For a main-idea question, trace the passage's full progression: the initial assumption, the result that complicates it, the explanation for that result, and any final qualification. Choose the option that incorporates this complete relationship without exaggerating a limited finding or contradicting a stated detail.
Hints
- Hint 1
Compare prediction with outcome
Consider why a 35 percent reduction in operations produced a much smaller initial reduction in energy use.
- Hint 2
Focus on the intervention
Notice what the researchers changed before the additional energy reduction occurred—and what they did not change.
- Hint 3
Include the final qualification
The researchers retained operation counts rather than rejecting them. Look for an answer that reflects both their usefulness and their limitation.
Step-by-step
- Step 1
Identify the initial expectation
Because the compressed model performed 35 percent fewer operations, operation count suggested that it should use substantially less energy.
- Step 2
Examine the observed results and explanation
The model used only 10 percent less energy at first because repeatedly transferring data activated energy-intensive memory hardware. After the data were rearranged to reduce those transfers, energy use fell further without any change in accuracy or calculations.
- Step 3
Account for the qualification
The researchers continued to report operation counts, so the text does not dismiss that measure. Instead, their decision to report memory traffic as well indicates that computational work alone does not fully determine battery savings.