Let's analyze the relationship between the word count of an essay and its score in the contest using the given word counts:
[tex]\[
\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
\text{Word Count} & 324 & 352 & 337 & 318 & 299 & 304 & 290 & 291 \\
\hline
\end{array}
\][/tex]
The options given are:
1. Word count tends to decrease as the score decreases.
2. Word count tends to increase as the score decreases.
3. Word count tends to remain constant as the score decreases.
4. Word count has no apparent relationship to the score of the essay.
There is no score data provided in the problem, which means we don't have the necessary information to determine any direct relationship between the word count and the score.
Given this information:
- We can't compare how word count changes with the score (options 1 and 2).
- The concept of it remaining constant (option 3) can't be verified due to the lack of score data.
From the provided data, we can conclude:
- Word count has no apparent relationship to the score of the essay.
Therefore, we conclude that the correct answer is:
Word count has no apparent relationship to the score of the essay.
