Put ideas in a logical order
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Where Volcanoes Form (informative draft)
[1] Maps of the world's volcanoes show that they are not scattered at random but gathered into long, narrow belts. [2] Most volcanoes form along the edges of the enormous plates that make up Earth's outer shell, while a smaller number rise above hot spots far from any edge.
[3] Where two plates pull apart, hot rock from the mantle rises into the gap, partly melts as the pressure on it drops, and hardens into new crust. [4] As the Pacific Plate creeps slowly northwest, it carries each older volcano away from the hot spot, so the islands in the chain grow steadily older toward the northwest. [5] Most of this spreading happens along ridges on the ocean floor, although in Iceland one of these ridges rises above the sea.
[6] The Cascade Range of the northwestern United States is one section of that ring. [7] Where one plate slides beneath another, the sinking rock releases water that helps the mantle above it melt, and the melted rock rises to build a line of volcanoes. [8] Mount St. Helens, one of the Cascade volcanoes, erupted in Washington State in 1980. [9] Collision zones of this kind line most of the rim of the Pacific Ocean, forming a great horseshoe of volcanoes known as the Ring of Fire.
[10] Some volcanoes rise far from the edge of any plate, however, and the islands of Hawaii are the most famous example. [11] They rise over a hot spot, a column of unusually hot rock from deep in the mantle that pushes melted rock up through the middle of the plate. [12] The island of Hawaii, the youngest in the chain, sits over the hot spot today, and its volcanoes are still active. [13] Hawaii joined the United States as the fiftieth state in 1959, and its capital, Honolulu, is on the island of Oahu. [14] Whether they grow at a ridge, a collision zone or a hot spot, volcanoes mark the places where melted rock reaches the surface.
Ari notices that sentence [4] does not fit paragraph 2, which is about plates pulling apart. Where does sentence [4] belong?
- In paragraph 2, which describes how the plates under the ocean move apart.
- In paragraph 1, which names the hot spots in its overview of the draft.
- In paragraph 4, which explains how a hot spot builds the islands of Hawaii.
- In paragraph 3, which explains what happens along the edges of the Pacific Ocean.
Bo sees that paragraph 3 opens with a narrow detail. Which order of sentences [6] to [9] runs from the broadest idea to the narrowest detail?
- [7], [9], [6], [8]
- [8], [6], [9], [7]
- [9], [6], [8], [7]
- [7], [6], [9], [8]
How a Pin Tumbler Lock Works (informative draft)
[1] An ordinary house key resembles a simple strip of brass, but its jagged edge is a code that one particular lock is built to read. [2] Most door locks in American homes are pin tumbler locks, which turn when a row of tiny pins lines up exactly.
[3] Each stack has two pins, a lower key pin and an upper driver pin, with a small spring above pushing both pins down. [4] Inside the lock is a metal cylinder, called the plug, that turns when the right key is inserted, and it sits within a fixed outer housing. [5] The key pins come in several different lengths, which is why every lock requires a key that is cut to match it precisely. [6] Holes drilled through the housing and down into the plug hold a row of pin stacks, usually five or six of them.
[7] With no key in the lock, the springs push the driver pins down across the gap between the plug and the housing, so the plug cannot turn. [8] If even one cut on a key is too deep or too shallow, its pin stack stops at the wrong height and the plug stays locked. [9] When the correct key slides in, each cut lifts its pin stack to exactly the right height. [10] At that moment the top of every key pin and the bottom of every driver pin meet at the gap, called the shear line, and the plug turns freely.
[11] The same design explains why a different key, even one that slides easily into the slot, cannot unlock the door. [12] Because key pins come in several lengths and a lock holds five or six stacks, the combinations run into the thousands. [13] Brass is a popular metal for keys because it is easy to cut and does not rust. [14] A key opens its lock, then, not because of its outline but because its cuts set a row of pins along one line.
Jun sees that paragraph 2 describes a pin stack before the lock's parts are introduced. Which order of sentences [3] to [6] runs from the broadest idea to the narrowest detail?
- [5], [3], [6], [4]
- [6], [3], [5], [4]
- [4], [6], [3], [5]
- [4], [3], [6], [5]
Kira notices that sentence [8] interrupts paragraph 3, which explains how the right key opens the lock. Where does sentence [8] belong?
- In paragraph 4, which explains why a different key cannot open the lock.
- In paragraph 2, which explains how each pin stack is built inside the lock.
- In paragraph 3, which explains how each cut on the key lifts its pin stack.
- In paragraph 1, which also describes the cuts along a key's jagged edge.
Luz tests each sentence of paragraph 4 against its point: a different key cannot open the lock. Which sentence breaks the unity of paragraph 4?
- [12] Because key pins come in several lengths and a lock holds five or six stacks, the combinations run into the thousands.
- [14] A key opens its lock, then, not because of its outline but because its cuts set a row of pins along one line.
- [13] Brass is a popular metal for keys because it is easy to cut and does not rust.
- [11] The same design explains why a different key, even one that slides easily into the slot, cannot unlock the door.
Why Iron Rusts (informative draft)
[1] A steel shovel left outside for one winter can turn orange and flaky, while an aluminum ladder leaning beside it may still look almost new. [2] The difference is rust, a chemical change that attacks iron and steel, and knowing what causes it explains how people protect the metal.
[3] It is the corrosion of iron, in which iron atoms join with oxygen to form a reddish-brown compound called iron oxide. [4] A thin, flaky layer of it can form on a steel nail left in a glass of water in just a few days. [5] Rust is one kind of corrosion, the slow wearing away of a metal by chemical reactions with the things around it. [6] Unlike the metal it replaces, iron oxide is crumbly and takes up more space, so it flakes away and exposes fresh iron underneath.
[7] Rust does not form simply because iron touches air, however. [8] Iron needs both oxygen and water before it will rust, which is why a steel tool kept in a dry shed can stay bright for years. [9] In a well-known classroom test, a nail kept in dry air and a nail in boiled water sealed under a layer of oil both stay clean, while a nail in ordinary water open to the air soon rusts. [10] Earth's core is made mostly of iron and nickel.
[11] Most ways of protecting steel work by keeping water and oxygen away from the iron. [12] Salt dissolved in the water speeds up the reaction, which is why cars in places where winter roads are salted tend to rust faster. [13] A coat of paint or oil forms a barrier, and steel dipped in zinc, called galvanized steel, stays protected even where it is scratched, because the zinc corrodes first. [14] By blocking water, oxygen or both, people can make iron objects last for decades instead of crumbling in a few years.
Milo tests each sentence of paragraph 3 against its point: iron needs both oxygen and water to rust. Which sentence breaks the unity of paragraph 3?
- [9] In a well-known classroom test, a nail kept in dry air and a nail in boiled water sealed under a layer of oil both stay clean, while a nail in ordinary water open to the air soon rusts.
- [7] Rust does not form simply because iron touches air, however.
- [8] Iron needs both oxygen and water before it will rust, which is why a steel tool kept in a dry shed can stay bright for years.
- [10] Earth's core is made mostly of iron and nickel.
Pia notices that sentence [12] interrupts paragraph 4, which is about protecting steel. Where does sentence [12] belong?
- In paragraph 4, which explains how people keep steel safe from rust.
- In paragraph 1, which also pictures metal left out through a winter.
- In paragraph 2, which explains what rust is made of.
- In paragraph 3, which explains what iron needs before it will rust.
How a Microwave Oven Heats Food (informative draft)
[1] A microwave oven can warm a bowl of soup in two minutes, yet the plate under the bowl often stays much cooler than the soup itself. [2] The oven works by filling its box with an invisible kind of energy wave, and that energy heats some substances far more than others.
[3] Inside the oven, a part called a magnetron turns electricity into microwaves, which are radio waves with a short wavelength. [4] Because the molecules jostle their neighbors as they twist, the energy spreads through the food as heat. [5] The waves bounce off the metal walls of the oven, and the metal screen in the door has holes far smaller than the waves, so they stay inside while light passes through.
[6] The waves heat food mainly by acting on the water molecules in it. [7] Each water molecule has a slightly positive end and a slightly negative end, so the rapidly changing electric field of the waves twists the molecules back and forth billions of times each second. [8] Dry materials such as glass, paper and many plastics contain few molecules that respond this way, which is why a plate can stay cool while the soup on it grows hot. [9] The first microwave ovens, built in the late 1940s, stood about as tall as a grown person. [10] The waves do not fill the oven evenly, however, and that is the reason reheated food so often has cold spots.
[11] The strongest spots lie about six centimeters apart, half the length of one wave. [12] Microwave heating is rarely even. [13] With the turntable removed, a flat bar of chocolate melts first in small patches set about that far apart. [14] The waves form a pattern inside the oven, with places where the energy is strong and places where it is weak.
Ren notices that sentence [4] interrupts paragraph 2, which is about how the oven makes and holds its waves. Where does sentence [4] belong?
- In paragraph 2, which explains where the energy of the waves comes from.
- In paragraph 1, which also describes food growing hot in the oven.
- In paragraph 4, which explains why some parts of the food heat faster.
- In paragraph 3, which explains how the waves act on the water in food.
Tala tests each sentence of paragraph 3 against its point: the waves heat food by acting on its water. Which sentence breaks the unity of paragraph 3?
- [8] Dry materials such as glass, paper and many plastics contain few molecules that respond this way, which is why a plate can stay cool while the soup on it grows hot.
- [10] The waves do not fill the oven evenly, however, and that is the reason reheated food so often has cold spots.
- [9] The first microwave ovens, built in the late 1940s, stood about as tall as a grown person.
- [6] The waves heat food mainly by acting on the water molecules in it.
Zee sees that paragraph 4 starts with "The strongest spots" before any spots are named. Which order of sentences [11] to [14] runs from the broadest idea to the narrowest detail?
- [12], [11], [14], [13]
- [14], [11], [13], [12]
- [12], [14], [11], [13]
- [13], [11], [14], [12]
