Question

the bar graph below shows the height of a plant at the end of each week of a live - week growth period.
which statement represents a valid conclusion based on the information in the graph?
1 the plant was given water during the first three weeks, only.
2 the plant will grow faster during the sixth week than it did during the fifth week.
3 the plant grew fastest during the first three weeks, and then it grew slower.
4

Explanation:

• Option 1: The graph only shows height over weeks, not whether water was given. So this is not a valid conclusion.
• Option 2: There is no data about the sixth week in the given graph, so we can't say about the sixth - week growth.
• Option 3: The height increase from week 1 to week 2 is more than from week 2 to week 3. For example, if week 1 height is \(h_1 = 1\) (approx), week 2 height \(h_2=2\) (approx), week 3 height \(h_3 = 4\) (approx). The growth from week 1 - 2 is \(h_2 - h_1=1\), from week 2 - 3 is \(h_3 - h_2 = 2\). So the plant grew fastest during the first three weeks and then grew slower (as the height increase from week 3 - 4 and week 4 - 5 is less than the increase from week 2 - 3).
• Option 4: There is no information about the plant being watered only in the first three weeks from the height - week graph.

Answer:

1. The plant grew fastest during the first three weeks, and then it grew slower.