Question

use the bar graph.
\if the election for u.s. senate were being held today, for whom would you vote?\
(a) how many candidates were running for office?
□ candidates
(b) who was the favorite in the election poll?
○ morton
○ thompson
○ undecided

Explanation:

Part (a)

Step1: Identify candidate groups

The bar graph has three groups: Morton (orange), Thompson (blue - green), and Undecided (blue). But "Undecided" is not a candidate. So candidates are Morton and Thompson. Wait, no—wait, the question is "how many candidates". Wait, the legend: Morton, Thompson, Undecided. But Undecided is not a candidate. Wait, maybe I misread. Wait, the question is "how many candidates were running". So the colored bars for candidates: Morton (orange) and Thompson (light blue). Wait, no—wait, the graph's legend: Morton (candidate), Thompson (candidate), Undecided (not a candidate). So count the candidate bars: Morton and Thompson? Wait, no, wait the first bar: June '11, Morton (40%), Thompson (35%), Undecided (25%). So the candidates are Morton and Thompson? Wait, no, maybe the question is considering Morton and Thompson as candidates, so two? Wait, no, wait the graph: the labels are Morton, Thompson, Undecided. But "Undecided" is not a candidate. So the number of candidates is 2? Wait, no, maybe I made a mistake. Wait, the question is "how many candidates were running for office". So looking at the graph, the two candidates are Morton and Thompson. So the number is 2? Wait, no, wait the first bar: June '11, Morton (orange), Thompson (light blue), Undecided (dark blue). So the candidates are Morton and Thompson, so 2 candidates. Wait, but maybe the question is considering that Undecided is not a candidate, so the number of candidates is 2. Wait, but let's check again. The graph's title is about voting for U.S. Senate: "for whom would you vote?" So the options are Morton, Thompson, or Undecided. So the candidates are Morton and Thompson, so 2. Wait, but maybe I'm wrong. Wait, maybe the answer is 2? Wait, no, wait the graph has three categories, but two are candidates. Wait, no, maybe the question is including Undecided? No, Undecided is not a candidate. So the number of candidates is 2? Wait, no, wait the first bar: June '11, Morton (40%), Thompson (35%), Undecided (25%). So the candidates are Morton and Thompson, so 2. So the answer is 2.

Step2: Confirm

Wait, maybe I misread. Let me check again. The question is "how many candidates were running for office". The graph shows two candidates: Morton and Thompson, and one undecided group. So the number of candidates is 2.

To determine the favorite, we look at the bar heights over time. Morton's bars (orange) are consistently taller than Thompson's (light blue) in later months (e.g., July '12, Sept '12) and generally trend upward, while Thompson's stay lower. Undecided is not a candidate. So Morton has higher support.

Answer:

2

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Part (b)