Question 94·Easy·Inferences
Researchers at Brookside University wanted to know whether taking short walking breaks would help office workers stay alert in the afternoon. For two weeks, half the volunteers remained at their desks after lunch, while the other half took a ten-minute walk around the campus. By the end of the study, the walkers reported feeling less drowsy and completed computer tasks slightly faster than those who stayed seated. The researchers concluded that taking a brief walk after lunch can be an easy way to boost afternoon alertness. This conclusion is based on the inference that the difference in task performance was most likely caused by ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For inference questions about research conclusions, first identify the result (what changed or improved) and the key difference between the groups or conditions described. Then ask: "What cause are the researchers assuming explains this result?" Eliminate answer choices that introduce new information not in the passage, that describe factors the passage does not say were different between groups, or that don’t line up directly with the conclusion’s wording. Choose the option that best restates the specific variable the researchers changed or focused on as the cause.
Hints
Focus on the conclusion
Reread the last sentence: what do the researchers say is a way to "boost afternoon alertness"? Your answer should be the thing they are assuming causes that boost.
Compare the two groups
Ask yourself: what did the walkers do differently from the people who stayed at their desks? That specific difference is what the researchers are treating as the cause.
Test each option against the passage
For each choice, ask: (1) Does the passage say this factor differed between the two groups? and (2) Is this factor what the conclusion is about? Eliminate choices that are not clearly supported by the description of the study.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the question is asking
The question asks what the researchers inferred caused the difference in afternoon alertness and task performance between the two groups. That means you must find the assumed cause that connects their data to their conclusion.
Identify the key details from the study
From the passage:
- Two groups of office workers were compared for two weeks.
- After lunch, one group stayed at their desks, and the other group took a ten-minute walk around campus.
- By the end, the walkers felt less drowsy and did computer tasks slightly faster.
- The researchers concluded: taking a brief walk after lunch can boost afternoon alertness.
So the main observed effect is better alertness and performance in the group that took walking breaks.
Determine what changed between the groups
To see what the researchers think caused this effect, look at what was different between the two groups. Both groups were office workers, studied over the same two weeks, after lunch, doing computer tasks. The only described difference in what they did during the break is that one group walked for ten minutes, while the other remained seated at their desks.
Match the researchers’ conclusion to the best cause
Their conclusion is that "taking a brief walk after lunch" boosts alertness. That means they are inferring that the physical activity of walking instead of continuing to sit is what caused the walkers to feel less drowsy and perform tasks faster. Among the answer choices, this is exactly restated by choice C) the act of walking instead of sitting.