Q13 - Heart attacks are most likely

[giladedelman]

Yeah, thanks for that great, pithy explanation!

While we're here, I'll break this question down for anybody else who's interested.

The core is as follows:

P: unemployed retirees are also more prone to heart attacks on Mondays ---> C: there must be some reason other than back-to-work stress that makes Monday heart attack day.

The assumption here is subtle and not very far-fetched: that unemployed retirees do not still feel the stress associated with going back to work. (A) undermines this assumption by showing that these people are still beginning big projects, i.e., their work, on Mondays.

(B) is out as Timmy explained because we are only interested in people who are unemployed.

I would also add, in response to the original post, that it would NOT be okay to assume that people with part-time jobs are starting work on Mondays. Ask yourself: could it be otherwise? If the answer is yes, as it is here, then it's not a safe assumption.

(C) is out because dietary and health habits are totally out of scope.

(D) is incorrect because it doesn't have anything to do with why retirees are having heart attacks on Monday, specifically.

(E) is out for the same reason.


#officialexplanation

[patmichaelsmith]

Clearly A is a stronger answer choice, but isn't choice B viable as well?

If retired people take up part-time jobs, then it's reasonable to believe their workweeks still begin on Monday.

[jamiejames]

I'd like to hear an explanation for this too.

[timmydoeslsat]

The research is about unemployed retired people. Answer choice B would not help us explain the fact about those people in the research. We want to know something about unemployed retire people, not those who gain employment after retirement.

[jamiejames]

The research is about unemployed retired people. Answer choice B would not help us explain the fact about those people in the research. We want to know something about unemployed retire people, not those who gain employment after retirement.

Makes perfect sense, cheers.

[shirando21]

Yeah, thanks for that great, pithy explanation!

While we're here, I'll break this question down for anybody else who's interested.

The core is as follows:

P: unemployed retirees are also more prone to heart attacks on Mondays ---> C: there must be some reason other than back-to-work stress that makes Monday heart attack day.

The assumption here is subtle and not very far-fetched: that unemployed retirees do not still feel the stress associated with going back to work. (A) undermines this assumption by showing that these people are still beginning big projects, i.e., their work, on Mondays.

(B) is out as Timmy explained because we are only interested in people who are unemployed.

I would also add, in response to the original post, that it would NOT be okay to assume that people with part-time jobs are starting work on Mondays. Ask yourself: could it be otherwise? If the answer is yes, as it is here, then it's not a safe assumption.

(C) is out because dietary and health habits are totally out of scope.

(D) is incorrect because it doesn't have anything to do with why retirees are having heart attacks on Monday, specifically.

(E) is out for the same reason.

I think A does not undermine, A resolves the discrepancy, example of large projects could be building a deck or over-seeding or renovate basement, some home improvement projects that cause stress, the stress could be equivalent or close to the stress at work.

[sujin91]

I'm still not sure why "big projects" would mean that they will be stressed, and therefore more likely to have a heart attack...?

And is B wrong because of the word "many"?? If the answer choice said something like "unemployed retired people take up part time jobs after they retire", would that work?

Please let me know.

Thanks

[marshal_of_grey]

I'm still not sure why "big projects" would mean that they will be stressed, and therefore more likely to have a heart attack...?

And is B wrong because of the word "many"?? If the answer choice said something like "unemployed retired people take up part time jobs after they retire", would that work?

Please let me know.

Thanks

I think you're correct that "big projects = stress = heart attack more likely" is an assumption we have to make for the answer choice to work. But I think, given that none of the answer choices seem correct, it's a fair one to make.

B is wrong because we're talking about unemployed retired people. If they had a part-time job they'd no longer be unemployed and thus irrelevant to this question.

[gaheexlee]

I answered this correctly but have a scope-related question.

The stimulus talks about unemployed retired people whereas the correct answer talks of retired people. Because I felt that the correct answer choice was broadening or even missing the scope altogether, I felt tempted to choose (E), an answer choice that talks of unemployed retired people.

I see that (A) explains the reason behind unemployed retirees having more heart attacks on Mondays whereas (E) doesn't but how do you reasonably pardon the broadened scope?

Thank you in advance!

[daijob]

I have similar question too...why A explain about unemployed retired people?
A seems only explain about retired people who are still working.
Is it because unemployed retired people does not mean they are not working?

Thank you

[maryadkins]

Unemployed and retired people are not working. That is correct.

(A) is about these people. They aren't working. They are retired. They are more likely to begin big projects on Monday, however, because they USED to work and now still stick with the standard schedule to some extent. "Big projects" doesn't mean they are employed. They are their own, independent projects presumably.

[AshleyT786]

But how was I supposed to know that "they" in answer choice A was referring to unemployed retired people? I read the full sentence as just "retired" people. It could have been referring to people who were retired but who still worked.