Question

determining the correct spelling of a word
read the sentence and study the table.
the 100-year-old document was already ______ into numerous tiny pieces.

prefix	meaning
dis-	opposite of
im-	not
de-	away from

which choice correctly uses a prefix and completes the sentence?

• cointegrating
• deintegrating
• disintegrating
• imintegrating

Explanation:

1. Analyze the context: The document is breaking into tiny pieces, so we need a word meaning to break apart.
2. Analyze prefixes:

• "co - " means "with or together", so "cointegrating" would mean coming together, which doesn't fit.
• "de - " means "away from", but "deintegrating" is not the standard form for breaking apart.
• "dis - " means "opposite of", and "integrate" means to bring together, so "disintegrate" means to break apart, which fits the context of the document breaking into pieces.
• "im - " means "not", so "imintegrating" doesn't make sense in this context.

Answer:

C. disintegrating