Exercise 1: Which WordPress Is Your Friend Actually Using? — Possible Solution
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WHAT THE INABILITY TO INSTALL PLUGINS SIGNALS
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Per this chapter's own comparison table, one of the defining differences
between the two products is: "Any plugin or theme can be installed, with
no restrictions" (WordPress.org) versus "Custom plugins/themes are
restricted or blocked entirely on lower-tier plans" (WordPress.com).
The friend's inability to install custom plugins is exactly the
symptom this chapter names as characteristic of the hosted WordPress.com
service, not the self-hosted WordPress.org software.

WHY THIS CONCLUSION FOLLOWS
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Self-hosted WordPress.org gives the site owner full control over their
own server, meaning nothing in the software itself blocks plugin
installation - any restriction would have to come from the hosting
provider, which is unusual and not the default expectation. WordPress.com,
by contrast, deliberately restricts this as a feature of its own lower
pricing tiers specifically to reserve full plugin freedom for paid
upgrades. The restriction the friend describes matches WordPress.com's
own documented business model far more closely than it matches anything
inherent to WordPress.org itself.

WHAT THIS TELLS US, PRACTICALLY
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The friend is very likely using WordPress.com, probably on a free or
low-tier plan, rather than a self-hosted WordPress.org installation.
If they wanted the plugin freedom this course is built around, they
would either need to upgrade to a higher WordPress.com tier that lifts
the restriction, or move to self-hosted WordPress.org entirely - the
option this entire course, and its own follow-up course, is written
around.

WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER
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It identifies the specific chapter table row the symptom matches,
explains why that particular restriction is a hosted-service business
decision rather than a software limitation, and draws the correct
practical conclusion about which product the friend is actually using.