Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT119 S2 Q12 Explanation

Researcher: We studied two groups of

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TopicsMost Supported

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Stimulus

Researcher: We studied two groups of subjects over a period of six months. Over this period, one of the groups had a daily routine of afternoon exercise. The other group, the control group, engaged in little or no exercise during the study. It was found that those in the exercise group got body temperature slightly until after bedtime, and this extra heat induces deeper sleep.

What this question is testing

Most Supported

The Mechanism

The researcher is doing two things: (1) reporting a result — afternoon exercisers got more deep sleep — and (2) explaining why — afternoon exercise raises body temperature slightly until past bedtime, and that small heat boost induces deeper sleep.

Evaluate

If the mechanism is right, then the cause of the extra deep sleep is the slightly raised body temperature, not the exercise itself. That means anything else that raises body temperature slightly until bedtime — say, a warm bath — should produce a similar effect.

Goal

The right answer should be a careful, hedged ("likely," "tends to") extension of that mechanism. Watch out for answers that go too big — words like "best," "only," "necessary," or "no one."

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The question
12.

The researcher’s statements, if true, most strongly support which one of

Answer choices

  1. Too Strong3% picked this

    Regular afternoon exercise is one of the things required for

    "Required for adequate deep-sleep" makes afternoon exercise necessary. The stimulus only shows that afternoon exercisers slept more deeply than the control group — not that anyone without afternoon exercise will fail to get adequate deep sleep. The control group still got some deep sleep; we have no reason to think it was inadequate.

  2. Unsupported1% picked this

    Exercise in the morning is almost as likely to have as many beneficial effects on sleep as is

    The stimulus says afternoon exercise raises body temperature in a way that lasts until after bedtime. We have no information about morning exercise — whether the body-temperature effect persists until bedtime hours later or fades long before. So we cannot conclude morning exercise is "almost as likely" to be beneficial.

  3. Too Strong8% picked this

    The best way to get increased deep-sleep is to induce a slight increase in body

    "The best way" claims a superlative. The stimulus identifies one mechanism that works (slight temperature rise) but says nothing about whether it is better than every other approach. Maybe a totally different method produces even more deep sleep. We cannot leap to "best."

  4. Too Strong11% picked this

    No one in the control group experienced a rise in body temperature

    "No one in the control group" is an absolute claim about every individual. The stimulus only contrasts averages between the two groups. Some control-group members might have had a body-temperature rise from any number of sources — a hot meal, a warm bath, illness. We cannot rule that out for every single person.

  5. Correct77% picked this

    Raising body temperature slightly by taking a warm bath just before bedtime will likely result

    Why this is right

    The stimulus says that raising body temperature slightly until after bedtime induces deeper sleep — that is the mechanism the researcher offers to explain the exercise study. A warm bath just before bedtime would also raise body temperature slightly going into bedtime, so it should produce the same effect. The hedge ("will likely result") matches the strength of the support. This is a careful, modest extension of the mechanism.

    Skill tested: Most Supported · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

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