Deb: It's worrisome that 80% of the people in this country know at least one person who did not finish high school.
Erik: But the average person has about one hundred different acquaintances, so, even if the normal high school dropout rate is only 10%, most people will probably know at least one dropout.
Erik's argument relies on the assumption that:
A) The normal dropout rate has remained very stable over time.
B) The dropout rate varies little from region to region across the country.
C) The number of people who know a dropout is usually over 80% of the population.
D) The statistics cited by Deb don't overstate the fraction of the population that actually does know a high school dropout.
E) Being personally acquainted with a dropout causes more anxiety about the dropout problem than do the dropout statistics themselves.
Could you explain the answer and why the other choices are not answers?
Thank you!
Erik: But the average person has about one hundred different acquaintances, so, even if the normal high school dropout rate is only 10%, most people will probably know at least one dropout.
Erik's argument relies on the assumption that:
A) The normal dropout rate has remained very stable over time.
B) The dropout rate varies little from region to region across the country.
C) The number of people who know a dropout is usually over 80% of the population.
D) The statistics cited by Deb don't overstate the fraction of the population that actually does know a high school dropout.
E) Being personally acquainted with a dropout causes more anxiety about the dropout problem than do the dropout statistics themselves.
Could you explain the answer and why the other choices are not answers?
Thank you!
