Five of the Responses to Survey about Actions to Conserve Energy
| Action | Action category | Percentage of respondents selecting action (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Use efficient cars/hybrids | efficiency | 2.8 |
| Change thermostat setting | curtailment | 6.3 |
| Use bike or public transportation instead of car | curtailment | 12.9 |
| Use efficient light bulbs | efficiency | 3.6 |
| Turn off lights | curtailment | 19.6 |
In a survey of public perceptions of energy use, researcher Shahzeen Attari and her team asked respondents to name the most effective action ordinary people can take to conserve energy. The team categorized each action as either an efficiency or a curtailment and found that respondents tended to name curtailments more often than they did efficiencies. For example, 19.6% of respondents stated that the most effective way to conserve energy is to turn off the lights, while only _________
Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the text?
Explanation
Context: Respondents named the single most effective way ordinary people can conserve energy, and each action was labeled a curtailment or an efficiency. The passage sets the 19.6 percent who chose turning off lights against a much smaller share choosing an efficiency, and the blank supplies that second figure.
Answer: D) 3.6% of respondents said it was most effective to use efficient light bulbs.
Why? Efficient light bulbs are classified as an efficiency and drew only 3.6 percent, so pairing that with the 19.6 percent for turning off lights shows curtailments being named far more often, which is the finding the sentence reports.
Traps:
- A) The table gives efficient cars and hybrids 2.8 percent; 6.3 percent belongs to changing the thermostat, so this attaches the wrong number to the action.
- B) The same swap in reverse: changing the thermostat drew 6.3 percent, not 2.8 percent, and it is a curtailment rather than an efficiency.
- C) The 12.9 percent for biking or public transportation is accurate, but that action is itself a curtailment, so it cannot show curtailments outpacing efficiencies.