#20 - Calories consumed in excess of those with which

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation


Resolve the Paradox. The correct answer choice is (B)


The paradox in this problem is that alcohol drinkers who surpass the
threshold for calorie intake should gain weight, but they do not. Most
people, upon reading the stimulus, prephrase an answer involving exercise
or some other way to work off the expected weight gain. Unfortunately, a
perfect match to this prephrase does not appear, and instead students are
faced with a tricky answer that preys upon this general idea while at the
same time it fails to meet the circumstances in the stimulus.

Answer choice (A): Read closely! The stimulus specifies that people who
regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day thereby exceed
the necessary caloric intake. This answer, which discusses individuals
who avoid exceeding the caloric intake necessary, therefore addresses
a different group of people from that in the stimulus. Since information
about a different group of people does not explain the situation, this
answer is incorrect.

This answer is attractive because it uses the idea of getting rid of or
avoiding calories, but it violates one of the precepts of the stimulus.
Remember, you must look very closely at the circumstances in the
stimulus and make sure that the answer you select matches those
circumstances.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer. If the excess calories are
dissipated as heat, then there would be no weight gain. Hence, alcohol
drinkers can consume excess calories and still not gain weight.
Some students object to this answer because the situation seems
unrealistic. Can heat dissipation actually work off dozens if not hundreds
of calories? According to the question stem, yes. Remember, the question
stem tells you that each answer choice should be taken as true. Since this
answer choice clearly states that the excess calories tend to be dissipated,
you must accept that as true and then analyze what effect that would have.

Answer choice (C): The stimulus discusses “people who regularly drink
two or three alcoholic beverages a day and thereby exceed the caloric
intake necessary.” This answer choice addresses a different group of
people than those discussed in the stimulus.

Answer choice (D): The first flaw in this answer is that it simply states
that individuals consuming alcohol do not gain weight but it offers no
explanation for why these people have no weight gain. The second flaw in
the problem is that it addresses the wrong group of people. The stimulus
discusses people who drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day; this
answer addresses people who drink more than three alcoholic beverages a
day.

Answer choice (E): Again, this answer discusses a different group of
people than those in the stimulus. The stimulus discusses people who
exceed the necessary caloric intake; this answer addresses people who do
not meet the necessary caloric intake.

[Zach-Fox]

I chose answer A. Is it wrong simply because the "Some" is too weak in addressing the claim since the claim appears to apply to most people (who drink two to three drinks).

[Claire Horan]

In the resolve-the-paradox question type, you need an answer that explains how all of the premises in the stimulus can be true at the same time. In this question, the premises in conflict are: (1) normally, calories above the number required for maintaining weight are stored as fat, leading to weight gain and (2) people whose excess calories are from alcohol don't normally gain weight. The correct answer needs to acknowledge the simultaneous truth of both.

Answer choice (A) gets rid of one of the premises. (A) describes people who "avoid exceeding the caloric intake necessary to maintain their weight." But that avoids premise #2, which involves calories from alcohol that take the drinker above her maintenance level of calories.

(In law school, this maneuver is called "fighting the hypo(thetical)" and it's not allowed!) Getting around the paradox by eliminating one of the premises doesn't RESOLVE it! Besides, that would be way too easy for the LSAT!

To bring this idea home, let's look at the correct answer, (B). This answer choice involves the exact group of people described in Premise #2, and it says those excess calories get dissipated as heat. This explains how Premise #2 can also be true. While, normally, excess calories are stored as fat, calories from alcohol are different because they get dissipated as heat instead and, therefore, don't lead to weight gain.

If you want a bit more practice, identify how the other answer choices don't fully acknowledge both premises. Call me crazy, but I think this question type is one of the most fun (er, least painful ) once you understand how it works. Enjoy!