medium · SAT Reading & Writing

An agronomist conducts a field trial measuring corn yield response to nitrogen fertilizer and constructs a line graph titled "Corn Yield vs. Nitrogen Application Rate." The horizontal axis lists Nitrogen Applied, measured in kilograms per hectare; the vertical axis lists Corn Yield, measured in metric tons per hectare. Plotted values are as follows: Nitrogen Applied (kg/hectare): Corn Yield (metric tons/hectare) 0: 4.1 50: 6.3 100: 8.0 150: 9.0 200: 9.3 250: 9.4 The agronomist claims: "Beyond a certain application rate, additional nitrogen fertilizer produces only marginal gains in corn yield, a pattern known as diminishing returns." Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to support the agronomist's claim of diminishing returns?

1. Because yield gains shrank as nitrogen application increased, applying any nitrogen fertilizer beyond 100 kilograms per hectare provides no benefit to corn yield whatsoever.
2. Yield gains grew larger with each additional increment of nitrogen, rising from 0.1 metric ton per hectare between 0 and 50 kilograms to 2.2 metric tons per hectare between 200 and 250 kilograms.
3. The trial measured corn yield in metric tons per hectare at six different nitrogen application rates ranging from 0 to 250 kilograms per hectare.
4. Yield rose 2.2 metric tons/hectare when nitrogen rose from 0 to 50 kg/hectare, but only 0.1 ton when it rose from 200 to 250 kg, showing later increments produce far smaller gains.

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