Question 225·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Electric cars produce zero tailpipe emissions.
- Lithium-ion battery production currently relies on the mining of cobalt and nickel.
- Materials scientist Lina Ortiz developed a battery that uses sodium and sulfur, both abundant elements.
- Ortiz’s prototype battery delivers a driving range comparable to that of commercial lithium-ion batteries.
- Sodium and sulfur can be extracted from seawater and industrial waste streams, reducing environmental impact.
The student wants to highlight the environmental benefit of Ortiz’s battery compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For note-based rhetorical synthesis questions, first underline key words in the task (here: “environmental benefit,” “Ortiz’s battery,” and “compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries”). Then scan the notes only for information that addresses that exact goal, especially details showing differences or advantages. Eliminate any answer choices that (1) don’t mention the main subject, (2) talk about the wrong type of benefit (like performance instead of environment), or (3) only describe one side of the comparison; the correct choice will tightly match both the focus and the purpose stated in the question and be directly supported by the notes.
Hints
Restate the task in your own words
You need a sentence that uses the notes to show how Ortiz’s battery is better for the environment than typical lithium-ion batteries.
Locate the environmental information in the notes
Which notes talk about environmental impact (for example, mining or reducing harm), rather than performance or general facts about electric cars?
Check for a true comparison
The question says “compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries.” Which choice uses information about both Ortiz’s battery and conventional lithium-ion batteries, not just one or the other?
Eliminate off-topic choices
Cross out any choice that focuses mainly on driving range, tailpipe emissions, or general manufacturing challenges instead of clearly stating an environmental advantage of Ortiz’s battery.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the writing goal
The question says the student wants to “highlight the environmental benefit of Ortiz’s battery compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries.” That means the correct choice must:
- Focus on environmental impact, not performance or general facts.
- Clearly involve Ortiz’s battery.
- Make a comparison with conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Find the most relevant notes
Scan the notes for information about environmental impact and differences between the two battery types:
- Note 2: “Lithium-ion battery production currently relies on the mining of cobalt and nickel.” (negative environmental impact: mining)
- Note 3: “Materials scientist Lina Ortiz developed a battery that uses sodium and sulfur, both abundant elements.” (about Ortiz’s battery)
- Note 5: “Sodium and sulfur can be extracted from seawater and industrial waste streams, reducing environmental impact.” (explicit environmental benefit of Ortiz’s battery)
These notes together describe how Ortiz’s battery avoids some of the environmental harm linked to conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Match the goal to the answer choices
Now compare each answer choice to the goal and the key notes:
- One choice talks only about driving range (performance), not the environment.
- One choice talks only about mining for lithium-ion batteries, without mentioning Ortiz’s battery’s advantage.
- One choice is a broad statement about electric cars, not specifically about Ortiz or the comparison from the notes.
- One choice clearly mentions the materials in Ortiz’s battery, how they can be obtained in a way that reduces environmental impact, and how this avoids mining for cobalt and nickel.
Only that last type of statement fully meets the goal.
Select the sentence that fulfills the goal
The sentence that highlights the environmental benefit of Ortiz’s battery compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries, using the notes about sodium and sulfur from seawater/industrial waste and avoiding cobalt/nickel mining, is:
C) Sodium and sulfur, the key ingredients in Ortiz’s battery, can be recovered from seawater and industrial waste, avoiding the mining required for cobalt and nickel.