Logical reasoning PrepTest 112 · Section 4 · Question 22

Question prompt

In a recent study, Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

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

Argument or Facts

Facts

Valid or Flawed

NA

Question Type

Must Be True Questions

Stimulus Summary

Group 1 - Calories increased by 25% through alcohol
Group 2 - Same calories, 25% replaced with alcohol
Results - Both groups gained the same amount of body fat

Answer Anticipation

This stimulus is all about the comparisons between the two groups, so we should understand them. Interestingly, it involves both similarities and differences!
As far as the study is concerned, the two groups were treated differently. The first group had their total calorie intake increased by 25%, whereas the second group kept eating the same number of calories. Both groups saw calories introduced in the form of alcohol - it made up the increase in the first group, and it replaced 25% in the second group.
However, both groups saw the same outcome as far as body fat is concerned - they gained the same amount.
So what conclusion can we draw from this? Well, first, let’s be careful about causality - these are correlations, so we can’t support a strong, causal conclusion. However, we can note that the groups gained the same amount of body fat despite having different levels of caloric consumption. As such, calories consumed can’t be the only factor in gaining body fat.
And one more note on potential trap answers, and why we italicized the word “fat” in the last statement. Be careful about conflating body weight and body fat. It’s easy to do, but they’re different. Someone can gain or lose fat without gaining or losing weight, as they could develop muscle or add water weight. Let’s not fall for a trap answer there!

Answer choices

  1. A
    Alcohol is metabolized more Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Metabolized? More quickly? The stimulus doesn’t discuss metabolism or speed, so this answer is out of scope.
  2. B
    In the general population, Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    While alcohol seems related to fat gain here, there’s not enough information for us to infer that it’s the primary cause of weight gain in the general population. We don’t even know if it was a cause here, let alone the primary cause!
  3. C
    An increased amount of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    The stimulus doesn’t establish whether there was any weight gain in either group, so this answer is out of scope.
  4. D
    Body fat gain is Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    The two groups gained the same amount of body fat despite different levels of calorie consumption. As such, there must be another factor in body fat gain other than calories consumed, as this answer states.
  5. E
    The proportion of calories Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    There’s a little bit of math involved in this answer, but you can answer it without going through the math. We know that the group that had alcohol replace calories in their diet must have a different proportion of calories from alcohol than the group that added alcohol calories to their diet, and yet they gained the same amount of body fat, so, if anything, this answer is contradicted in that a higher proportion doesn’t appear to be more significant for body fat gain.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 5%
  2. B 3%
  3. C 4%
  4. D Credited 71%
  5. E 15%

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