Researchers studied four crystal-growth methods, recording growth rate (mm/day) and crystal purity (% defect-free): Method I, 0.5 mm/day, 99.8%; Method II, 1.2 mm/day, 96.5%; Method III, 2.4 mm/day, 92.0%; Method IV, 4.0 mm/day, 87.5%. The team argued that crystal makers face a fundamental tradeoff: faster growth reduces purity. The strongest data support is ______
Which choice most logically completes the text using the data above?
- A
Method I's slow growth rate.
- Bcheck_circle
the inverse pattern: as growth rate rises from 0.5 to 4.0 mm/day, purity falls from 99.8% to 87.5% across all four methods.
- C
Method IV's purity of 87.5%.
- D
the average growth rate.
Explanation
"Fundamental tradeoff" requires showing inverse movement across all methods. Choice B captures this monotonic inverse relationship, the strongest support for the tradeoff claim.