You are given a background paragraph that describes one or more causal or qualitative relationships such as a relationship in economics or a scientific law and a story that makes use of the concepts or the relationship described in the provided paragraph. You are also given a question about the story that requires an understanding of the relationship described in the background paragraph and the story. You need to come up with an answer to the given question; the answer will be a span from either the question or the story. In order to correctly answer the given question, you need to understand the relationship mentioned in the background paragraph and should be able to use it to understand that in the story. Your answer can not consist of any word that is not mentioned in any of these: the background paragraph, the story, or the question. You can directly copy and paste a span from the story or the question while answering the given question.

Background Paragraph: The stronger of two acids will have a higher Ka than the weaker acid; the ratio of hydrogen ions to acid will be higher for the stronger acid as the stronger acid has a greater tendency to lose its proton. Because the range of possible values for Ka spans many orders of magnitude, a more manageable constant, pKa is more frequently used, where pKa = −log10 Ka. Stronger acids have a smaller pKa than weaker acids. Experimentally determined pKa at 25 °C in aqueous solution are often quoted in textbooks and reference material. 
Story: Jacob and Thomas were conducting an experiment in a chemistry class. The goal of the experiment was to identify the strength of unknown acids by examining the products formed in a chemical reaction. After they completed the experiment, Jacob concluded that he was given a strong acid, while Thomas concluded that he was given a weak acid. 
Question: Which person's acid, Jacob's or Thomas's, will have a larger pKa?
Thomas's.

Background Paragraph: Using longitudinal data from over 100 countries, Diener and his colleagues showed that rich countries are in general happier than poor countries (Diener, Tay, & Oishi, 2013).[17] Also, life satisfaction for most countries goes up as they become wealthier over time. Diener identified three factors that influence the relationship between income and SWB. Namely, rising income most likely results in higher SWB when it leads to greater optimism, financial satisfaction and household material prosperity among citizens. Furthermore, Diener and his colleagues investigated the relationship between income and different elements of SWB. They illustrated that income has stronger influence on people’s evaluation of their lives than the positive or negative emotions they experience over time (Diener, Kahneman, Tov, & Arora, 2010).[18] The study points to the necessity to evaluate different elements of SWB separately instead of treating happiness as a single entity. 
Story: Over the years, the town of Euphoria has grown more successful and wealthier than anyone ever thought. As the wealth has increased and people have acquired more material possessions, their outlook on life has become more positive and it has been noted that the citizens have a lower incidence of depression. The town of Zenphora, on the other hand, has taken a downward financial turn over the past 50 years. The citizens have had to sell their worldly goods just to make ends meet and many do not have a good feeling about what their future holds. 
Question: If the financial situation in Euphoria decreases will the SWB increase or decrease?
decrease.

Background Paragraph: Gasoline-powered vehicles emit a lot of harmful materials. Nitrogen oxides are formed when atmospheric nitrogen reacts with oxygen at the high temperatures found in a car engine. Carbon monoxide is a by-product of incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons. Evaporated and unused fuel releases volatile hydrocarbons into the atmosphere to help form smog. The presence of a catalytic converter in the exhaust system of the car causes these materials to react and be changed into less harmful products. 
Story: After decades of debate, Brunei decided to adopt electrical vehicles and use them extensively, ultimately phasing out gasoline powered vehicles. Their neighbor Nepal decided to continue using gasoline-powered vehicles extensively. 
Question: Which country experienced fewer volatile hydrocarbons in the atmosphere?

Brunei.