sat suite question viewer
| Crowd feature | Before obstacle | After obstacle | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density | 0.8592 | 0.7308 | 0.7447 |
| Velocity | negative 0.9357 | negative 0.9518 | negative 0.8587 |
Researcher Xiaolu Jia and colleagues monitored individuals’ velocity and the surrounding crowd density as a group of study participants walked through a space and navigated around an obstacle. Participants rated how congested it seemed before the obstacle, after the obstacle, and overall, and the researchers correlated those ratings with velocity and density. (Correlations range from negative 1 to 1, with greater distance from 0 indicating greater strength). The researchers concluded that the correlations with velocity are stronger than those with density.
Which choice best describes data from the table that support the researchers’ conclusion?
Explanation
Choice D is the best answer. The text tells us that the farther the correlation is from 0, the “stronger” it is (doesn’t matter if it’s negative or positive). The table shows that the correlations with velocity are farther from zero than the correlations with density, which supports the conclusion that the correlations with velocity are stronger.
Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t support the conclusion. It makes an “apples to oranges” comparison by comparing density and velocity correlations across features instead of comparing them for each feature. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t support the conclusion. It doesn’t include the density correlations for comparison. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t support the conclusion. The text tells us that the farther the correlation is from 0, the “stronger” it is: it doesn’t matter for “strength” whether it’s negative or positive.