Question 88·Easy·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Electric bicycles (e-bikes) use an electric motor to assist pedaling.
- Most e-bikes include a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
- Assistance helps riders climb hills and travel longer distances with less effort.
- Some cities are adding protected bike lanes to improve safety for cyclists.
The student wants to explain the basic components that provide power for an e-bike. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For SAT questions that ask you to choose a sentence using notes to accomplish a goal, first underline the key task words in the question (for example, "explain the basic components that provide power"). Then quickly label each note by its role (component, benefit, cause, effect, setting, etc.) and decide which notes are directly relevant to the task. Eliminate any answer choices that use irrelevant notes, even if they are factually correct or combine multiple notes. Finally, among the remaining options, pick the one that uses only the relevant information and matches the goal exactly in focus and scope.
Hints
Focus on the task words
Underline the phrase "basic components that provide power for an e-bike" in the question. Ask yourself: which notes describe physical parts that give the bike its power?
Sort notes into "components" vs. "effects/surroundings"
From the four notes, separate those that describe parts of the bike itself from those that describe what the bike can do for riders or what cities are doing.
Eliminate choices using only effects or safety
Cross out any answer choice that talks mainly about how easy it is to ride, how far you can go, or bike-lane safety, instead of naming what actually powers the bike.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the goal in the question
The question asks which choice will "explain the basic components that provide power for an e-bike."
Key ideas:
- "basic components" = the main physical parts
- "provide power" = what actually powers or drives the bike
So we are looking for a sentence that talks about what parts give the e-bike its power, not about safety, distance, or convenience.
Find relevant notes about power components
Look at each note and decide whether it describes components that provide power or something else:
- Note 1: "Electric bicycles (e-bikes) use an electric motor to assist pedaling." → This is a component related to power (the motor).
- Note 2: "Most e-bikes include a rechargeable lithium-ion battery." → This is another component that stores/provides power (the battery).
- Note 3: "Assistance helps riders climb hills and travel longer distances with less effort." → This is an effect/benefit, not a component.
- Note 4: "Some cities are adding protected bike lanes to improve safety for cyclists." → This is about city infrastructure and safety, not what powers the bike.
Only notes 1 and 2 tell us about the physical parts that supply power.
Match the answer choice to the relevant notes
Now compare the choices to the relevant notes:
- A talks about riders climbing hills and traveling longer distances with less effort → this comes from note 3 (a benefit), not components.
- C talks about protected bike lanes and safety → this comes from note 4 (infrastructure), not components.
- D combines ideas about traveling longer distances and bike lanes → this mixes benefits and infrastructure, still not components.
- One remaining choice mentions both the electric motor (from note 1) and the rechargeable lithium-ion battery (from note 2) as the system that powers the e-bike.
Therefore, the correct answer is: B) E-bikes use an electric motor powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.