Question 145·Easy·Inferences
A high school band director wanted to know whether a brief warm-up period would improve her students’ playing accuracy. On two separate mornings, she divided the 40-member band into two equal groups. One group began playing their music immediately, while the other group spent five minutes performing simple scales and breathing exercises before starting the same music. During each session, the director recorded the number of wrong notes each musician played. The group that warmed up made noticeably fewer errors than the group that did not.
These results suggest that ____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For "These results suggest that…" or experiment-based inference questions, first underline the research question and identify the one variable that changed between groups. Then summarize the result in your own words (Group X did better/worse than Group Y) and look for the answer that closely matches that summary without adding new factors (like different times, people, or conditions) that the study never mentioned. Eliminate any choice that talks about things the experiment did not compare or that makes a broader claim than the data support.
Hints
Focus on the variable that changed
Ask yourself: what was different between the two groups of band students in the experiment? That difference is what the question wants you to draw a conclusion about.
Use the research question as a guide
Look back at the first sentence: what did the band director want to find out? Any reasonable conclusion should directly address that original question.
Avoid claims the study didn’t test
For each answer choice, ask: Did the passage say anything about this topic (for example, type of instrument, time of day, or existing skill level)? If not, be very cautious about choosing it.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the director was testing
Focus on the research question in the first sentence: the director "wanted to know whether a brief warm-up period would improve her students’ playing accuracy." This means the key variable is warming up vs. not warming up.
Understand how the experiment was set up
On each morning, the 40-member band was divided into two equal groups:
- Group 1: started playing their music immediately.
- Group 2: spent five minutes doing simple scales and breathing exercises (a warm-up) before playing the same music.
The only meaningful difference between the two groups is whether they warmed up first.
Interpret the results logically
The director recorded the number of wrong notes each musician played. The passage says, "The group that warmed up made noticeably fewer errors than the group that did not." This shows a connection between doing a short warm-up and making fewer mistakes, but only in this context: high school band students in this situation, during these rehearsals.
Match the conclusion to the evidence
A valid conclusion must:
- Be about the effect of warming up vs. not warming up.
- Not introduce new, untested ideas (like type of instrument or time of day).
Choice A directly restates the supported idea: spending a few minutes warming up before rehearsing can help band students play their music more accurately. The other choices add claims the study never examined.