by Nsikan Akpan
What the scientists did: Plastics tend to break down, due to heat and sunlight exposure, into small particles known as microplastics. In the past, scientists estimated the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by hopping on a boat and trawling the trash with fine nets — nets originally designed for catching plankton.
Running these nets through the patch, which extends from California to Hawaii, was not only laborious, it failed to catch big things like bottles and buoys. Scientists tried counting these larger items by eye, but they could only do so for small sections of the patch. By extrapolating, they could develop a sense of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch size, but their final estimates — especially for large pieces of trash — varied dramatically.
Three years ago, The Ocean Cleanup foundation opted for a more direct approach. The Netherlands-based organization hired 18 ships to trawl at different spots across the whole patch. But they used 652 nets capable of catching microplastics or larger trash.
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Question
Use the passage below from “Great Pacific Garbage Patch weighs more than 43,000 cars and is much larger than we thought” to answer the question.
Which line from the passage demonstrates a cause/effect text structure?
Responses
a. “In the past, scientists estimated the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by hopping on a boat and trawling the trash with fine nets — nets originally designed for catching plankton.”
b. “Running these nets through the patch, which extends from California to Hawaii, was not only laborious, it failed to catch big things like bottles and buoys.”
c. “The Netherlands-based organization hired 18 ships to trawl at different spots across the whole patch.”
d. “Plastics tend to break down, due to heat and sunlight exposure, into small particles known as microplastics.”
1 answer
The line from the passage that demonstrates a cause/effect text structure is:
d. “Plastics tend to break down, due to heat and sunlight exposure, into small particles known as microplastics.”
This line clearly shows a cause (heat and sunlight exposure) leading to an effect (the breakdown of plastics into microplastics).
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