medium · SAT Reading & Writing

A team of urban ecologists investigated the following claim: neighborhoods with greater tree canopy coverage tend to have lower average summer surface temperatures. They surveyed five neighborhoods in the same city and recorded each neighborhood's tree canopy coverage and its average summer surface temperature, as shown below. Neighborhood: Canopy Coverage (percent of land area) | Average Summer Surface Temperature (degrees Fahrenheit) Midtown: 15 percent | 93.8 degrees F Riverside: 28 percent | 89.6 degrees F Birchfield: 35 percent | 87.0 degrees F Elmwood: 42 percent | 84.1 degrees F Oak Terrace: 51 percent | 81.3 degrees F Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to support the ecologists' claim?

1. The five neighborhoods surveyed had canopy coverage values ranging from the low teens to just above fifty percent, reflecting a wide variety of urban landscapes.
2. Because Oak Terrace has both the highest canopy coverage and the lowest surface temperature, increasing any neighborhood's canopy coverage will directly lower its temperature by more than ten degrees.
3. Midtown, which had greater canopy coverage than Oak Terrace, recorded a lower average surface temperature, further confirming the ecologists' claim.
4. Oak Terrace, with the greatest canopy coverage at 51%, had the lowest temperature, 81.3°F; Midtown, with the least coverage at 15%, had the highest, 93.8°F.

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