Logical reasoning PrepTest 142 · Section 1 · Question 9

Incorrect. At most, this is a reason to avoid certain fruits and vegetables, not to take a calcium supplement that contains lead.

Incorrect. The difficulty of eliminating lead from the diet is out of scope in a discussion of taking a calcium supplement with lead.

Incorrect. It's still a public health concern, though, so this answer does nothing to explain why some doctors are telling their patients to take a supplement including it.

Incorrect. First, this answer is about a high-calcium diet, not taking calcium supplements. Second, even ignoring that, if anything, this makes the discrepancy worse in that the calcium supplements appear to make people more susceptible to lead poisoning—a reason to avoid them!

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Paradox

Stimulus Summary:
Lead is bad. Some calcium supplements have lead. Some doctors still recommend calcium supplements for certain individuals.

Answer Anticipation:
The viewpoint of the doctors is comparative—calcium + lead is better than no calcium for certain individuals. There must be something true of these individuals, therefore, that makes the risk associated with lead more acceptable than the risk associated with no calcium. Any answer that brings up a comparison within these individuals of the relative risk of lead and of not taking a calcium supplement will resolve this paradox. For instance, maybe for some older individuals, the threat of broken bones is immediate but lead poisoning could take years to develop.

Answer Explanation:
While not exactly aligned with our anticipation, this answer does bring up a downside of being calcium deficient that relates to lead—you'll actually have more lead in your blood if you don't take the calcium/lead supplement pills, because that stored lead in your bones will be released. So the calcium supplements have an anti-lead effect for those who might be calcium deficient, and the balance is hopefully in the right direction.

Key Takeaway:
Stay flexible on Paradox questions! You should be clearly defining the paradox and anticipating an answer choice. With both of those, you should be set up to find an answer that you didn't anticipate but still deals with the paradox you defined.