the majority of plastics today wind up in landfills or are, at best, recycled into materials that have a…

the majority of plastics today wind up in landfills or are, at best, recycled into materials that have a very limited range of applications. to address this problem, chemist guoliang liu and colleagues designed a reactor that melts polyethylene and polypropylene—two widely used plastics—into a wax. the wax can then be transformed into a surfactant (a chemical compound usable as a detergent). with this promising new method, plastic waste could be turned into a range of useful cleaning products. which choice best states the function of the underlined portion of the text? a) it clarifies the meaning of a scientific term. b) it describes an environmental concern. c) it explains the significance of a scientific discovery. d) it identifies a result that confused the team. the following text is from h.d.s 1916 poem “mid - day.” in the poem, the speaker is on a path in an outdoor setting. a slight wind shakes the seed - pods— my thoughts are spent as the black seeds. my thoughts tear me, i dread their fever. i am scattered in its whirl. i am scattered like the hot shrivelled seeds. which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole? a) it illustrates a change in the natural environment that the speaker implies is responsible for the growing misgivings described in the text. b) it establishes an example of consistency in the natural landscape that the speaker then contrasts with the unpredictability of human emotions. c) it presents an observation of an occurrence in the natural world that the speaker then expands on to convey a sense of a turbulent interior state. d) it evokes the ordinariness of an event in nature to suggest that the critical self - evaluation the speaker engages in is a common pursuit.
Answer
Brief Explanations:
For the first question, the under - lined part defines "surfactant" which is a scientific term. For the second question, the under - lined part about the wind shaking seed - pods is an observation in nature that the speaker uses to convey inner turmoil.
Answer:
A. It clarifies the meaning of a scientific term. C. It presents an observation of an occurrence in the natural world that the speaker then expands on to convey a sense of a turbulent interior state.