PrepTest 112, Section 1, Question 25
A 1991 calculation was made to determine what,(43 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(15 more words not shown)
- AMany people whose(19 more words not shown)
- BExercise is a(15 more words not shown)
- CPhysical conditions that(16 more words not shown)
- DIndividuals vary widely(14 more words not shown)
- EA regular program(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Is $1,650 over an entire lifetime a significant burden?
That is my first question. It's a real cost, but calling it significant requires some sense of scale. An expense that feels large all at once may look different spread over a lifetime. The calculation alone doesn't explain the standard the author is using.
I also wonder what else belongs in the comparison. Imagine someone who is inactive partly because they work very long hours. Could that person's other contributions affect an assessment of their overall burden on society? That's a possibility to investigate, not something we know about the people in this calculation.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for a fact, not already included in the calculation, that seriously weakens the argument. My initial prediction would challenge the leap from an added lifetime expense to a significant burden.
Working the answers
- A
People whose jobs require physical exertion aren't necessarily living sedentary lives just because they skip exercise outside work. A firefighter, for example, could be active on the job without going to a gym afterward. The choice describes a different situation from the inactive lifestyle the calculation concerns.
- B
A doctor's failure to discuss exercise doesn't establish whether the added cost is significant or whether inactivity caused it. It might raise a question about medical conversations, but it doesn't by itself challenge the inference from the calculation to the claimed burden of voluntary inactivity.
- CCorrect
This takes a different route from my first objection. A physical condition could make someone less active before that same condition later requires costly care. The illness could help explain both the sedentary lifestyle and the medical expense.
That makes it questionable to charge the extra costs to a voluntary decision not to exercise. Some people may be inactive because of the condition that later requires treatment. C doesn't say every inactive person lacks a choice, or that exercise never matters. It gives a concrete reason the calculation may be tracking underlying health conditions rather than a burden caused by voluntary inactivity.
- D
People who exercise can choose different amounts and kinds of activity. That variation doesn't show why the comparison involving sedentary lives fails. We would need information connecting those differences to the extra costs or the claimed voluntary cause. D supplies neither.
- E
Benefits of moderate exercise don't undermine the argument that inactivity imposes costs. Better circulation, well-being or weight outcomes could fit the author's view. This choice doesn't establish that the measured expense arises from something other than voluntary inactivity, which is the problem C exposes.
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