Expression of IdeasVery hardExplaining why a figure is misleading
Expression of Ideas practice question
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- A town reports that its recycling rate rose from 40 percent to 55 percent in 2024.
- In 2024 the town began counting garden waste as recycling.
- Garden waste made up 20 percent of all waste collected in 2024.
- Excluding garden waste, the recycling rate was 43 percent.
The student wants to explain why the reported rise overstates the town's progress.
Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
- A. Most of the reported rise from 40 to 55 percent comes from counting garden waste as recycling for the first time; without it, the rate rose only to 43 percent.Correct
- B. The town's recycling rate rose to 55 percent in 2024.
- C. Garden waste made up 20 percent of all waste in 2024.
- D. The town began counting garden waste in 2024.
Answer: A. Most of the reported rise from 40 to 55 percent comes from counting garden waste as recycling for the first time; without it, the rate rose only to 43 percent.
The change of definition, and the figure without it.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. The town's recycling rate rose to 55 percent in 2024.
- The headline figure, with no caveat.
- C. Garden waste made up 20 percent of all waste in 2024.
- A detail without the link to the rise.
- D. The town began counting garden waste in 2024.
- The change without its effect.
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