PrepTest 147

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Advertisers give consumers free, ad-supported computers that increase sales of targeted products advertised to these users.

Answer Anticipation:
That's a lot of information to explain how an ad-supported piece of hardware works! This is one of those questions where the stimulus is more an info dump than a series of statements that we can use to make inferences by, say, chaining conditionals together. However, there is one statement that is both a bit causal and comparative—the last one. There, it states that the increased sales from these targeted ads allows for the free computers to be given to consumers, so that may play into the correct answer.

However, we very much should try to get to the answers ASAP to refer back to the stimulus on this one, as any anticipation is going to be a bit of a shot in the dark!

Answer Explanation:
The stimulus states that the increased sales of the targeted products allows for the advertisers to afford to give away the hardware for free. If that's true, then at least some of those consumers must be buying more from the advertisers than they otherwise would have—otherwise, sales wouldn't have increased. This answer is supported by that last statement.

Key Takeaway:
In Must Be True questions, when there's a lot of information and you have a handle on it, but you don't have a good anticipation, head to the answer choices. Sometimes, the best process is to give yourself plenty of time to analyze them against the stimulus!

Incorrect. This answer is too definitive in stating that "no advertisers" could afford to do this without the internet. It's possible that some could find other ways to afford this promotion.

Incorrect. It's not supported that this free hardware gets people to spend money with companies that they otherwise wouldn't. While that's one possibility, it's just as possible that the consumers are increasing the amount they buy from companies they already frequent, not that they shift which companies they buy from.

Incorrect. This answer is too extreme. While these computers do have ads that play continuously across the screen when in use, that doesn't mean that that's necessary for the advertisers to turn a profit. Maybe they could still break even or come out ahead with the ads running 99% of the time.

Incorrect. There's no discussion of an opt-out provision in the stimulus.