Question the-ma
The majority of plastics today wind up in landfills or are, at best, recycled into materials that have a very limited range of appliions. To address this problem, chemist Guoliang Liu and colleagues designed a reactor that melts polyethylene and polypropylene—two widely used plastics—into a wax. The wax can then be transformed into a surfactant (a chemical compound usable as a detergent). With this promising new method, plastic waste could be turned into a range of useful cleaning products.
Which choice best states the function of the underlined portion of the text?
It clarifies the meaning of a scientific term.
It describes an environmental concern.
It explains the significance of a scientific discovery.
It identifies a result that confused the team.
The majority of plastics today wind up in landfills or are, at best, recycled into materials
Medium-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Text Structure and Purpose — Function of a sentence or paragraph. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes how the underlined phrase functions in the text as a whole. The text states that the wax produced by Liu and colleagues’ reactor can be turned into a surfactant. The underlined phrase, which is set off with parentheses, then provides a definition for the term "surfactant," explaining that it’s a chemical compound that can be used as a detergent. Thus, the underlined portion of the text functions to clarify the meaning of a scientific term.
Choice B is incorrect. Though the text as a whole focuses broadly on an environmental concern, the underlined phrase does not; it simply indies what a surfactant is. Choice C is incorrect. Though the text as a whole focuses on a scientific discovery (Liu and colleagues’ solution to the problem of plastic recycling), the underlined phrase does not explain its significance; it simply defines a scientific term used in the discussion. Choice D is incorrect. Though the text as a whole includes discussion of the result found by Liu and colleagues, the underlined phrase does not discuss it; it simply defines a scientific term used in the discussion. Additionally, at no point in the text is it mentioned that the team was confused.
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