Suppose that, at your 60ᵗʰ high school reunion, you gather together the senior portraits and relate your classmates' facial expressions to their mortality rates. Based on the study of baseball players, what would you expect to find?
A) Facial expressions in the portraits were unrelated to mortality rates.
B) Students with big smiles and those with half smiles lived longer than those who did not smile at all, but those with big and half smiles had similar lifespans.
C) Students who frowned had very short lifespans while those who smiled even a little had average life spans.
D) Students with big smiles had the longest lifespans, followed by those with partial smiles, and then by those with no smiles.

Question

Suppose that, at your 60ᵗʰ high school reunion, you gather together the senior portraits and relate your classmates' facial expressions to their mortality rates. Based on the study of baseball players, what would you expect to find? 
A) Facial expressions in the portraits were unrelated to mortality rates.
B) Students with big smiles and those with half smiles lived longer than those who did not smile at all, but those with big and half smiles had similar lifespans. 
C) Students who frowned had very short lifespans while those who smiled even a little had average life spans. 
D) Students with big smiles had the longest lifespans, followed by those with partial smiles, and then by those with no smiles.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Research on the "smile intensity" of baseball players found that those with the biggest smiles lived longer than those with partial or no smiles. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect a similar pattern in the senior portraits of high school classmates. Hence, option D is the best choice.

Suppose That, at Your 60ᵗʰ High School Reunion, You Gather