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Question
21
read the paragraph and identify the implied main idea. * (1 punto)
how much water is stored as placial ice? estimates by the u.s. geological survey indicate that only slightly less than two percent of the worlds water is accounted for by glaciers. but this small figure may be misleading when the actual amounts of water are considered. the total volume of all valley glaciers is about 210,000 cubic kilometers. that volume is comparable to the combined volume of the worlds largest shallow and freshwater lakes. furthermore, 80 percent of the worlds ice and nearly two-thirds of the earths fresh water are represented by antarcticas sheet, which covers an area almost one and one-half times that of the united states. if this ice melted, sea level would rise an estimated sixty to seventy meters, and the ocean would flood many densely populated coastal areas. the amount of the continents ice can be illustrated in another way. if antarcticas ice sheet were melted at a uniform rate, it would feed (1) the mississippi river for more than 50,000 years, (2) all the rivers in the united states for about 17,000 years, (3) the amazon river for approximately 5,000 years, or (4) all the rivers of the world for about 750 years.
which sentence best expresses the implied main idea of the paragraph above?
○ the quantity of glacial ice on earth today is truly immense.
○ the worlds water takes various forms—salt water, fresh water, and ice.
○ if melted at a uniform rate, antarcticas ice sheet would feed the mississippi river for 50,000 years.
○ if antarcticas glacial ice were melted, the ocean would flood many heavily populated coastal areas.
The paragraph uses multiple data points (e.g., glacial ice holding ~2% of Earth's water but equal to all surface liquid water, Antarctic ice size, sea level rise if melted, water volume equivalent to rivers) to emphasize the massive scale of Earth's glacial ice. The other options only focus on single supporting details, not the overarching implied idea.
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The quantity of glacial ice on Earth today is truly immense.