Question

robert gathered data about the annual snowfall in relation to the elevation of different areas of his town. he organized his data into the table shown.

feet of elevation	4000	4500	5000	5500	6000	6500	7000

which graph has the most appropriate scale to display the data robert collected?

• a. graph titled \elevation and snowfall\ with y - axis labeled \snowfall (inches)\ from 0 to 7000 and x - axis labeled \elevation (feet)\ from 0 to 180.
• b. graph titled \elevation and snowfall\ with y - axis labeled \snowfall (inches)\ from 0 to 140 and x - axis labeled \elevation (feet)\ from 3500 to 7500.
• c. graph titled \elevation and snowfall\ with y - axis labeled \snowfall (inches)\ from 0 to 3500 and x - axis labeled \elevation (feet)\ from 3500 to 7500.
• d. graph titled \elevation and snowfall\ with y - axis labeled \snowfall (inches)\ from 0 to 280 and x - axis labeled \elevation (feet)\ from 1000 to 9000.

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze x - axis (Elevation) range

The elevation data is 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500, 7000. So the x - axis should cover from around 3500 - 7500 (to include all data points with some margin).

Step2: Analyze y - axis (Snowfall) range

The snowfall data is 24, 35, 40, 70, 90, 100, 120. So the y - axis should cover from 0 to at least 120 (to include all data points).

Step3: Evaluate each option

• Option A: X - axis is from 0 - 180 (way too small for elevation data), Y - axis is from 0 - 7000 (way too big for snowfall data). Eliminate.
• Option B: X - axis covers 3500 - 7500 (matches elevation range), Y - axis covers 0 - 140 (matches snowfall range, as max snowfall is 120).
• Option C: Y - axis is from 0 - 3500 (way too big for snowfall data, snowfall is in inches, max 120). Eliminate.
• Option D: X - axis starts at 1000 and goes to 9000 (unnecessary range, elevation data is 4000 - 7000), Y - axis is up to 280 (more than needed, but also x - axis is not appropriate). Eliminate.

Answer:

B. Elevation and Snowfall (the graph labeled B)