Logical reasoning PrepTest 114 · Section 2 · Question 2

Incorrect. This answer aligns with the paradox, but it still doesn't explain why this is the case. Why did the supplements correlate with a lack of more kidney stones?

Incorrect. The paradox revolves around increasing dietary calcium, so this answer about increasing oxalate while decreasing calcium is out of scope.

Incorrect. This still suggests that excess calcium and oxalate cause kidney stones, so why are calcium supplements preventing them?

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
Kidney stones are caused by too much calcium/oxalate in the kidneys. However, increasing calcium in the diet can decrease the chances of recurring kidney stones.

Answer Anticipation:
As with all Paradox questions, let's start by clearly identifying the paradox here.

Too much calcium in the kidneys can lead to kidney stones. This might lead you to expect that eating too much calcium can lead to kidney stones, but it turns out that increasing calcium consumption can actually decrease the risk.

So we need to find out why eating more calcium doesn't increase the risk of kidney stones, which form when there's too much calcium in your kidneys. We don't have a science degree, so we're not going to speculate here, but we have a framework to analyze answers, at least!

Answer Explanation:
This answer suggests that eating calcium decreases calcium in the kidneys. If the excess calcium is being removed through the intestines, keeping it out of the kidneys, then it'd be expected that the incidence of kidney stones would go down since now there's less calcium in the kidneys.

Key Takeaway:
Watch out for answers like (A) that align with the weird occurrence but don't explain it! They're common trap answers in Paradox questions.

Incorrect. But some are composed of calcium and oxalate, and so calcium supplements would still be expected to lead to an increase of those, increasing the total incidence of kidney stones.