than engagement-based ones in actual ridership effectiveness
Cities using engagement-based promotions saw ridership increases of 15%, while cities using passive promotions saw increases of only 8%.
✗ Incorrect
- Shows engagement-based promotions achieving 15% increases while passive achieved only 8%
- This actually supports Rodriguez's hypothesis rather than contradicting it
Cities that relied primarily on online advertisements and billboards experienced significantly larger long-term ridership gains than cities that used free trials and information sessions.
✓ Correct
- Shows that cities using passive promotions had significantly larger long-term ridership gains than cities using engagement-based promotions
- This directly contradicts Rodriguez's hypothesis that engagement-based would be more effective
Residents who attended information sessions were more knowledgeable about transit options than residents who only saw advertisements.
✗ Incorrect
- This is about knowledge levels, not ridership effectiveness
- Rodriguez's hypothesis was specifically about increasing ridership, not about how much residents know
Although free trial programs initially boosted ridership, these gains were not sustained six months after the programs ended.
✗ Incorrect
- This only discusses one type of promotion without comparing to passive promotions
- While it suggests engagement-based promotions might not be sustainably effective, it doesn't provide the direct comparison needed to contradict Rodriguez's hypothesis