Question 10·Easy·Central Ideas and Details
Agricultural scientists studying pollination recently tested whether adding patches of wildflowers near crop fields would benefit farmers. The researchers planted clusters of native wildflowers within 100 meters of several tomato fields. Over the next three months, they recorded that bees visited the tomato blossoms 60% more often than bees in comparable fields without nearby wildflowers.
According to the passage, what effect did planting wildflowers near the tomato fields have?
For SAT Reading detail questions that ask “According to the passage,” first underline the part of the passage that states the result or finding. Then, in your own words, summarize that specific detail before looking at the choices. Eliminate any answer that brings in new, unmentioned ideas (even if they sound reasonable), and select the choice that most precisely restates the text without adding or changing information.
Hints
Find the sentence with the outcome
Look for the sentence that tells you what the scientists recorded or observed after they planted the wildflowers near the tomato fields.
Focus on what was measured
Ask yourself: What did the researchers actually count or compare between fields with and without wildflowers?
Eliminate answers not mentioned
Cross out any choices that talk about things the passage never mentions, such as changes in ripening time, water use, or disease.
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the key result in the passage
Focus on the sentence that describes what the researchers recorded or found after planting the wildflowers: “Over the next three months, they recorded that bees visited the tomato blossoms 60% more often than bees in comparable fields without nearby wildflowers.” This sentence tells you the measured effect.
Restate the key detail in your own words
Put that sentence into simpler language: planting wildflowers near the tomato fields led to bees coming to the tomato flowers more often, specifically 60% more often than in fields without wildflowers. Notice that the passage does not mention changes in ripening time, water use, or disease.
Match the detail to the answer choice
Now compare each answer choice to that specific result. Only one option talks about bee visits increasing by 60%. That choice, “It increased the frequency of bee visits to the tomato blossoms by 60%,” directly restates the passage, so it is the correct answer.