Little Learnersplay. practice. discover.Grade 11 · Reading & language
Resolve apparent discrepancies by identifying differences in definitions, denominators or measurement intervals.
8 authored questions + worked example
Report A records 400 library visits during one week, counting each entry. Report B records 260 different visitors that week, counting each person once even if they returned.
Answer: One counts entries, while the other counts distinct people.
Returning visitors can produce multiple entries but only one distinct-person count.
All 8 authored questions for this skill.
Question 1
An order was placed three days before dispatch. Delivery arrived four days after dispatch. Report A measures four days from dispatch; Report B measures seven days from the order.
Before declaring two reports contradictory, compare what each number counts, the denominator, the time interval and the definition used.
Answer: The timing starts at different events.
The extra three days before dispatch are included only when counting from the order.
Question 2
Of 100 enrolled participants, 80 began a course and 72 finished. Report A describes completion among starters as 90%; Report B describes completion among all enrollees as 72%.
Before declaring two reports contradictory, compare what each number counts, the denominator, the time interval and the definition used.
Answer: The reports divide the same 72 completions by different group totals.
72/80 is 90%, whereas 72/100 is 72%. The denominators are different and explicitly stated.
Question 3
Report A records 400 library visits during one week, counting each entry. Report B records 260 different visitors that week, counting each person once even if they returned.
Before declaring two reports contradictory, compare what each number counts, the denominator, the time interval and the definition used.
Answer: One counts entries, while the other counts distinct people.
Returning visitors can produce multiple entries but only one distinct-person count.
Question 4
In a survey of the same group and week, Report A says 60% used the bus at least once. Report B says 20% used it every day.
Before declaring two reports contradictory, compare what each number counts, the denominator, the time interval and the definition used.
Answer: Using a bus at least once is different from using it every day.
Daily users can be part of the at-least-once group, so these are different thresholds rather than competing totals.
Question 5
A project began on a Monday and ended fifteen calendar days later. Report A counts all fifteen calendar days. Report B counts only the school days within that interval.
Before declaring two reports contradictory, compare what each number counts, the denominator, the time interval and the definition used.
Answer: Whether days means all calendar days or only school days.
The reports use different definitions of a counted day. A smaller school-day total need not contradict the calendar-day total.
Question 6
A reading list offers 30 titles: 20 printed titles and 10 digital-only titles. Report A counts all 30. Report B counts the 20 available in print.
Before declaring two reports contradictory, compare what each number counts, the denominator, the time interval and the definition used.
Answer: Report A includes digital-only titles that Report B excludes.
The two totals apply different inclusion rules, both stated in the passage.
Question 7
For the same set of journey times, Report A gives the mean as 12 minutes. Report B gives the median as 9 minutes. Each report labels its statistic explicitly.
Before declaring two reports contradictory, compare what each number counts, the denominator, the time interval and the definition used.
Answer: The reports give different statistics, so the values need not be equal.
Mean and median summarize a set in different ways; different labeled values are not automatically a contradiction.
Question 8
Attendance rose from 200 people to 220. One report describes a 10% increase; another describes 20 additional people.
Before declaring two reports contradictory, compare what each number counts, the denominator, the time interval and the definition used.
Answer: One expresses the change relatively and the other as a number of people.
The added 20 is 10% of the original 200. Both descriptions can accurately describe the same change.