Graph A and Graph B both show the carbon dioxide emission, in thousands of metric tons, from a local power plant for the years

2016

through

2023

. (Both graphs show exactly the same data.)

	Graph A		Graph B
	Carbon dioxide emission (in thousands of metric tons)		Carbon dioxide emission (in thousands of metric tons)
	100 102 104 106 108 110 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023		10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

(a)Give a rough estimate of the change in yearly carbon dioxide emission from 2016 to 2023. (Choose the best answer.)

It decreased by about

10%

.

It decreased by

12

.

It decreased by a factor of

10

, so in 2023 the yearly carbon dioxide emission was only

110

of what it was in 2016.

It increased by a factor of

10

, so in 2023 the yearly carbon dioxide emission was

10

times what it was in 2016.

(b)Approximate to the nearest whole number (in thousands of metric tons) the change in the yearly carbon dioxide emission from 2016 to 2023.

thousandmetrictons

(c)Which of the two graphs is more likely to be misleading? Why? (Choose the best answer.)

In Graph A, the points look to be at very different heights, suggesting that there was a dramatic decrease in the yearly carbon dioxide emission. In Graph B, the points look to be at similar heights, which suggests there was a relatively small decrease in the yearly carbon dioxide emission. Therefore, Graph B could mislead a person into thinking that the decrease in the yearly carbon dioxide emission between 2016 and 2023 was smaller than it really was.

In Graph A, the points look to be at similar heights, which suggests there was a relatively small decrease in the yearly carbon dioxide emission. In Graph B, the points look to be at very different heights, suggesting that there was a dramatic decrease in the yearly carbon dioxide emission. Therefore, Graph B could mislead a person into thinking that the decrease in the yearly carbon dioxide emission between 2016 and 2023 was larger than it really was.

In Graph A, the baseline is at

98

instead of

0

, which exaggerates the differences between the levels of carbon dioxide emission. In Graph B, the baseline is at

0

, so the points are at heights of the same relative size as the actual levels of carbon dioxide emission. Therefore, Graph A could mislead a person into thinking that the decrease in the yearly carbon dioxide emission between 2016 and 2023 was larger than it really was.

In Graph A, the points are at heights of the same relative size as the actual levels of carbon dioxide emission. In Graph B, the differences between the levels of carbon dioxide emission are exaggerated. Therefore, Graph A could mislead a person into thinking that the decrease in the yearly carbon dioxide emission between 2016 and 2023 was smaller than it really was.