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Information and IdeasEasy–MediumSelect data showing size-documentation mismatch

Information and Ideas practice question

The Hollis Jazz Archive preserves reel-to-reel tapes of live club dates from the 1950s and 1960s. Because bandleaders varied in how carefully they logged their sessions, some collections arrive with detailed personnel and date information while others arrive with almost none. An archivist compiled the following summary of the four largest collections. Collection / Number of reels / Percent of reels with complete session notes Bellamy / 240 / 45% Cortez / 180 / 72% Duval / 310 / 38% Han / 95 / 61% Reviewing the summary, the archivist observed that the size of a collection is a poor predictor of how thoroughly it is documented:

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the archivist's statement?

  1. A. the Cortez collection, with 180 reels, has complete session notes for 72 percent of its reels, the highest percentage of the four collections.
  2. B. the Han collection has the fewest reels, 95, and also the lowest percentage of reels with complete session notes, 38 percent.
  3. C. the Duval collection, the largest at 310 reels, has complete session notes for only 38 percent of its reels, while the smaller Cortez collection has notes for 72 percent.Correct
  4. D. the Bellamy collection has 240 reels, more than the Cortez collection's 180, and a higher percentage of reels with complete session notes.

Answer: C. the Duval collection, the largest at 310 reels, has complete session notes for only 38 percent of its reels, while the smaller Cortez collection has notes for 72 percent.

The statement needs data showing that a bigger collection is not a better-documented one. Choice C pairs the largest collection (310 reels, 38 percent documented) with a smaller, better-documented one (180 reels, 72 percent), directly demonstrating the mismatch. Choice A reports accurate figures but only about one collection, so it says nothing about the relationship between size and documentation. Choice B misreads the table: the lowest percentage, 38 percent, belongs to Duval, not Han (Han is 61 percent), and as written it would suggest size and documentation do go together. Choice D is factually false from the table: Bellamy's 45 percent is lower, not higher, than Cortez's 72 percent.

Why the other answers are wrong

A. the Cortez collection, with 180 reels, has complete session notes for 72 percent of its reels, the highest percentage of the four collections.
Both figures are accurate, but they describe only Cortez — a single collection can't show that size fails to predict documentation, which requires comparing a large collection with a smaller one.
B. the Han collection has the fewest reels, 95, and also the lowest percentage of reels with complete session notes, 38 percent.
Han's percentage is 61 percent, not 38 percent (38 percent belongs to Duval), and pairing the smallest collection with the lowest documentation rate would argue that size and documentation *do* go together.
D. the Bellamy collection has 240 reels, more than the Cortez collection's 180, and a higher percentage of reels with complete session notes.
Check the percent column: Bellamy is at 45 percent, which is lower than Cortez's 72 percent, so this statement contradicts the table.

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