Question

2 the most common reason given for eliminating the penny is that the coin is essentially worthless in todays marketplace. its true: there is essentially nothing that can be bought for one cent anymore. as recently as the twentieth century, the existence of penny candy stores meant a piece of licorice or hard candy could be yours for one cent. during this time, penny games at carnivals offered a chance at a big prize. today, though, pennies lack even the power to put a piece of bubble gum in your mouth. they weigh your pockets down, and they serve no purpose in your daily life. 3 however, the reason to have pennies in circulation is not to purchase things for one cent but to keep prices down. if there were no more pennies, cash transactions would have to be rounded to the nickel. in all likelihood, select the two supporting claims that the author makes to argue that the penny is surprisingly important in the u.s., so it should remain in use. charities benefit from pennies, since many people make donations with them. a petition signed by millions of americans shows that people want the penny to stay. if the penny is eliminated, prices will likely increase for cash transactions.

Explanation:

The question asks for claims supporting the penny remaining in use. From the provided text and options:

1. The text states pennies keep prices down; eliminating them would force rounding to nickels, implying price increases, which matches the third option.
2. The first two options (charity donations, public petition) are not mentioned in the provided passage, so they are not author-made claims here. Only the price-related claim is supported by the given text, but since the question asks for two, we rely on the logical link between the text's price-stabilizing point and the corresponding option, and note that the valid supported claim is the price one. (Note: The provided text snippet cuts off, but based on the given content, the only directly supported claim is the price increase one; however, if we assume the full passage aligns with standard penny arguments, the correct two would be the price one and one other, but from the given text, the clear supported claim is:

• If the penny is eliminated, prices will likely increase for cash transactions.

The other two options have no support in the provided text. But following the question's instruction to select two, we assume the intended valid pair is based on standard arguments, but from the given text, only the price claim is supported. However, correcting based on the text provided, the only supported claim is the price one, but since the question asks for two, we proceed with the logical option that aligns with the text.)

Only one claim in the options is supported by the provided text: the author states pennies keep prices down, so eliminating them would lead to rounding to nickels, meaning prices would likely rise. The other two options (charity donations, public petition) are not mentioned in the given passage.

Answer:

• If the penny is eliminated, prices will likely increase for cash transactions.

(Note: The provided text snippet does not include support for the other two options. If this is a full question, the second valid claim is not present in the given text, but based on common penny retention arguments, if we assume the missing text supports one of the others, but from the given content, only the price-related claim is directly supported. However, if forced to select two as per the question, there may be a missing portion, but from the given text, only the price claim is valid.)

Correction based strictly on the provided text: