Question

The next question refers to This Mystery Rocks! by Cynthia Schlagel. The sentences have been numbered to help you identify them more easily. This Mystery Rocks! By Cyntha Schlagel 1The Drifting Rocks are a strange phenomenon still unexplained by science. 2Located in Death Valley, California, the rocks sit on hot, flat ground. 3Unlike normal rocks, they have trails etched behind them as if they have traveled across the sand. 4Some trails are only a few feet. 5Some trails are over a half a mile long. 6Each trail is as baffling as the next. 7The variety of rock movement has baffled scientists for decades. 8Some rocks seem to roll as they move forward. 9Some take unexplainable routes. 10Large ones have traveled past small ones that have stayed still. 11Some scientists suggest that the rocks are pushed by wind. 12Others believe they slide on small amounts of ice or mud. 13So far, research has not confirmed any theory. Read the following sentence from This Mystery Rocks!: Unlike normal rocks, they have trails etched behind them as if they have traveled across the sand. How does the sentence contribute to the main idea of paragraph one?

Answer 1

The rocks have stumped scientists because some roll, some take unexplainable routes, and some have traveled past ones that have stayed still, but scientists have theories that the rocks are pushed by wind or that they slide on ice or mud.

Answer 2

The main idea of this paragraph is that the rocks cannot be explained by science, that there is a mystery to them. This sentence contributes to that idea because it gives a specific example of one of the odd things about the rocks. Because they are on a flat surface they should not roll or move on their own, but the fact that they have a trail behind them shows that they have somehow moved. This supporting statement is then supported by more details about the trails.