Question

read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.
maggie wrote the following paragraph for a science paper. read the paragraph and look for corrections that maggie needs to make. then answer the questions that follow
a growing mountain
(1) tectonic plates are giant slabs of rock underneath earth’s surface. (2) these plates move around in response to heat radiating up from our planets’ core. (3) mountains form when major plates collide and push earth’s crust upward. (4) fifty million years ago, the himalayan mountains of asia began to form in this way. (5) interestingly, this mountain chain, which includes mount everest, the tallest mountain on earth, is still forming. (6) the indian and asian plates continues to hit each other, forcing rock upward. (7) for this reason, mount everest is getting taller in fact it grows about half an inch every year. (8) today this mountain is almost 30,000 feet tall.

1. what change, if any, should be made in sentence 4?

no change is needed.
change began to were beginning
change years to year’s
change himalayan mountains to himalayan mountains

Explanation:

To determine the correct change for sentence 4 ("Fifty million years ago, the Himalayan mountains of Asia began to form in this way"), we analyze each option:

• "No change is needed" is incorrect because geographical names like "Himalayan Mountains" require capitalization of "Mountains" as it's a proper noun referring to a specific mountain range.
• "Change began to were beginning" is incorrect. The past tense "began" is appropriate for an event (formation of Himalayan Mountains) that started in the past (fifty million years ago) and is a simple past action, not an ongoing past action that would require the past continuous "were beginning".
• "Change years to year’s" is incorrect. "Fifty million years" is a plural noun indicating a period of time, and "year’s" is a singular possessive, which is not appropriate here.
• "Change Himalayan mountains to Himalayan Mountains" is correct. "Himalayan Mountains" is the proper name of the mountain range, so "Mountains" should be capitalized to follow the rules of proper noun capitalization for geographical features.

Answer:

D. Change Himalayan mountains to Himalayan Mountains