What is a topic sentence?

What is main idea?

More narrow ideas, evidence, examples, and elaboration in a passage are known as what?

Being a clown isn't all fun and games. Rodeo clowns expose themselves to great danger every time they perform. When cowboys dismount or bulls buck them off, rodeo clowns jump in front of the bulls and motion wildly to get their attention. In this way rodeo clowns provide an alternate target, and in doing so, protect the rider. Of course, this is a very dangerous thing to do. So, you see, sometimes clowning around can be serious business. What is the main idea of this passage?

Wolverines are medium sized mammals. They weigh no more than 50 lbs. Yet, they have earned their reputation for ferocity by killing prey many times their size. But why do they get in so many fights? The reason why wolverines have so many conflicts with other animals (including wolves, cougars, and even bears) is probably because of the wolverine's preferred hunting style. Rather than chasing down or tricking its pretty like most hunters, the wolverine prefers to take its meals directly from other hunters. So while a polar bear or a lone wolf might be enjoying a hard earned carcass, a hungry wolverine may try to take his lunch. As you might imagine, this style of hunting gets the wolverine in plenty of fights. What is the central idea of this passage?

Sometime in December of 1891, Dr. James Naismith was teaching gym at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was raining, and Dr. Naismith was trying to keep his students active. He wanted them playing a vigorous game that would keep them moving. He rejected a few ideas that were too rough. Then, Naismith had his breakthrough. He wrote out the rules for a game with peach baskets fixed to ten-foot elevated tracks. Naismith's students played against one another, passing the ball around and shooting it into the peach baskets. Dribbling wasn't a part of the original game. Also, it took a while to realize that the game would run more smoothly if the bottoms of the baskets were removed. But this game grew to be one of the most popular sports in America today. What is the main idea of this paragraph?

What's that humming sound? Could it be the hummingbird, the only bird capable of backward flight? Hummingbirds have many unique flight habits that distinguish them from other birds. Most birds flap their wings up and down to fly, but the hummingbird moves its wings forward and backward very rapidly in a figure eight pattern. This allows the hummingbird to hover in position. They can also fly upside down and move about very rapidly. Other birds have to push off with their feet to begin flying and work up to their top speeds. The hummingbird can both start flying at maximum speed and stop flying instantaneously. Once you've seen a hummingbird in flight, it's unlikely that you'll mistake them for another bird. What is the main idea of this passage?

What do you get when you cross a robot and an astronaut? A Robonaut! Robonauts are robot helpers designed to work side-by-side with astronauts. Work on the first Robonaut began in 1997, and by 2002 Robonaut B was revealed (shown) to the public. Robonaut B featured interchangeable lower bodies, like four-wheel mode or hydraulic legs. Yet, scientists and engineers continued to improve Robonaut. In February of 2010, Robonaut 2 was released to the public. Robonaut 2 moved four times faster than the first Robonaut. An advanced version of Robonaut 2 was finally tested in outer space in 2011. Robonaut 2 functioned exactly as designed. What is the main idea of this passage?

Many people use the words cyborg and android interchangeably, but these words have different meanings. Both refer to beings powered by robotics, but an android is powered entirely by machinery. Cyborgs are partly powered by a living organism. They also look different. Androids may be completely mechanical, but they are designed to look like humans. They may have synthetic skin, hair, and other human-like features. Cyborgs are usually designed in a way that access their robotic modifications. A cyborg's mechanically enhanced eye may cast a red light or have a chrome plate surrounding it, for instance. So you see, though the terms cyborg and android seem similar, they refer to different things. What's the main idea of this passage?