Read the following passage.
A. Paint brings colour to homes and other buildings. In general terms, it is a liquid that is spread in a thin layer and then hardens into a film that hides the surface below. Canadian regulators place paints, stains, varnishes and lacquers in one group, called architectural coatings, which are applied to houses, offices, schools and factories. Almost every paint is built from three main parts: a pigment, a binder and a solvent. Small changes in the recipe can change the dried film a great deal.
B. The pigment gives paint its colour. Pigments are very fine powders, and they also give paint the power to cover what lies underneath. Unlike a dye, a pigment does not dissolve in the liquid. A dyed film has colour but stays transparent, so the surface below can still be seen. The size of the particles matters as well. Titanium dioxide hides a surface very well when its particles measure 0.2 to 0.3 micron, but a large crystal of the same substance is perfectly clear. Black pigments work by absorbing at least 90 per cent of the light that reaches them.
C. The binder forms the film and holds the pigment to the surface. The solvent dissolves the binder and makes the mixture thin enough to apply, which is why it is also known as a thinner. The amount of solvent depends on how thick the binder is. Vinyl lacquers, made with a solid resin, are 75 to 80 per cent solvent, while oil paints may have only 10 per cent. Linseed oil, the most common drying oil, hardens by reacting with oxygen in the air. In the past, artists also used eggs, milk and gelatin as binders, because the proteins in them are sticky and have no colour.
D. Canadian rules now control what goes into paint. Many paints contain organic solvents that give off volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, gases that add to air pollution. Rules published in 2009 set VOC limits for 53 categories of architectural coatings, from 100 to 800 grams per litre, depending on the category. Under the Surface Coating Materials Regulations, a paint may not contain more than 90 mg/kg of lead. A home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint. At the end of 2025, Product Care had 247 permanent collection sites for leftover paint in British Columbia. Lower-grade latex paint collected there is used as a raw material for concrete products.
E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.
Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: D
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph D. It says a home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint. Constructed means built, and likely means probably, so the ideas match.
Passage Reference: A home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint.
Tips: Match the year and the metal. Only one paragraph links an old home to lead.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A mentions homes, but only as places that paint brings colour to. It says nothing about lead or the age of a house.
- B: Paragraph B is about pigments, dyes and particle size. There is no word about lead or older houses there.
- C: Paragraph C explains binders and solvents, such as linseed oil and eggs. Lead in old homes is not part of it.
- E: The fact about homes from before 1960 and lead-based paint sits in Paragraph D, in its middle sentences.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: A dyed film has colour but stays transparent, so the surface below can still be seen.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B explains that a dyed film has colour but stays transparent. That means you can still see the surface below it, just as the statement says.
Tips: Paragraph A also talks about hiding a surface. Look for the paragraph that names a dye.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A says paint forms a film that hides the surface. It does not talk about dyes, which let the surface show.
- C: Paragraph C mentions proteins with no colour of their own. It never compares a dye with a pigment.
- D: Paragraph D covers VOC limits, lead and recycling. Dyes do not appear anywhere in it.
- E: Paragraph B explains how a dyed film stays clear enough to see through, so this idea is in the text.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Rules published in 2009 set VOC limits for 53 categories of architectural coatings, from 100 to 800 grams per litre, depending on the category.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D has the answer. The VOC limits run from 100 to 800 grams per litre, depending on the category. VOCs add to air pollution, so the allowed level differs by type.
Tips: Look for how much air-polluting chemical is allowed. Check that the amount changes with the kind of coating.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A names architectural coatings as one group. It does not give any limit on chemicals in them.
- B: Paragraph B describes how pigments hide a surface. Air pollution and legal limits are not mentioned.
- C: Paragraph C shows that the share of solvent differs between lacquers and oil paints. That is a recipe fact, not a legal limit.
- E: The limits for different kinds of coatings are set out in Paragraph D, with a range from low to high.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: The size of the particles matters as well.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B does say that the size of the particles matters, and it gives titanium dioxide as an example. It never says who discovered this or where the work was done.
Tips: The statement is about grain size, covering power and who studied them. Read what the text says on grain size, and compare it with the statement.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A gives a general idea of what paint is. It does not talk about particle size or any research.
- B: Paragraph B explains that particle size affects how well titanium dioxide hides a surface. However, no researcher or university is named.
- C: Paragraph C tells how the binder and solvent work together. It has nothing about scientists or particle size.
- D: Paragraph D does use the word Canadian, but for rules on paint. It says nothing about a university study.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: Vinyl lacquers, made with a solid resin, are 75 to 80 per cent solvent, while oil paints may have only 10 per cent.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph C. Vinyl lacquers are 75 to 80 per cent solvent, but oil paints may have only 10 per cent. So one kind is mostly solvent and the other has very little.
Tips: Mostly means more than half. Find the paragraph that compares two amounts of solvent.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A lists solvent as one of the three main parts. It gives no amounts for any kind of paint.
- B: Paragraph B gives a figure of 90 per cent, but that is about light that black pigments absorb.
- D: Paragraph D talks about solvents that give off gases and the limits on them. It does not compare how much solvent lacquers and oil paints hold.
- E: The two very different solvent shares, for lacquers and for oil paints, are given in Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Canadian regulators place paints, stains, varnishes and lacquers in one group, called architectural coatings, which are applied to houses, offices, schools and factories.
Why this is correct: Paragraph A talks about this. Canadian regulators place paints, stains, varnishes and lacquers in one group. A family of products is simply a group of them.
Tips: Find which finishes are put together with paint. Then check who does this, and whether they are government bodies.
Why the other options are wrong:
- B: Paragraph B explains how pigments differ from dyes. It says nothing about how officials sort coatings.
- C: Paragraph C mentions vinyl lacquers, but only to show how much solvent they contain. Stains and varnishes are not named.
- D: Paragraph D uses the phrase architectural coatings for the VOC rules. It does not list stains and varnishes as members of that group.
- E: The group that joins paints, stains, varnishes and lacquers is described in Paragraph A.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: In the past, artists also used eggs, milk and gelatin as binders, because the proteins in them are sticky and have no colour.
Why this is correct: Look near the end of Paragraph C. In the past, artists used eggs, milk and gelatin as binders. These are foods, and a binder is what holds the paint together.
Tips: Some foods come up in this text. Check whether artists used them, and what job they did in the paint.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A names the binder as one main part of paint. It does not say what artists used to make binders long ago.
- B: Paragraph B is about what gives paint its colour. Foods and artists are not mentioned.
- D: Paragraph D deals with rules, lead and leftover paint. It says nothing about older ways of making paint.
- E: Paragraph C gives this detail, naming eggs, milk and gelatin as binders from the past.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Lower-grade latex paint collected there is used as a raw material for concrete products.
Why this is correct: The last sentence of Paragraph D gives the answer. Lower-grade latex paint that is collected becomes a raw material for concrete products. Poor quality means lower grade.
Tips: Think about returned paint of poor quality. What happens to it, and does it help make other products?
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A describes paint as a film on buildings. It does not say what happens to paint that people do not use.
- B: Paragraph B explains particle size and colour. There is nothing about collecting or reusing paint.
- C: Paragraph C talks about drying oils and old binders. Leftover paint and concrete are not part of it.
- E: The use of lower-grade latex paint for concrete products is stated at the end of Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: Vinyl lacquers, made with a solid resin, are 75 to 80 per cent solvent, while oil paints may have only 10 per cent.
Why this is correct: Look at Paragraph C. It says vinyl lacquers are 75 to 80 per cent solvent, while oil paints may have only 10 per cent. It never says which one dries faster.
Tips: Solvent amount and drying speed are different ideas. Check whether any paragraph talks about speed.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A: Paragraph A explains what paint is and names its three main parts. It does not compare drying times.
- B: Paragraph B is about pigments and how they cover a surface. Drying is not discussed.
- C: Paragraph C compares how much solvent lacquers and oil paints hold. It says nothing about which dries first.
- D: Paragraph D covers rules on VOCs and lead and the collection of old paint. Drying speed is not part of it.
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