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Verbal·Information and Ideas·Command of Evidence
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Monthly Temperatures and Wing Centroid Sizes of Fruit Fly Specimens
MonthAverage high (°F)Average low (°F)Average male wing centroid size (mm)Average female wing centroid size (mm)
May73501.982.27
September80541.982.27
October67441.982.29
July87622.022.31
Drosophila (fruit flies) have generation times of – days, so seasonal changes in humidity and other environmental conditions can drive seasonal fluctuations in body size from one generation to the next. To test this idea, a team of researchers recorded the average monthly temperatures and measured the average wing centroid size (a proxy for body size) of male and female fruit fly specimens collected in four different months. The researchers concluded that the flies’ body size fluctuated seasonally; this conclusion is best supported by the observation that __________
Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the assertion?
A
the average male wing centroid size was consistently smaller than the average female wing centroid size in all four months in the table.
B
the average monthly low temperature was lower in May than in September.
C
the average female wing centroid size was 2.02 mm in July but was 2.29 mm in October.
D
the average male wing centroid size was smaller in May than in July.