At first glance, we might answer that clearly the Segway was the most popular,
as it takes up the largest slice of the pie chart. But remember that the pie chart is
saying that the Segway used the most fuel. Does this necessarily mean that the
Segway was the most popular? No way! Perhaps Segways are just gigantic fuel-
guzzlers, and relatively few Segways use more fuel than the more popular
motorcycles. The real answer is D. None of the graphs tell us about popularity,
so we cannot answer this question. Try this:
Based on the graphs, what is the likeliest
amount of fuel consumed, in barrels, in 2020?
A) 400,000,000
B) 450,000,000
C) 500,000,000
D) 550,000,000This is a prediction problem, and these at first look impossible. Who knows
about 2020?!? It’s not on the graph! But the trend in the line graph is an
increasing amount of fuel use. Even though there was a dip in 2005, the overall
movement is toward greater fuel consumption. So if we used 500,000,000
barrels in 2015, the likeliest number in 2020 is the only answer that is higher: D.
Tables
NUMBERS OF PARTICIPANTS IN WEDNESDAY AFTER-SCHOOL
ACTIVITIES
Freshmen Sophomores Juniors SeniorsSports 60 55 45 40Drama/Theater 22 15 12 8Newspaper 15 10 8 6Watching TV 60 45 37 20Contemplation 7 19 33 55