Evaluate Impact Solutions Practice Test

A community garden is trying to reduce food waste sent to a landfill. They started a compost bin for plant scraps.

Evidence over 6 weeks:

• Week 1–2: 2 bags of food waste went to the landfill each week.
• Week 3–6 (after composting started): 1.5 bags per week went to the landfill.

Success criteria: reduce landfill-bound food waste by at least 50% within 6 weeks. Solutions vary in effectiveness.

Which improvement would most directly help the compost solution better meet the success criteria, based on the evidence?

A neighborhood near a busy road is worried about air pollution from cars. The community plants a line of trees between the road and a playground to reduce the amount of fine particles (PM2.5) reaching the play area. Evidence: Average PM2.5 at the playground (measured at the same times of day) was 22 µg/m³ for 3 weeks before planting. For the 3 weeks after planting, PM2.5 averaged 21 µg/m³. During the same period, a nearby park without new trees changed from 20 µg/m³ to 14 µg/m³. Success criteria: A successful solution should reduce PM2.5 at the playground by at least 20% compared with before. Which conclusion about the trees’ effectiveness is best supported by the evidence? (Note: Solutions vary in effectiveness and other factors can affect results.)