Why Popcorn Pops

Q: In this passage, "bursts" means

breaks out suddenly and with force (The steam bursts free in the same sentence as the shell breaking open with a bang. The moment is sudden and forceful, the opposite of the slow leak in the cracked kernel.)

Q: According to the passage, why does a kernel with a cracked shell never pop?

Its steam leaks out slowly, so there is no push. (The last two sentences say it plainly: the steam leaks out slowly, and there is no push. The crack removes the trap that lets pressure build.)

Question

1. What is the main point of the passage?

A Popcorn should be cooked slowly so the shell does not crack. B The starch inside a kernel is the part that makes the bang. C Popcorn pops because trapped steam pushes until the sealed shell breaks. D Water and starch never mix inside a seed.

Answer 1

Show answer for question 1

C. Popcorn pops because trapped steam pushes until the sealed shell breaks.
Every step builds one chain: water becomes steam, the shell traps it, the push breaks the shell. The bang and the white cloud are results of that push.

Answer 2

Show answer for question 2

A. It would never pop, because there is nothing to become steam.
The push comes from water turning to steam. Remove the water and the chain has no first step, just as the cracked shell removes the last one.

Answer 3

Show answer for question 3

B. breaks out suddenly and with force
The steam bursts free in the same sentence as the shell breaking open with a bang. The moment is sudden and forceful, the opposite of the slow leak in the cracked kernel.

Answer 4

Show answer for question 4

D. Its steam leaks out slowly, so there is no push.
The last two sentences say it plainly: the steam leaks out slowly, and there is no push. The crack removes the trap that lets pressure build.

Comprehension questions