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A business owner noticed that many of her employees exhibited signs of fatigue throughout the workday. To combat this, the business owner has partnered with a local gym to offer employees a discounted rate on annual memberships. The business owner is confident this program will help to lessen employee fatigue, as studies have shown that people who exercise regularly have higher energy levels than people who do not.

Which of the following, if true, would most seriously call into question the claim that the business owner’s plan will reduce fatigue?

(A) Making minor changes to one’s diet can boost energy as effectively as can regular exercise.

(B) The discount offered is so small that most employees will not be encouraged to purchase an annual membership.

(C) Employees with higher energy levels are not necessarily more productive at work.

(D) The local gym would have to offer more classes to accommodate the increase in membership.

(E) There is no way to eliminate fatigue altogether.


KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:



STEP 1: IDENTIFY THE QUESTION TYPE
This asks for something that would “call into question” the business owner’s claim, so it’s a Weaken question.

STEP 2: UNTANGLE THE STIMULUS
The business owner argues that partnering with a local gym to offer employees a discounted membership will help reduce fatigue. As evidence, the owner cites a correlation between exercise and high energy levels. The owner assumes that exercise is what causes people who exercise to have high energy levels. There is another assumption as well. The owner makes a plan based on a prediction, which means the author assumes there are no factors that would affect the predicted outcome of the plan.

STEP 3: PREDICT THE ANSWER
To weaken the assumption of causation, it could be shown that the high energy levels in exercisers were caused by something else (e.g., caffeine, protein diets, medication). It could also be shown that the author has misunderstood the direction of causality: perhaps people exercise because they already have more energy, not the other way around. Or perhaps increased exercise and increased energy are both just effects of another variable (e.g., motivation). To show that the author’s predicted outcome might not occur, you could find a problem with the plan—something that shows it might not help reduce fatigue. Maybe employees will get the gym membership but not exercise more (how many people join a gym but don’t actually go?), or maybe the membership will be unappealing even with the discount.

STEP 4: EVALUATE THE CHOICES
(B) matches the second prediction. It shows how the discount will not encourage people to go to the gym, making it less likely they will feel more energetic. (A) suggests there are other ways to achieve the same results, but that doesn’t mean the owner’s plan won’t work. (C) is irrelevant. Higher productivity might be a nice side effect, but it’s not the owner’s stated goal. She is discounting gym memberships to reduce fatigue. (D) is irrelevant. Any extra burden on the gym has no effect on whether the plan will work. If anything, this supports the owner’s thinking by implying that people will exercise more. (E) uses extreme language. The issue is whether fatigue can be reduced, not whether it can be eradicated completely
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