16Hit1600
Expression of IdeasMediumSynthesis: explaining how something is possible

Expression of Ideas practice question

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: - The bar-tailed godwit is a wading bird. - Some godwits fly non-stop from Alaska to New Zealand each autumn. - Godwits nearly double their weight before departing. - The extra weight is fat, burned as fuel during the flight. - Their digestive organs shrink before departure to save weight.

The student wants to explain how godwits are able to make the flight without stopping. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A. Godwits nearly double their weight in fat before departing, and their digestive organs shrink to save weight, so they carry fuel and little else.Correct
  2. B. Godwits fly from Alaska to New Zealand.
  3. C. The bar-tailed godwit is a wading bird.
  4. D. Some godwits fly non-stop each autumn.

Answer: A. Godwits nearly double their weight in fat before departing, and their digestive organs shrink to save weight, so they carry fuel and little else.

Fuel stored, weight shed: that is how.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Godwits fly from Alaska to New Zealand.
Where, not how.
C. The bar-tailed godwit is a wading bird.
What, not how.
D. Some godwits fly non-stop each autumn.
That they do, not how.

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