Plastic Pollution Quiz

How many tons of plastic trash does the ocean contain?

• 165 million tons

• 500 million tons

• 5 billion tons

• 13 billion tons

According to the article, most plastic is not biodegradable (paragraph 5). This means it will

• break down easily into harmless products.

• never break down at all.

• vanish without a trace in a few months.

• only break down in the sun.

The author writes, “The world has a plastics problem.” What evidence supports this claim?

• All kinds of plastics are piling up in landfills.

• In 32 years, plastic in the ocean could outweigh all the fish.

• [Plastic] endangers marine life, and even ends up in the food we eat.

• all of the above

Which photo shows a solution to the problem of plastic waste?

• the photo of waste floating in the ocean

• the photo of the kids cleaning up the beach

• the photo of the crocodile with a tire around its neck

• the photo of edible spoons

The author wrote this article to

• inform readers of the problems caused by our use of plastics.

• compare the effects of air and plastics pollution.

• argue against the use of microbeads in products.

• describe how the United States is cutting down on plastic waste.

You can tell from reading this article that the problem with plastics

• is too big to solve.

• can be solved, but it won’t be easy.

• will have to be solved by future scientists.

• can be solved by recycling alone.

Sunlight causes plastic to become brittle. Ocean waves then break it into smaller pieces. These two sentences demonstrate

• a persuasive argument.

• cause and effect.

• problem and solution.

• compare and contrast.

The section titled "The Last Straw" describes

• solutions to the plastics problem.

• effects of plastics pollution.

• causes of plastics pollution.

• problems that plastics cause for fish.

Which country outlawed products containing microbeads?

• Britain

• Rwanda

• Scotland

• Taiwan

What do you learn by reading the sidebar "Chew on This" that you don't learn from the main article?

• People around the world are looking for ways to reduce plastic waste.

• To reduce plastic waste, we will have to change some of our habits.

• One way to reduce plastic waste is to make products edible.

• We can make certain choices that reduce the amount of plastic waste we create.