Most of the students who took Spanish 101 at the university last semester attended every class session. However, each student who received a grade lower than B minus missed at least one class session.
Which one of the following statements about the students who took Spanish 101 at the university last semester can be properly inferred from the information above?
(A) At least some of the students who received a grade of A minus or higher attended every class session.
(B) Most, if not all, of the students who missed at least one class session received a grade lower than B minus.
(C) Most of the students received a grade higher than B minus.
(D) At least one student who received a grade of B minus or higher missed one or more class sessions.
(E) More than half of the students received a grade of B minus or higher.
A. We have no information about students who scored A-minus or higher—it's possible only one student earned such a grade. The “most students” who attended all classes might have simply scored B-plus.
B. This doesn't have to be true. It's possible that only one student scored below a B-minus, while the other 1,000 students scored B-minus or higher.
C. This answer is tempting and resembles choice E. But the stimulus specifically states that every student who scored below a B-minus missed at least one class. That wording doesn’t include students who scored exactly a B-minus. This answer would only work if it said “B-minus or higher.”
D. Again, this doesn’t have to be true. It’s entirely possible that all students who scored B-minus or above had perfect attendance. Remember, “most” includes the possibility of “all.”
E. Correct. As explained above, if most students attended all classes, and no student who scored below a B-minus had perfect attendance, then it must follow that most students scored B-minus or higher.
