PrepTest 116, Section 3, Question 8
Studies suggest that, for the vast majority of(51 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(8 more words not shown)
- AHigh blood pressure(7 more words not shown)
- BHigh blood pressure(12 more words not shown)
- CExcess sodium intake(11 more words not shown)
- DEvery human being(9 more words not shown)
- EAny sodium not(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What if blood pressure isn't the only reason to watch your sodium intake?
Let's accept the study's finding about most people with normal blood pressure: their bodies get rid of extra sodium without a significant increase in blood pressure. That tells us something about one possible effect. It doesn't show that excessive sodium couldn't cause a different problem. Could it harm the kidneys, for example? That's a possibility to investigate, not a fact the passage has established.
There's another group we haven't heard about: people with low blood pressure. The conclusion says only people who already have high blood pressure and cannot safely process excess sodium need to restrict their intake. That's a broad exclusion to draw from evidence about most people with normal blood pressure.
What we’re looking for
For the weaken question, I'd expect a reason someone outside that specified group might still need to limit sodium. Another harmful effect would do it. We can accept the study and still question the claim that it leaves everyone else without a reason to restrict intake.
Working the answers
- A
How harmful high blood pressure is doesn't tell us whether excess sodium creates a reason for anyone outside the specified group to restrict intake. The author already recognizes a group with high blood pressure that needs restrictions. A makes that condition sound more serious without exposing a problem in the exclusion of other people.
- B
This fits the author's concern about high blood pressure and excess sodium. It doesn't tell us that people outside the group the conclusion identifies need to restrict their intake. We need a reason the author's list is too narrow; a familiar danger of sodium for some people with high blood pressure doesn't provide it by itself.
- CCorrect
This introduces a problem over time. Someone might process extra sodium safely now, yet lose that ability because of continued excess intake. The body's current ability to get rid of the excess doesn't establish that continuing to consume it is harmless.
That isn't the specific alternative I initially predicted. It challenges the conclusion by showing a reason to limit intake before the person has the problem the author is waiting for. Preventing the loss of processing ability can matter even when current blood pressure is normal.
- D
Needing some sodium doesn't mean needing an unrestricted amount. Someone can consume enough to meet a physiological need while limiting the excess. The argument concerns who needs restrictions, not whether anyone should eliminate sodium entirely, so D doesn't undermine it.
- E
The study says the extra sodium is excreted in the vast majority of people with normal blood pressure. E describes what happens unless that excretion occurs. It doesn't show a new problem for the people whose bodies are getting rid of the excess. C, by contrast, gives us a reason to doubt that their ability to do so will last.
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