The problem presents two dot plots: one showing the distances of the top 8 shot putters in the preliminary round of the 2012 Olympic games, and the other showing the distances of the top 8 throwers in the shot put at the U.S. qualifying meet. The question asks which pieces of information can be gathered from these dot plots, with two statements given as options.

1. Problem Description

The problem presents two dot plots: one showing the distances of the top 8 shot putters in the preliminary round of the 2012 Olympic games, and the other showing the distances of the top 8 throwers in the shot put at the U.S. qualifying meet. The question asks which pieces of information can be gathered from these dot plots, with two statements given as options.

2. Solution Steps

We need to analyze each statement based on the dot plots.

Statement A: "The top 8 Olympic shot putters in the preliminary round threw farther on average than the top 8 U.S qualifiers."

By observing the dot plots, most of the green dots (Olympic preliminary) are located to the right of most of the blue dots (U.S. qualifier). This visually suggests that the average distance of the Olympic putters is higher than the average distance of the U.S. qualifiers. Therefore, this statement can be gathered from the dot plots.

Statement B: "The distances of the top 8 Olympic shot putters vary noticeably more than those of the top 8 U.S. qualifiers."

To assess the variation, we observe the spread of the dots in each plot. The blue dots (U.S. qualifiers) are spread roughly between 19 and 21 meters. The green dots (Olympic preliminary) are spread roughly between 20 and 21.5 meters. The range of the blue dots is approximately 2 meters, while the range of the green dots is approximately 1.5 meters. This suggests that the U.S. qualifiers vary more, not less, than the Olympic putters. Therefore, this statement cannot be gathered from the dot plots.

3. Final Answer

A