Question 61·Easy·Central Ideas and Details
Researchers wanted to know whether background sound affects adults’ ability to focus. In their study, volunteers tried to solve as many small logic puzzles as possible in ten minutes. Half worked in complete silence, and half listened to soft classical music at a low volume. The puzzle sets and time limits were identical. On average, the silent group solved slightly more puzzles, and many in the music group reported that the melodies distracted them. The researchers concluded that even quiet background music can make it harder to concentrate on certain tasks.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
For main idea questions in experiment-based passages, first summarize the setup (who, what, how) and then pay special attention to the results and any sentence with words like “concluded,” “found,” or “showed,” often near the end. Once you identify that conclusion, eliminate choices that (1) contradict the data, (2) add new concepts not mentioned (like stress here), or (3) focus on minor details rather than the overall finding. Finally, choose the option that most closely restates the researchers’ stated conclusion in your own words.
Hints
Look at the researchers’ conclusion
Reread the last sentence of the passage. It tells you what the researchers concluded from the study—this is your biggest clue to the main idea.
Focus on what the results show about music
Compare how the two groups performed on the puzzles. Did the group with music do better, worse, or about the same as the silent group?
Watch out for new ideas not in the passage
Check whether any answer choices mention things like stress or other factors that the researchers did not measure or discuss.
Check consistency with the whole passage
Eliminate any choice that contradicts either the results (silent group solved more puzzles) or the participants’ reports (many found the melodies distracting).
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking
The question asks: “Which choice best states the main idea of the text?”
That means you need the overall conclusion or message of the whole passage, not a small detail. For experiment passages, this is usually found in the final sentence or in any sentence that states what the researchers “concluded” or “found.”
Summarize the study and its outcome
Restate the key parts of the experiment in your own words:
- Researchers wanted to see if background sound affects adults’ ability to focus.
- All volunteers did logic puzzles for ten minutes under identical conditions except for sound.
- One group worked in complete silence.
- The other group listened to soft classical music at a low volume.
- Results: The silent group solved slightly more puzzles on average.
- Many in the music group said the melodies distracted them.
Then look at the final sentence: “The researchers concluded that even quiet background music can make it harder to concentrate on certain tasks.”
That sentence directly states the researchers’ main takeaway from the study.
Match (or mismatch) answer choices to the passage
Now compare each answer choice to the passage’s findings and conclusion:
- Ask: Does this choice say music helps, hurts, or doesn’t change performance?
- Ask: Does this choice bring in any ideas the passage never mentions, like stress?
Quick checks:
- If a choice says music improves performance, that clashes with the result that the silent group did better.
- If a choice says performance is about the same, that ignores the detail that the silent group solved slightly more puzzles.
- If a choice focuses on stress, notice that the passage never measures or even mentions stress; it only talks about distraction and concentration.
Any choice that contradicts the data or adds new, unmentioned factors cannot be the main idea.
Choose the answer that matches the researchers’ conclusion
The main idea must reflect the researchers’ stated conclusion: that even low-level classical music in the background can make it harder for adults to concentrate on puzzle tasks.
- Choice A says classical music improves performance by reducing stress—the opposite of what happened, and “stress” is never studied.
- Choice B says adults perform about the same regardless of background noise—but the silent group did slightly better.
- Choice D says stress rather than noise affects concentration—but the study is specifically about noise/music, not stress.
- Choice C correctly captures the conclusion that quiet background music can interfere with adults’ concentration on puzzle tasks.
Therefore, the best answer is: C) Low-level background music may hinder adults’ concentration while working on puzzles.