A survey question asking which conclusion is best supported tests generalization: how far a result can reach beyond the people surveyed. Identify who could have received the survey, then match the reported percentage to that group and to what the question actually asked. A survey of one customer group cannot speak for all shoppers, and a stated preference does not establish spending.
Hints
- Hint 1
A sample is the group surveyed. A conclusion about a larger group must account for who could have been included. Start with the customers the retailer emailed: could someone who never bought online have received this survey?
- Hint 2
The reported percentage describes a stated preference, or what customers said they would do. Keep that separate from what they actually did. Did the retailer measure purchases or spending?
Step-by-step
Match the claim to the surveyed group
Step 1Identify who could be surveyed
No Desmos needed. This is about who was surveyed, not a calculation. The retailer emailed customers who had bought online in the past month. So its sample, the group it contacted, came from those customers. The survey doesn't represent all shoppers nationwide, and customers who never shop online were outside that group.
- Step 2
Identify what the percentage measures
The 70% reports customers who said they would use pickup. That's a stated preference, not a record of pickup use or spending. So it cannot support a claim that offering pickup would make customers spend more.
- Step 3
Choose the conclusion that stays within the evidence
A survey's reach depends on who could be surveyed. The prompt doesn't say the customers were picked at random, so the result doesn't prove the exact percentage for every past-month online customer. Of the choices, the best-supported estimate stays with that customer group: about 70% of customers who bought online from this retailer last month would use curbside pickup. Choice B.