Isabella, Who Is 5 Years Old, Observes Her Little Brother

Multiple Choice

Isabella, who is 5 years old, observes her little brother counting the nine pennies in front of him. He first lines up all the pennies, and then begins to count them, starting from the middle of the line, proceeding first all the way to the end of the line on the right, and then continuing with the left-most penny and counting to the right, ending on the penny directly to the left of the penny he counted first. He counts, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9," and then says, "I have 9 pennies." When Isabella is asked if her brother counted correctly, which response is she MOST likely to make?

A) "Yes, that's the way I would count them. It's right."
B) "That's the right number of pennies, but I would not count them that way."
C) "You shouldn't count that way. That's not the right number of pennies."
D) "That's not the right number of pennies. He only counted the middle penny once."