An international health organization collected global data regarding a certain disease for each of 14 consecutive years (Y1 – Y14)....

Owning the Dataset

Table 1: Text Analysis

Table 2: Chart/Graph Analysis

Key Insights

• The number of disease cases fluctuates dramatically, particularly with a sharp spike in year Y12 (from ~200,000 to ~600,000 cases), while the number of affected countries remains largely stable.
• A consistently small gap between total countries and countries with local cases suggests most transmission occurs within national borders, not via international travel.
• Despite intense outbreaks (as in Y12), geographic spread remains contained: the disease intensifies in certain locations but does not expand to many more countries.
• The early years (Y1–Y5) feature slowly declining cases and nearly stable country counts, indicating a baseline before later outbreaks.

Step-by-Step Solution

Question 1: Percent Increase in Cases from Y9 to Y12

Complete Statement:

The percent increase in the number of cases of the disease from Y9 to Y12 was, to the nearest 10%, ______.

Breaking Down the Statement

• Statement Breakdown 1:
  • Key Phrase: percent increase
  • Meaning: The amount by which something grows, shown as a percentage compared to its starting value.
  • Relation to Chart: Compare the height of the bars for Y9 and Y12, since those represent cases for those years.
  • Important Implications: Requires the formula: \(\frac{\mathrm{final - initial}}{\mathrm{initial}} \times 100\%\).
• Statement Breakdown 2:
  • Key Phrase: from Y9 to Y12
  • Meaning: The starting year is Y9, and the ending year is Y12.
  • Relation to Chart: Locate Y9 and Y12 along the x-axis and use their respective bar heights.
  • Important Implications: It's important to use only those two years' data and ignore any in between.

What is needed: The percentage increase in disease cases from Y9 to Y12, rounded to the nearest 10%.

Solution:

• Condensed Solution Implementation:
  Use the bar values for Y9 and Y12 and apply the percent increase formula.
• Necessary Data points:
  Cases in Y9: 200,000; Cases in Y12: 600,000.
• Calculations Estimations:
  Percent increase = \(\frac{600,000 - 200,000}{200,000} \times 100\% = \frac{400,000}{200,000} \times 100\% = 2 \times 100\% = 200\%\).
• Comparison to Answer Choices:
  200% is one of the available answer choices and matches exactly.

FINAL ANSWER Blank 1: 200%

Question 2: Average Countries with Local Cases from Y1 to Y5

Complete Statement:

The average (arithmetic mean) of the numbers of countries with local cases from Y1 to Y5 was, to the nearest 5 countries, ______.

Breaking Down the Statement

• Statement Breakdown 1:
  • Key Phrase: average (arithmetic mean)
  • Meaning: Sum all values, then divide by count to get the mean.
  • Relation to Chart: Extract numbers for Y1 through Y5 from the dashed line (countries with local cases).
• Statement Breakdown 2:
  • Key Phrase: countries with local cases
  • Meaning: The count of countries where the disease originated locally (not imported).
  • Relation to Chart: These are represented by the dashed line on the graph.

What is needed: The mean (rounded to the nearest 5) of local-cases countries from Y1 to Y5.

Solution:

• Condensed Solution Implementation:
  Read the dashed line values for Y1-Y5, sum them, divide by 5, and round to the closest 5.
• Necessary Data points:
  Y1: 51, Y2: 50, Y3: 40, Y4: 40, Y5: 46 countries.
• Calculations Estimations:
  Sum = 51 + 50 + 40 + 40 + 46 = 227. Average = \(227 \div 5 = 45.4\). Rounded to nearest 5 = 45.
• Comparison to Answer Choices:
  Answer choices are 15, 35, 45, and 55. 45 matches our result and is between the values given.

FINAL ANSWER Blank 2: 45

Summary

For blank 1, a direct application of the percent increase formula shows cases tripled from Y9 to Y12, resulting in a 200% increase. For blank 2, averaging the first five dashed line values and rounding gives 45 countries. Both use distinct data and math.

Question Independence Analysis

The questions are independent. Blank 1 uses bar graph values (cases) and years 9 and 12, while blank 2 uses dashed line values (countries) and years 1 through 5. Solving one does not assist with the other.