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Information and IdeasHardInterpreting recycling contamination data

Information and Ideas practice question

Recycling contamination rates, city audit Bin group | Before | After New picture labels | 24% | 15% Unchanged (control) | 23% | 22% Auditors concluded the redesigned labels, not citywide trends, drove the improvement. ____

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to support the auditors' conclusion?

  1. A. After the redesign, contamination fell by 9 percentage points in the bins with new labels but only 1 point in the unchanged control bins.Correct
  2. B. Contamination existed in both groups of bins before the redesign.
  3. C. The city audited thousands of bins in both years.
  4. D. Contamination in the control bins changed slightly between the two audits.

Answer: A. After the redesign, contamination fell by 9 percentage points in the bins with new labels but only 1 point in the unchanged control bins.

Attributing the drop to the labels requires the comparison: a 9-point fall where labels changed against 1 point where nothing changed isolates the labels' effect.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Contamination existed in both groups of bins before the redesign.
Baseline contamination in both groups says nothing about the labels' effect.
C. The city audited thousands of bins in both years.
Sample size supports precision, not the causal conclusion itself.
D. Contamination in the control bins changed slightly between the two audits.
Citing only the control change omits the treated bins — the comparison that carries the conclusion.

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