Approximately 7.6 million women who earn incomes have preschool-age children, and approximately 6.4 million women are...

Naz July 3, 2015

Conclusion: there are comparatively few income-earning women who have preschool-age children but are not the sole income earners for their families.

Why? Approximately 7.6 million women who earn incomes have preschool-age children, and approximately 6.4 million women are the sole income earners for their families.

For some reason the passage is assuming that the 6.4 million women who are the sole income earners for their families overlap with the 7.6 million women who earn incomes and have preschool-age children, meaning only 1.2 million women (7.6 million minus 6.4 million) have preschool-age children and are not the sole income earners.

But, we have not been given any info leading us to believe that there has to be an overlap in these two groups.

If there is no overlap at all, meaning there are 7.6 million women who earn incomes and have preschool-age children, and a separate 6.4 millions women, i.e. both groups totaling 14 million women, who are the sole income earners for their families, then the conclusion would no longer stand since there would no longer be comparatively few income-earning women who have preschool-age children but are not the sole income earners (this number would total a whopping 7.6 million women compared to the 6.4 million in the other group).

This is exactly what answer choice (B) points out. Thus, answer choice (B) is our correct answer since it points our the major flaw in the argument.

If you have any specific questions on the other answer choices, please feel free to clarify.

Hope that helps! Please let us know I you have any other questions.

Julie-V July 26, 2019

Could you explain why choice (A) would be incorrect?

Irina July 26, 2019

@Julie,

(A) is wrong because it is false, the argument relies on precise figures - 7.6 and 6.4 million women. Using precise figures or approximations also has no impact on the argument, even if the author used the exact numbers, e.g. 6,405,493 women, the reasoning in the argument would still be flawed thus the choice of figures can be ruled out as the underlying issue here.