To make students more competitive in the work force and for graduate school, college professors are beginning to lower the standard for student grades (i. e. what was once considered a b, is now considered an a). this is known as: a. gpa debtb. systematic gradingc. academic bribingd. grade inflation

Option D is the answer. Grade inflation results when college professors lower the standard for student grades.

Explanation:

The nature of higher education has changed a lot in recent decades. There has been a distinct democratization of access to higher education. Now it is expected that most high school students will pursue college and that stopping formal education at the level of just a high school diploma is limiting and affects the earning potential of young people negatively.  Now, more people attend college right after high school and this has put pressure on universities to deliver a service to students as paying customers (and their parents) instead of maintaining an academic standard that is rigorous and difficult to attain.  

conformal maps greatly distort _sizes_ of continents in higher latitudes.

the answer is sizes.