Question 61·Easy·Inferences
City officials wanted to know whether building new, protected bike lanes would influence residents’ commuting choices. Six months after a network of protected lanes was completed on the east side of the city, researchers surveyed two groups: people whose daily routes included the new lanes and people whose routes did not. Nearly 60% of commuters who traveled on the new lanes reported switching from driving to cycling at least three days a week, while only 8% of commuters whose routes did not include the new lanes reported such a change. These results most strongly suggest that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For SAT Reading & Writing inference questions based on study results, first restate the setup (what was compared and how) and then focus on the key numbers or outcomes. Look for an answer that paraphrases the main pattern in the data in a modest way, without adding new information, new groups, or strong predictions about the whole city or the future. Quickly eliminate choices that mention things the passage never talks about or that make extreme claims not justified by the limited evidence in the text.
Hints
Identify the two groups being compared
Look back at how the researchers divided commuters into two groups. What was the key difference between them?
Compare the percentages
Notice the 60% versus 8% figures. What does this big difference tell you about commuters whose routes include the new bike lanes compared with those whose routes do not?
Stay close to the evidence
Ask yourself: Can we reasonably talk about the entire city, future traffic levels, or specific types of commuters (like bus riders or people moving neighborhoods) based on this survey alone, or should we stick to a more limited conclusion?
Eliminate answers that add new, unsupported claims
Cross out any option that mentions groups, actions, or predictions the passage never discusses, such as people relocating after the lanes were built or exact changes in overall traffic.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the study setup
First, restate what the study did:
- City officials built a network of protected bike lanes on the east side of the city.
- Six months later, researchers surveyed two groups:
- Commuters whose daily routes included the new lanes.
- Commuters whose routes did not include the new lanes. The goal was to see whether the new lanes were connected to changes in commuting choices.
Focus on the key results
Now look carefully at the numbers:
- Nearly 60% of commuters who traveled on the new lanes reported switching from driving to cycling at least three days a week.
- Only 8% of commuters whose routes did not include the new lanes reported such a change. That is a very large difference between the two groups, and the only systematic difference mentioned is whether their routes had protected bike lanes or not.
Think about what kind of conclusion is reasonable
The question asks what the results "most strongly suggest."
- We should look for a conclusion that matches the pattern in the data and stays close to what was actually measured.
- We should avoid answers that:
- Introduce new information not mentioned in the passage (like specific types of commuters or moving neighborhoods).
- Make very strong, exact predictions about the whole city or the future that go far beyond the data. So we want a moderate, evidence-based statement about commuting choices and the presence of protected bike lanes.
Match the best conclusion to the data
Check each choice against the study:
- One choice says that adding protected bike lanes can make commuters more likely to choose cycling over driving. This directly reflects the large difference between the 60% group (with lanes) and the 8% group (without lanes) and stays within what the study measured.
- The other choices either bring in extra ideas (like people moving after the lanes were built or bus riders) or make an extreme citywide prediction that the data do not support. Therefore, the choice that most logically completes the text is:
A) adding protected bike lanes can make commuters more likely to choose cycling over driving.