Question

A doctor is studying heights of newborn babies. The doctor uses 20 inches as a reference point. Babies in the study receive a score to show how close they are to 20 inches.

A baby that is 21 inches long receives a score of +1. A baby that is 16 inches long receives a score of -4.

NOTE: For your answer to be counted correctly, first enter + or - and then the number.

(1 point)
A baby that is 18 inches long receives a score of

Answer 1

To determine the score for a baby that is 18 inches long, we can establish a scoring system based on the reference point of 20 inches.

1. A baby that is 21 inches long receives a score of +1, which indicates that the score increases by +1 for every inch above 20 inches.
2. A baby that is 16 inches long receives a score of -4, indicating a decrease in score for being below 20 inches.

The difference from the reference point of 20 inches to 18 inches is -2 inches.
- Since every inch below 20 corresponds to a decrease in score, we can conclude that the score decreases by the same amount.

For each inch below 20 inches:
- From 20 to 19 inches is -1 (from +0 for being at 20).
- From 19 to 18 inches is another -1.

Thus, starting from a score of 0 at 20 inches:
- 21 inches: +1
- 20 inches: 0
- 19 inches: -1
- 18 inches: -2

Therefore, a baby that is 18 inches long would receive a score of -2.

So the answer is: **-2**