Question 92·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) contain cobalt, nickel, and lithium.
Mining these metals can cause water pollution and deforestation.
Recycling can recover up to 95% of these metals.
Recovering metals from spent batteries uses about 50% less energy than mining new ore.
Global EV battery waste is expected to exceed 10 million tons by 2030.
Only about 5% of lithium-ion batteries are currently recycled.
The student is writing a report and wants to emphasize why recycling lithium-ion batteries is an important environmental strategy. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For note-based rhetorical questions, first restate the task in your own words (for example, "I need a sentence that shows why recycling helps the environment"). Then, quickly scan the notes and mark only the ones that directly support that task. Look for answer choices that (1) clearly address the stated goal, (2) use one or more of those specific notes accurately, and (3) do not add unsupported explanations or incorrect cause-and-effect. Eliminate any option that shifts focus (e.g., to general facts or unrelated statistics) or that leaves out the key idea the question wants emphasized.
Hints
Clarify the writing goal
Underline the part of the question that states the goal: the student wants to emphasize why recycling lithium-ion batteries is an important environmental strategy. What kind of information would best support that goal?
Locate the most relevant notes
Look back at the notes and mark the ones that specifically mention recycling and say something about what recycling achieves or saves.
Match notes to answer choices
Which answer choice uses the notes about recycling and explains a clear environmental advantage, rather than just stating a problem, a statistic, or a basic fact?
Eliminate off-target choices
Cross out any answer that does not mention recycling at all, or that talks only about how big the waste problem is without explaining how recycling helps solve it.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking you to do
The question says the student wants to emphasize why recycling lithium-ion batteries is an important environmental strategy.
So the right answer must:
- Focus on recycling (not just batteries or mining in general), and
- Explain why it is important for the environment (a clear benefit or advantage).
Find the most relevant notes in the list
From the notes, highlight the ones about recycling and its advantages:
- "Recycling can recover up to 95% of these metals."
- "Recovering metals from spent batteries uses about 50% less energy than mining new ore."
These two notes show how recycling helps: it saves metals and uses less energy, both of which are important for the environment.
Compare each answer choice to the goal and notes
Check each answer:
- Does it actually mention recycling?
- Does it explain why recycling is environmentally helpful (resource recovery, lower energy use, etc.)?
- Does it accurately combine information from the notes without adding wrong cause-and-effect?
Eliminate choices that only talk about statistics, basic facts, or problems without clearly connecting recycling to environmental benefits.
Select the choice that best explains the environmental benefit of recycling
Only one option clearly focuses on recycling and uses both key ideas from the notes (high metal recovery and lower energy use) to show its environmental value:
Correct answer: Recycling lithium-ion batteries can recover up to 95% of valuable metals like cobalt, nickel, and lithium, using about half the energy required to mine new ore.