Stack A - Our Closest Starics

1. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then answer Part B.

Part A: What is the overall text structure of the passage?

• Ⓐ Chronology

• Ⓑ Cause and effect

• Ⓒ Comparison

2. Part B: Which sentence from the text best supports your answer from Part A?

• Ⓐ “A star is a ball of extremely hot gases. The gases are so hot that they burn and glow.”

• Ⓑ “A very hot day here on Earth is about 100 degrees, but gases at the sun’s surface are about one hundred times hotter than that.”

• Ⓒ “The sun is actually a star of ordinary temperature and brightness. Ordinary stars glow yellow. ”

• Ⓓ “It is so bright that you should not look directly at it. If you did, it could damage your eyes.”

3. How does the sidebar contribute to the meaning of the text?

• Ⓐ It explains why you should not look directly into the sun.

• Ⓑ It provides some additional information about the sun.

• Ⓒ It shows how hotter stars glow blue and cooler stars glow red.

• Ⓓ It describes where the sun is located in our Solar System.

4. What is the central idea of this passage?

• Ⓐ The sun is a star that is closest to Earth.

• Ⓑ The sun is the center of our Solar System.

• Ⓒ The sun is a star of ordinary size.

• Ⓓ The sun blocks light from other stars.

5. How does the following relevant detail support the central idea?

“That is very far, but it is close if you are talking about distances in the universe. Other stars are much, much farther away.

• Ⓐ The detail describes an activity used to teach perspective.

• Ⓑ The detail explains why the sun looks larger than any other star.

• Ⓒ The detail describes how the Earth orbits around the sun.

• Ⓓ The detail explains why the sun is not considered a super-giant.

6. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A: What is the author’s purpose?

• Ⓐ to persuade readers to look directly into the sun

• Ⓑ to entertain readers about humorous facts about the sun

• Ⓒ to inform readers about the sun, Earth’s closest star

• Ⓓ to inform readers of sun safety and the importance of sunscreen

7. Part B Which of the following words or phrases does the author include to develop the purpose?

• Ⓐ “Like all stars, the sun is even hotter inside. At the sun’s center, it is about 27 million degrees!”

• Ⓑ “The hottest stars glow bluish white, and the coolest stars glow coppery red.”

• Ⓒ “Some stars are so large that they are called super-giants, while other stars are much smaller.”

• Ⓓ “The time it takes for light to travel through space and reach Earth is quite lengthy.”