Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[cheahtc]

I do not know how to paste the bar graph but I will try to describe it as best as I could.

The title of the bar graph is "Reduction in Energy Use and Pollution by Recycling.

The y-axis is percentage and the x-axis is materials.

The first item is Paper with 40% Energy and 47%Pollution

The second item is Aluminium with 95% Energy and 97% Pollution

The third item is Glass with 40% Energy and 45%Pollution

(in term of pollution, Aluminium has the highest bar followed by Paper and Glass)

Question:
Identify the item which produces the lowest percentage of pollution when recycled.
A Paper
B Glass
C Aluminium
D Glass and paper

The teacher's answer was B Glass.

I beg to differ because the title of the graph " Reduction in Energy Use and Pollution by Recycling" means reduction in energy use by recycling and reduction in pollution by recycling.

Therefore, the higher the percentage of reduction of pollution, the lower the percentage of production of pollution.

Kindly comment

Thank you.
Aiman Cheah Tiong Chap
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[educe22]

So, what do you think the answer should be?

Your description of the graph is a bit vague. Are there two adjacent bars (on the x-axis for each material, one for energy % and one for pollution %, perhaps different colors or patterns)?

Your argument seems to be with the title not corresponding to the question. A quick glance shows that the numbers for glass are the lowest and seem to be the logical answer.
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Educe22

[cheahtc]

[educe22]

The difference in aluminum is 2% which is less than the others. Therefore, I would agree that recycling aluminum causes less pollution on a per unit basis when compared "before" and "after".

However, when asked the "lowest percentage of pollution when recycled.", I still maintain that "glass" is the answer.
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Educe22

[cheahtc]

Perhaps with the actual question, readers will understand the question better. I wonder if the item is a good choice or is it trying to test the higher level of thinking skills and not just at comprehension level?

[educe22]

Viewing the excerpt of the entire page that you emailed me helps to put the question in its proper context. In my opinion, based on the level of comprehension required in the other questions, the answer is "glass".

The graph title is "Reduction in Energy Use and Pollution by Recycling."

The question asks the reader to "Indentify the item which produces the lowest percentage of pollution when recycled."

The logic I used was first: Eliminate choice D "Glass and paper" because the question stated "item", singular. Next, because the question only addresses pollution, I mentally ignored the "Energy" bars shown. That leaves Paper at 47%, Aluminum at 97%, and Glass at 45%. Glass is the lowest and therefore would be my choice. The title does serve to confuse the reader and the bolding of the word "lowest" adds to the confusion. But, all in all the question is reasonable.
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Educe22

[redset]

From what you're saying it does sound vague - if the graph is titled "Reduction in Energy Use and Pollution by Recycling" and the only values are percentages, then it could either show the reduction (as a percentage) achieved by recycling, or the amount that remains after recycling. The graph should either say what the percentage means, or it should be explained in the text - I'd have to see the original to be sure.