Reading 7th grade

Peru's Inca Indians first grew potatoes in the Andes Mountains in about 200 B.C. Spanish conquistadors brought potatoes to Europe, and colonists brought them to America. Potatoes are fourth on the list of the world's food staples – after wheat, corn and rice. Today, Americans consume about 140 pounds of potatoes per person every year while Europeans eat twice as many.

 

One of our favorite ways to eat potatoes is in the form of potato chips. While Benjamin Franklin was the American ambassador to France, he went to a banquet where potatoes were prepared in 20 different ways. Thomas Jefferson, who succeeded Franklin as our French ambassador, brought the recipe for thick-cut, French-fried potatoes to America. He served French fries to guests at the White House in 1802 and at his home, Monticello.

 

A native-American chef named George Crum created the first potato chips on August 24, 1853, at Moon Lake Lodge in Saratoga, New York. He became angry when a diner complained that his French fries were too thick, so he sliced the potatoes as thinly as possible making them too thin and crisp to eat with a fork. The diner loved them, and potato chips were born. In 1860 Chef Crum opened his own restaurant and offered a basket of potato chips on every table.

 

Joe "Spud" Murphy and Seamus Burke produced the world's first seasoned crisps, cheese & onion and salt & vinegar chips in the 1950s in Ireland. In the United Kingdom and Ireland crisps are what we in the United States call potato chips while chips refer to our French fries. Ketchup flavored chips are popular in the Middle-East and Canada. Seaweed flavored chips are popular in Asia and chicken flavored chips are popular in Mexico. Other flavors from around the world include: paprika, pickled onion, béarnaise, meat pie, chili crab, salmon teriyaki, borscht, caesar salad, roasted sausage, firecracker lobster, Roast Ox, haggis and black pepper, olive, and spaghetti.

 

About 27 pounds of potato chips are produced from 100 pounds of potatoes. Americans consume 2-4 billion pounds of potato chips every year, and spend more than $7 billion a year on them.

Based on the reading, what happened in 1950?

• The world's first potato chips were produced.

• The world's first French Fries were produced.

• The world's first seasoned potato chips were produced

• The world's first seasoned French Fries were produced.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.3

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.3

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.3

Peru's Inca Indians first grew potatoes in the Andes Mountains in about 200 B.C. Spanish conquistadors brought potatoes to Europe, and colonists brought them to America. Potatoes are fourth on the list of the world's food staples – after wheat, corn and rice. Today, Americans consume about 140 pounds of potatoes per person every year while Europeans eat twice as many.

 

One of our favorite ways to eat potatoes is in the form of potato chips. While Benjamin Franklin was the American ambassador to France, he went to a banquet where potatoes were prepared in 20 different ways. Thomas Jefferson, who succeeded Franklin as our French ambassador, brought the recipe for thick-cut, French-fried potatoes to America. He served French fries to guests at the White House in 1802 and at his home, Monticello.

 

A native-American chef named George Crum created the first potato chips on August 24, 1853, at Moon Lake Lodge in Saratoga, New York. He became angry when a diner complained that his French fries were too thick, so he sliced the potatoes as thinly as possible making them too thin and crisp to eat with a fork. The diner loved them, and potato chips were born. In 1860 Chef Crum opened his own restaurant and offered a basket of potato chips on every table.

 

Joe "Spud" Murphy and Seamus Burke produced the world's first seasoned crisps, cheese & onion and salt & vinegar chips in the 1950s in Ireland. In the United Kingdom and Ireland crisps are what we in the United States call potato chips while chips refer to our French fries. Ketchup flavored chips are popular in the Middle-East and Canada. Seaweed flavored chips are popular in Asia and chicken flavored chips are popular in Mexico. Other flavors from around the world include: paprika, pickled onion, béarnaise, meat pie, chili crab, salmon teriyaki, borscht, caesar salad, roasted sausage, firecracker lobster, Roast Ox, haggis and black pepper, olive, and spaghetti.

 

About 27 pounds of potato chips are produced from 100 pounds of potatoes. Americans consume 2-4 billion pounds of potato chips every year, and spend more than $7 billion a year on them.

Based on the reading, the first potato chips were made in...

• Europe

• New York

• China

• France

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.3

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.3

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.3

Peru's Inca Indians first grew potatoes in the Andes Mountains in about 200 B.C. Spanish conquistadors brought potatoes to Europe, and colonists brought them to America. Potatoes are fourth on the list of the world's food staples – after wheat, corn and rice. Today, Americans consume about 140 pounds of potatoes per person every year while Europeans eat twice as many.

 

One of our favorite ways to eat potatoes is in the form of potato chips. While Benjamin Franklin was the American ambassador to France, he went to a banquet where potatoes were prepared in 20 different ways. Thomas Jefferson, who succeeded Franklin as our French ambassador, brought the recipe for thick-cut, French-fried potatoes to America. He served French fries to guests at the White House in 1802 and at his home, Monticello.

 

A native-American chef named George Crum created the first potato chips on August 24, 1853, at Moon Lake Lodge in Saratoga, New York. He became angry when a diner complained that his French fries were too thick, so he sliced the potatoes as thinly as possible making them too thin and crisp to eat with a fork. The diner loved them, and potato chips were born. In 1860 Chef Crum opened his own restaurant and offered a basket of potato chips on every table.

 

Joe "Spud" Murphy and Seamus Burke produced the world's first seasoned crisps, cheese & onion and salt & vinegar chips in the 1950s in Ireland. In the United Kingdom and Ireland crisps are what we in the United States call potato chips while chips refer to our French fries. Ketchup flavored chips are popular in the Middle-East and Canada. Seaweed flavored chips are popular in Asia and chicken flavored chips are popular in Mexico. Other flavors from around the world include: paprika, pickled onion, béarnaise, meat pie, chili crab, salmon teriyaki, borscht, caesar salad, roasted sausage, firecracker lobster, Roast Ox, haggis and black pepper, olive, and spaghetti.

 

About 27 pounds of potato chips are produced from 100 pounds of potatoes. Americans consume 2-4 billion pounds of potato chips every year, and spend more than $7 billion a year on them.

Based on the reading, it can be inferred that potatoes are _________ foods in the world.

• average

• unimportant

• important

• fun

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

The sun may appear to be the brightest star in our sky, but beyond our solar system lies an even more massive red supergiant. Betelgeuse, a bright red star in the constellation Orion, is one of the most luminous stars in the sky, is 640 light years from our earth, and is 950 times as large as our sun. In fact, Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars we know: but it’s also nearing the end of its life.

 

Betelgeuse is at a specific stage in its life: that of a red supergiant. Red supergiants are dying stars that are in the last segment of their stellar lives. As stars develop over time, they balance the inward pressure of their own gravity with the outward pressure of the fusion process creating energy. When stars grow older, fusion slows, and gravitational pressure causes the star to compress inward so that it becomes smaller and tighter. Eventually, the star’s temperature increases, and its hydrogen shell heats up so that hydrogen fusion can begin again. Red giants are able to sustain themselves for anywhere from a few thousand to a million years, but eventually, they run out of chemicals for the fusion process. When that happens, the star shrinks, and an explosion in its core causes its outer layers to blow away in shells called planetary nebulae. Then, the star’s core continues to collapse until it becomes a white dwarf. This process will eventually happen to Betelgeuse when it runs out of fuel and implodes under its own weight.

 

Over the last 100,000 years, Betelgeuse has been shedding shells of its mass, hinting at a potential transition to the next stage in its life. Betelgeuse is expected to explode soon: but in astronomical speak, soon could mean sometime in the next million years. When supergiants shed their matter and become white dwarves, that mass can fall onto a nearby white dwarf, producing a large and bright explosion called a supernova. This future is inevitable for Betelgeuse, but in the next few thousand years, it is also expected to crash into a wall of interstellar dust. The collision is predicted to happen at a speed of 66,960 miles per hour—potentially having consequences for Betelgeuse that may occur before it even has the chance to become a white dwarf. One of the largest and brightest stars might be on track for the cosmos’ biggest car crash.

Based on the reading, which will happen to Betelgeuse first?

• Betelgeuse will run out of chemicals for fusion.

• Betelgeuse’s core will collapse.

• Betelgeuse will implode under its own weight.

• Betelgeuse will implode under its own weight.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

The sun may appear to be the brightest star in our sky, but beyond our solar system lies an even more massive red supergiant. Betelgeuse, a bright red star in the constellation Orion, is one of the most luminous stars in the sky, is 640 light years from our earth, and is 950 times as large as our sun. In fact, Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars we know: but it’s also nearing the end of its life.

 

Betelgeuse is at a specific stage in its life: that of a red supergiant. Red supergiants are dying stars that are in the last segment of their stellar lives. As stars develop over time, they balance the inward pressure of their own gravity with the outward pressure of the fusion process creating energy. When stars grow older, fusion slows, and gravitational pressure causes the star to compress inward so that it becomes smaller and tighter. Eventually, the star’s temperature increases, and its hydrogen shell heats up so that hydrogen fusion can begin again. Red giants are able to sustain themselves for anywhere from a few thousand to a million years, but eventually, they run out of chemicals for the fusion process. When that happens, the star shrinks, and an explosion in its core causes its outer layers to blow away in shells called planetary nebulae. Then, the star’s core continues to collapse until it becomes a white dwarf. This process will eventually happen to Betelgeuse when it runs out of fuel and implodes under its own weight.

 

Over the last 100,000 years, Betelgeuse has been shedding shells of its mass, hinting at a potential transition to the next stage in its life. Betelgeuse is expected to explode soon: but in astronomical speak, soon could mean sometime in the next million years. When supergiants shed their matter and become white dwarves, that mass can fall onto a nearby white dwarf, producing a large and bright explosion called a supernova. This future is inevitable for Betelgeuse, but in the next few thousand years, it is also expected to crash into a wall of interstellar dust. The collision is predicted to happen at a speed of 66,960 miles per hour—potentially having consequences for Betelgeuse that may occur before it even has the chance to become a white dwarf. One of the largest and brightest stars might be on track for the cosmos’ biggest car crash.

Based on the reading, for which of the following durations could a red giant not sustain itself?

• 5,000,000 years

• 3,000 years

• 1,000,000 years

• 1,000,000,000 years

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

The sun may appear to be the brightest star in our sky, but beyond our solar system lies an even more massive red supergiant. Betelgeuse, a bright red star in the constellation Orion, is one of the most luminous stars in the sky, is 640 light years from our earth, and is 950 times as large as our sun. In fact, Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars we know: but it’s also nearing the end of its life.

 

Betelgeuse is at a specific stage in its life: that of a red supergiant. Red supergiants are dying stars that are in the last segment of their stellar lives. As stars develop over time, they balance the inward pressure of their own gravity with the outward pressure of the fusion process creating energy. When stars grow older, fusion slows, and gravitational pressure causes the star to compress inward so that it becomes smaller and tighter. Eventually, the star’s temperature increases, and its hydrogen shell heats up so that hydrogen fusion can begin again. Red giants are able to sustain themselves for anywhere from a few thousand to a million years, but eventually, they run out of chemicals for the fusion process. When that happens, the star shrinks, and an explosion in its core causes its outer layers to blow away in shells called planetary nebulae. Then, the star’s core continues to collapse until it becomes a white dwarf. This process will eventually happen to Betelgeuse when it runs out of fuel and implodes under its own weight.

 

Over the last 100,000 years, Betelgeuse has been shedding shells of its mass, hinting at a potential transition to the next stage in its life. Betelgeuse is expected to explode soon: but in astronomical speak, soon could mean sometime in the next million years. When supergiants shed their matter and become white dwarves, that mass can fall onto a nearby white dwarf, producing a large and bright explosion called a supernova. This future is inevitable for Betelgeuse, but in the next few thousand years, it is also expected to crash into a wall of interstellar dust. The collision is predicted to happen at a speed of 66,960 miles per hour—potentially having consequences for Betelgeuse that may occur before it even has the chance to become a white dwarf. One of the largest and brightest stars might be on track for the cosmos’ biggest car crash.

Based on the reading, a star in the sky suddenly compresses so that its size decreases and its particles are more closely packed together. What could be the cause of this?

• Fusion is no longer occurring, and the star’s gravitational pressure is causing it to grow smaller and pack tighter.

• Fusion and gravity are both no longer affecting the star, causing it to shrink until it disappears from existence.

• Gravity is no longer affecting the star, and fusion is shrinking its size and packing it tighter.

• The star is becoming a red supergiant, and the processes of fusion and gravity are occurring at too high levels to maintain its size.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.3

CCSS.RI.5.3

CCSS.RI.6.3

CCSS.RI.7.3

CCSS.RI.8.3