Question

select the text from the paragraph that best helps you understand that diminution means decrease. there may be more than one correct choice. a typical human baby is born with around 300 bones, but by the time that baby reaches adulthood, it will have only 206. initially, such a notable diminution in the number of bones may seem counterintuitive—shouldnt a skeleton need more bones, not fewer, as it grows? the explanation lies in the way bones grow and develop.

Explanation:

To understand that "diminution" means "decrease", we look at the sentence that shows a change in the number of bones. The text "A typical human baby is born with around 300 bones, but by the time that baby reaches adulthood, it will have only 206" shows a reduction in the number of bones, which helps us infer that "diminution" refers to a decrease. Also, the phrase "shouldn't a skeleton need more bones, not fewer, as it grows?" reinforces the idea of a decrease (since "fewer" is related to a decrease) and helps in understanding "diminution" as decrease.

Answer:

• A typical human baby is born with around 300 bones, but by the time that baby reaches adulthood, it will have only 206.
• shouldn't a skeleton need more bones, not fewer, as it grows?