Logical reasoning PrepTest 112 · Section 1 · Question 25

Question prompt

A 1991 calculation was Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Weaken Questions

Stimulus Summary

1991 calculation - How much in extra health care costs does society pay for those who are sedentary? $1,650.
Therefore - Choosing to be sedentary costs society a lot of money!

Answer Anticipation

This question stem isn’t a straightforward Weaken question stem. Instead, it specifically asks us to find an answer that would create problems if not taken into account by the initial calculation. As such, we should look for a consideration that would undercut the conclusion here.
And the conclusion here brings in two concepts that are generally key to questions when they show up. The first is motive - the conclusion is about a “voluntary” choice not to exercise. However, the premises are about people living a sedentary lifestyle - that’s not necessarily by choice. If a lot of people who lead sedentary lives didn’t choose to do so - they suffer from a debilitating injury or disease, for example - then the conclusion doesn’t follow. That dovetails with the other issue - the conclusion is causal (voluntary choice not to exercise causing a higher cost to society), and we can weaken causal conclusions with alternative causes - such as those debilitating illnesses/diseases.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Many people whose employment Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    These people wouldn’t count as living a sedentary life - that requires more than relaxing on your off time!
  2. B
    Exercise is a topic Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Whether people are aware of the health impacts of their sedentary life doesn’t affect whether it’s costly to provide the extra medical care.
  3. C
    Physical conditions that eventually Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    This answer establishes that the sedentary life isn’t really the cause of the extra medical care - rather, another disease causes the sedentary life. As such, a “voluntary” choice not to exercise isn’t to blame for at least some of the additional costs. If the argument didn’t take this into account, then the number it reached is flawed.
  4. D
    Individuals vary widely in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    The argument is about those who choose not to exercise, so the amount of exercise that people who do exercise put in is out of scope.
  5. E
    A regular program of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    This answer might explain why those who do exercise incur fewer medical expenses, but it doesn’t bring up a piece of information that would call the data about those who don’t exercise into question.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 22%
  2. B 4%
  3. C Credited 68%
  4. D 5%
  5. E 1%

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