Information and IdeasEasyCommand of Evidence (quantitative): using table data to complete a statement
Information and Ideas practice question
A biology class tested how soil type affects the growth of radish seedlings. Students planted radish seeds in four soils and measured the average height of the seedlings after two weeks.
Average Radish Seedling Height After Two Weeks
Soil type | Average height (cm)
Sandy | 3.2
Clay | 2.1
Loam | 5.6
Peat | 4.4
Summarizing the results, one student wrote that seedlings grown in loam were taller on average than those grown in any other soil tested; in fact, the loam seedlings averaged ______
Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?
- A. 5.6 cm, compared with 4.4 cm for the next tallest group, the seedlings in peat.Correct
- B. 5.6 cm, compared with 2.1 cm for the seedlings in peat.
- C. 4.4 cm, compared with 3.2 cm for the seedlings in sandy soil.
- D. 3.2 cm, more than twice the average height of the seedlings in clay.
Answer: A. 5.6 cm, compared with 4.4 cm for the next tallest group, the seedlings in peat.
The table shows loam at 5.6 cm, the greatest value, and peat at 4.4 cm, the second greatest—exactly the comparison the sentence sets up. B pairs the correct loam value with the wrong row: 2.1 cm is clay, not peat. C reports the peat value (4.4 cm) as if it were the loam value, so it fails to support the claim that loam produced the tallest seedlings. D reads the sandy-soil row instead of the loam row, and its comparison is also inaccurate, since 3.2 cm is less than twice 2.1 cm.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. 5.6 cm, compared with 2.1 cm for the seedlings in peat.
- You got the loam value right, but 2.1 cm is the clay row, not peat — peat is 4.4 cm. Double-check which row you're reading across.
- C. 4.4 cm, compared with 3.2 cm for the seedlings in sandy soil.
- 4.4 cm is the peat row, not loam. Reporting peat's value as loam's actually undercuts the claim that loam produced the tallest seedlings.
- D. 3.2 cm, more than twice the average height of the seedlings in clay.
- 3.2 cm is the sandy-soil row, not loam, and the comparison doesn't hold either: 3.2 is less than twice 2.1.
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