Which statement about microbes aboard the ISS is best supported by th… | Verbal SAT Question

Fungal Concentrations in One Dust Sample, by Experimental Treatment

Treatment	Sample ID	Fungal concentration (spores/mg dust)
Control	4	21,700
85% RH	4	1,160,000
100% RH	4	619,000,000

The International Space Station (ISS) is meant to maintain 25%–75% relative humidity (RH) to assist humans. However, routine crew activities such as handwashing can create localized areas of elevated RH. These increases create conditions under which microbial growth can be a concern. Researchers collected dust samples from four ISS vacuum bags, creating these samples from each bag for twelve samples in total. Observed fungal concentrations (spores count per mg of dust) at each sample’s original condition—presumed to reflect the desired RH range—were used as controls for comparison with counts after exposure to 85% and 100% RH.

Which statement about microbes aboard the ISS is best supported by the information in the text and the table?

In areas of the ISS where crew activities like handwashing frequently occur, fungal spore counts in dust as high as 619,000,000/mg have been observed.

The fungal spore count of the control treatment of sample 4 likely reflects an RH of under 25%.

Fungal spore counts above 21,700/mg of dust aboard the ISS create problems for crew members.

In areas of the ISS where crew activities like handwashing frequently occur, fungal spore counts in dust could substantially exceed 21,700/mg.