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 andrewb22
  • Posts: 18
  • Joined: May 04, 2021
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#87465
After reviewing this question I understand why (E) is correct, but why is (A) incorrect?
 Robert Carroll
PowerScore Staff
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  • Joined: Dec 06, 2013
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#88043
Andrew,

Answer choice (A) is not saying laborers and office workers spend similar time sitting. It says they spend similar time sitting at home. Office workers would then still have extra time sitting in the office that laborers probably don't, so it's just the same situation as the stimulus.

Robert Carroll
 gwlsathelp
  • Posts: 93
  • Joined: Jun 21, 2020
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#91809
Rachael Wilkenfeld wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 4:59 pm Answer choice (C) says that people who do strenuous physical work are encouraged to use techniques to lessen the effect on their backs. Does that impact a relationship between office workers, office equipment, and back pain? It addresses a way to reduce back pain in other situations, but not in the situation in the stimulus.
Looking back at this question, I can see how answer choice C could support the conclusion. If the workers are "encouraged", then that encouragement had to come from somewhere (like upper management) and is analogous to optimization of chairs and computer screen angles.

This question is a bit of a doozy as it plays on an assumption already had: that people who lift heavy objects/physical work that places a lot of stress on the back have high numbers of injuries; but the correct answer choice E weakens by removing the incidence.

I narrowed my choices to C and E, and selected C.
 Adam Tyson
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#92121
The problem with answer C is that, while it could help to explain why people doing the heavy lifting are getting fewer injuries than they otherwise would, it tells us nothing about what is or is not causing the injuries to the folks who work sitting in offices. There's no alternate cause for their injuries, or for the difference in the incidence of injuries between the two groups. It could still be that their furniture is the culprit! Answer E tells us about a difference in the two groups: one group is doing things that help to prevent injuries while the other group is doing much less of that thing, if any.
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 ashpine17
  • Posts: 321
  • Joined: Apr 06, 2021
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#92493
So C is incorrect because we don't know if these workers are actually taking the encouragement to heart and are actually using these measures to reduce the degree of stress and it could be that office workers are also taking some sort of preventative measures to reduce the risk of back injuries but are still suffering higher rates of back injuries. E is correct because it points out that the key difference between the workers (amount of physical activity) accounts for the different rates of lower back injuries which weakens the idea that it is the furniture causing the problem for the office workers so this is an alternative cause type answer.
 Mancini1999
  • Posts: 1
  • Joined: Dec 16, 2021
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#92824
I understand why the choice (C) is wrong, but why is choice (D) wrong for this question?
 Adam Tyson
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#92842
Answer D doesn't weaken the argument because it doesn't explain why the office workers have more of these injuries than physical laborers, Mancini1999. In fact, it might strengthen the argument a little bit by showing that most of the time the injuries are NOT being caused by something outside of work, like while they are raking leaves or playing golf. If the author wants to blame the furniture and equipment at work, and they are mostly injured at work, that helps! Beware of answers that do he exact opposite of what you are being asked to do, as that is a common trap set for us by the test makers.

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