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Information and IdeasEasyMain idea of an explanation with a consequence

Information and Ideas practice question

Ordinary glass is made by melting sand together with soda ash and lime. The soda lowers the melting point so the sand can be worked; the lime keeps the finished glass from slowly dissolving in water. Leave out the lime, and a glass bottle left in the rain would, over the years, wash away.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

  1. A. Each ingredient in glass has a specific job, and leaving one out would have real consequences.Correct
  2. B. Glass is made from sand alone.
  3. C. Glass bottles dissolve quickly in rain.
  4. D. Soda ash is the most important ingredient in glass.

Answer: A. Each ingredient in glass has a specific job, and leaving one out would have real consequences.

The text assigns a job to each added ingredient and ends with what happens without one of them. Choice A states that pattern.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Glass is made from sand alone.
The text names three ingredients, not one.
C. Glass bottles dissolve quickly in rain.
Only lime-free glass would wash away, and only 'over the years'.
D. Soda ash is the most important ingredient in glass.
The text gives soda and lime each a role; it never ranks them.

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