Re: Few, if any, carbonated beverages contain calcium. Some very popular
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08 May 2024, 12:36
Few, if any, carbonated beverages contain calcium. Some very popular ones, however, contain significant amounts of caffeine, and consuming caffeine causes people to excrete significantly more calcium than they would otherwise. Interestingly, teenagers who drink large amounts of carbonated beverages containing caffeine tend to suffer more broken bones than those who do not. Calcium deficiency can make bones more brittle, of course, so the higher incidence of broken bones in teenagers who consume carbonated beverages with caffeine is probably due primarily to caffeine consumption.
The conclusion of the argument is the following:
the higher incidence of broken bones in teenagers who consume carbonated beverages with caffeine is probably due primarily to caffeine consumption
We see that the reasoning of the argument is that, since consuming caffeine can cause people to excrete more calcium than they would otherwise, and since calcium deficiency can make bones more brittle, the higher incidence of broken bones in teenagers who consume carbonated beverages with caffeine is probably due primarily to caffeine consumption.
Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?
This is a Weaken question, and the correct answer will undermine the support for the conclusion.
(A) Teenagers who drink large quantities of carbonated beverages containing caffeine tend to drink smaller quantities of calcium-rich beverages than other teenagers do.
This choice is interesting.
After all, if this choice is true, then teenagers who drink large amounts of carbonated beverages containing caffeine may excrete more calcium than other teenagers do, but they also aren't taking in as much calcium as other teenagers do.
In that case, it's not clear what the teenagers who consume more caffeine suffering more broken bone is due primarily to. It could be due primarily to their caffeine consumption, but it could also be due primarily to lower intake of calcium.
So, by indicating that there could be a different reason, lower calcium intake, for the higher incidence of broken bones in teenagers who drink large amounts of carbonated beverages containing caffeine, this choice undermines the support for the conclusion that caffeine is the primary cause.
Keep.
(B) Teenagers engage in the types of activities that carry a high risk of causing broken bones much more often than both older and younger people do.
This choice would explain why all teenagers experience more broken bones that other people do.
At the same time, this choice does not provide an alternative reason why some teenagers experience more broken bones than other teenagers.
So, this choice doesn't affect the support for the conclusion since, regardless of what this choice says, the only explanation we have for the higher incidence of broken bones in teenagers who consume more caffeine is that the caffeine is causing their bones to be brittle.
Eliminate.
(C) Some teenagers have calcium deficiencies even though they do not consume any caffeine.
This choice is of a common type of weaken trap, one that brings up some exceptions to appear to weaken the argument.
In this case, we already know that, generally, teenagers who consume more caffeine experience more broken bones. So, the fact that some teenagers who do not consume caffeine have calcium deficiencies is just bringing up some exceptions to the general trend.
Another way to look at this choice is that there could be many causes of calcium deficiencies. Caffeine may be just one cause, and given what this choice says, there must be other causes. OK, great, but the fact that there are other causes doesn't mean that caffeince consumption doesn't result in broken bones.
Eliminate.
(D) Some of the less popular carbonated beverages contain even more caffeine than the more popular ones.
This choice is an irrelevant comparison choice.
The argument is about the effects of beverages that contain caffeine in general. So, the fact that some contain more caffeine than others doesn't affect the argument, which isn't about any comparison of the effects of less popular and more popular beverages.
Eliminate.
(E) The more calcium a person ingests as a regular part of his or her diet, the more calcium that person will tend to excrete.
This choice is a little tricky because it brings up another reason why people excrete more calcium: they ingest more. So, we could get the impression that this choice brings up an alternative cause for the effect the argument is about.
At the same time, the issue with this choice is that the effect the argument is about is not calcium excretion. The effect the argument is about is broken bones. So, this information about an alternative cause of calcium excretion does not affect the support for the conclusion.
Simply put, the fact that people excrete more calcium when they ingest more doesn't mean that caffeine consumption doesn't cause broken bones. After all, excreting calcium because you're taking in calcium is a different matter from losing calcium because caffeine is causing you to excrete it.
Eliminate.
Correct answer: A