Understanding phytoplankton health can help predict harmful algal blooms, or HABs. When substances from land wash into the ocean, they sometimes become a feast for algae, allowing them to eat, grow and multiply rapidly. HABs can generate harmful toxins that sicken marine wildlife and humans and deplete oxygen in the water as bacteria feed on numerous dead algae.

Question

A Walk Through the Rainbow with PACE, NASA, July 17th, 2020, Jessica Merzdorf

Question
Use the passage to answer the question.

What context clues help you verify the meaning of the word toxins?

(1 point)
Responses

“sicken marine wildlife and humans and deplete oxygen”
“sicken marine wildlife and humans and deplete oxygen”

“substances from land wash into the ocean”
“substances from land wash into the ocean”

“Understanding phytoplankton health”
“Understanding phytoplankton health”

“eat, grow and multiply rapidly”
“eat, grow and multiply rapidly”

Answer 1

The context clues that help you verify the meaning of the word "toxins" are:

“sicken marine wildlife and humans and deplete oxygen.”

This phrase indicates that toxins are harmful substances, as they can cause sickness in both marine life and humans, and affect oxygen levels in the water.