90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Percent 2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 Percentage of Maize Exported

Question

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Percent 2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 Percentage of Maize Exported by Three Countries for Marketing Years 2009/20102013/2014 Marketing year Argentina Brazil United States The following 3 lines are shown: Argentina Brazil United States The Argentina line: Begins at 2009/2010, 66.5% Falls gradually to 2010/2011, 66% Rises sharply to 2011/2012, 81% Falls sharply to 2012/2013, 70% Falls gradually to 2013/2014, 65% The Brazil line: Begins at 2009/2010, 21% Falls gradually to 2010/2011, 15% Rises sharply to 2011/2012, 34% Falls gradually to 2012/2013, 31% Falls gradually to 2013/2014, 27% The United States line: Begins at 2009/2010, 15% Remains level to 2010/2011, 15% Falls gradually to 2011/2012, 13% Falls gradually to 2012/2013, 7.5% Rises gradually to 2013/2014, 13.5% Argentina, Brazil, and the United States are among the world&rsquo;s leading producers of maize (corn), and each country exports a certain percentage of maize each marketing year, which runs from March to February in Argentina and Brazil and from September to August in the United States. A student is researching those percentages and finds that for the marketing year 2012/2013, the percentage of maize exported by ______ blank Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the text?

Accepted Answer

Choice C is the best answer because it most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the text&rsquo;s discussion of the percentages of maize exported in the marketing year 2012/2013. The graph presents percentages of maize exported by Argentina, Brazil, and the United States in marketing years 2009/2010 to 2013/2014 and indies that for the marketing year 2012/2013, the percentage of maize exported by Argentina decreased to about 70 percent from about 80 percent in the previous marketing year. The graph also shows that the percentage of maize exported by Argentina remained highest among the three countries in the marketing year 2012/2013, surpassing the percentage exported by Brazil (about 31 percent) and by the United States (about 8 percent). Choice A is incorrect because for the marketing year 2012/2013, the graph indies that the percentage of maize exported by Brazil didn&rsquo;t increase from the previous year; rather, it decreased from about 34 percent to about 31 percent. Moreover, the graph shows that the percentage of maize exported by Brazil remained higher, not lower, than the percentage exported by the United States in the marketing year 2012/2013. Choice B is incorrect because the graph indies that the percentage of maize exported by Brazil never exceeded the percentage exported by Argentina for any of the marketing years represented. Choice D is incorrect because the graph indies that the percentage of maize exported by the United States reached its lowest point, not its highest, during the five marketing years in 2012/2013, with the United States exporting only about 8 percent of its maize in that marketing year.

Question 90-80-