Key Ideas and Details
Words and Phrases in Context
Academic Vocabulary
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100
Explain Ward's comparison of Earth to a hard-boiled egg with a cracked shell in paragraph 36.
Ward compares the Earth's outer layer to the cracked shell of a hard-boiled egg to help the reader understand that the Earth's surface is broken up into pieces, called plates.
100
Define "staggering" as used in paragraph 39. What words or phrases do the authors use to support you in determining its meaning.
As used in paragraph 39, "staggering" means very large, shocking, or surprising. The authors use the context clues "9.3 on the Richter scale" and "cause a lot of shaking" to hint at the word's meaning.
100
Do the authors adequately support the claim that the damage from the 2004 tsunami was "unparalleled" in paragraphs 33 and 34?
Yes, the authors mention that the 2004 tsunami destroyed "many coastal communities" and "more than 280,000 people were dead or missing" after the tsunami hit. However, none of the seven tsunamis of the last century were "very large or caused major damage."
100
What does the sentence "But it's not the shaking that makes a tsunami" in paragraph 39 suggest that the authors will discuss in the next section?
The transition word "but" suggests that the authors will discuss the causes of tsunamis in the next section.
100
Discuss why no one ordered an evacuation. Provide textual evidence from paragraph 45.
No one ordered an evacuation because the scientists only detected an earthquake in the Indian Ocean and had no way of knowing a tsunami would form as a result of the quake.
200
What words and phrases in paragraphs 42 and 43 explain why it is so difficult to predict a tsunami?
The authors mention that "not every strong underwater quake produces a massive tsunami." "A magnitude 8.1 earthquake rumbled through the seafloor" but "as powerful as that quake was, all it did was shake the ground of Macquarie Island."
200
What is the effect of words such as "quickly" and "raced" that the authors use to describe the movement of the 2004 tsunami in paragraph 41?
Words like "quickly" and "raced" help emphasize the movement and force of the tsunami.
200
Why are scientists eager to "design a tsunami detection and warning system for the Indian Ocean"? "Provide textual evidence from paragraph 47.
Scientists are eager to "design a tsunami detection and warning system for the Indian Ocean" so that they can "make the tsunami of December 2004 the final one to claim so many lives."
200
What is the purpose of the diagram on page 154?
The purpose of the diagram is to help the reader visualize how a tsunami forms underwater.
200
Explain why the earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 didn't trigger a tsunami. Provide textual evidence from paragraph 44.
The earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 did not trigger a tsunami because "it occurred along a strike-slip fault," "there was little vertical movement in the crust," and/or "little water was displaced."
300
Why does Emile Okal, a seismologist at Northwestern University, state, "The bottom line is we can't predict tsunamis" in paragraph 34? Provide textual evidence from paragraph 35.
Okal makes this statement to explain why no one predicted the 2004 tsunami. Tsunamis can't be predicted because "they form after a very strong underwater earthquake" and these "quakes happen out of sight, deep within the earth."
300
Define "dubbed" as used in paragraph 46. What words or phrases do the authors use to support you in determining its meaning? Provide textual evidence.
"Dubbed" means nicknamed or called. The "Ring of Fire" refers to the area that borders the Pacific Ocean.
300
Compare the "ordinary school day in China's Sichuan province" to the "sunny and warm day in Sumatra, Indonesia." Provide textual evidence.
Both days started like a normal day but by the end of the day "thousands of people" were buried "under rubble" in Sichuan province and "more than 280,000 people were dead or missing" in Sumatra.
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