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 calculate the score for a baby that is 18 inches long, we first determine how far it is from the reference point of 20 inches.

20 inches - 18 inches = 2 inches below the reference point.

Now, we need to determine the scoring system based on the examples provided:

- A baby that is 21 inches (1 inch above) gets a score of +1.
- A baby that is 16 inches (4 inches below) gets a score of -4.

From this, we can deduce that each inch away from the reference point corresponds to a score of 1. Thus:

- For each inch below 20 inches, the score decreases by 1.
- For each inch above 20 inches, the score increases by 1.

Since 18 inches is 2 inches below 20 inches, the score would be:

-4 (score for 16 inches) + 2 points (for being 2 inches higher than 16 inches) = -2.

Therefore, the score for a baby that is 18 inches long is:

**-2**