PrepTest 147 - Section 2 - Passage 1 - Question 1

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Passage A.

Puzzling phenomenon · Gaining muscle after inactivity is easier if you've already trained those muscles before

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One hypothesis · Body uses more muscle fibers as you train more

When you return to training after inactivity, your body might be able to start off using more muscle fibers that were previously activated by past training.

Another hypothesis · Psychological explanation

If you've trained before, you know how much you can lift. So you increase weight more quickly when starting to train again.

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Phenomenon and hypothesis · Building muscle is easier for people who used to be strong because of something retained by muscles

Details of hypothesis · Muscle cells merge with stem cells during training

The muscle cells incorporate the stem cells' nuclei.

Details of hypothesis · Muscles retain the stem cells' nuclei even after inactivity

These nuclei can make more muscle proteins again, even after the muscles have shrunk due to inactivity.

Passage Style

Both passages seek an answer ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ ██████████

Question Type

Implied

Purpose of passage

The central question both passages explore is why gaining muscle is easier after one has already gained muscle before.

Why are explanations ██ ███ █████ ██ ████████ ██████████ ██ █████████████

Neither passage answers this question. They don’t try to explain why the explanations in exercise physiology are inconclusive.

What is the ████ ███ ███ ████████████ ██ █████ ████████ █████ █████ █ ██████ ██ ███████████

Neither passage describes the “best” way to begin training again. Although they seek to explain why building muscle is easier after one has already gained muscle, this is a separate issue from the “best” way to begin training again.

Why is building ██████ ██████ ███ ██████ ███ ████ ████ ██ ██ ███ █████

This is answered by both passages. Passage A explores in P2 and P3 potential explanations for why building muscle is easier for those who have already built muscle before. Passage B provides an explanation for this in P2.

Is muscle memory █ ██████ █████████████ ███████████

Passage B doesn’t try to answer this question. Even if you think Passage B would say that muscle memory isn’t a purely psychological phenomenon, Passage B never tried to explore whether it’s a psychological phenomenon. There’s a difference between whether Passage B provides an answer to the question and whether Passage B’s purpose is to provide an answer to the question.

Is there a █████████████ █████ ███ ███ █████████ ██ ██████ ████ ███ ████████ ████ ██████ ████ █████████

Passage B doesn’t explore the question of muscle memory and its relationship to psychology.

PrepTest 147 - Section 2 - Passage 1 - Question 1

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