In 2009, Glover and her colleagues showed that even when petals look shimmery, bees can still tell which flowers likely hold food. But she and others noticed something odd about iridescence. It's not quite as flashy in plants as in other life , Glover says. The backs of jewel, beetles, or the wings of certain butterflies, for instance, shine and shimmer a lot more.
The researchers their hypothesis in the lab. They trained a group of bees to associate fake purple flowers with getting more nectar. Then the team the bees. They added non-shimmery fake flowers with purple-blue and purple-red hues to the bees' flight path. The bees passed the test, ignoring flowers that weren't perfectly purple.
The second group of bees was trained to drink from fully flashy, 'perfectly iridescent' purple flowers. But when the team perfectly iridescent flowers in different hues, the insects checked them for nectar, too.
The third group of bees, , had no problem finding the right flowers when the petals had only a little bit of bling. These bees were trained to drink from ' imperfectly iridescent' purple flowers. When the team imperfectly iridescent flowers in different hues, the bees weren't confused at all. 'They could still clearly identify the purple flowers as the good ones,' Glover says. That means imperfect iridescence is for bees.
Result:
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Correct answer: sunlight
Explanation: The word 'sunlight' fits grammatically as it serves as a noun that is the subject of the action described in the sentence. It is contextually relevant because the sentence discusses how the color of flowers can change based on the light that hits them.
Meaning: 'Sunlight' refers to the light that comes from the sun.
Wrong options:
- however: 'However' is a conjunction used to introduce a contrast, which does not fit as it does not serve as a subject in this context.
- best: 'Best' is an adjective that describes the highest quality, which does not fit as it does not relate to the action of light hitting the petals.
- added: 'Added' is a verb that indicates an action of including something, which does not fit as it does not relate to the subject of light.
- made: 'Made' is a verb that indicates creation or formation, which does not fit as it does not relate to the subject of light.
- tested: 'Tested' is a verb that indicates an action of examination, which does not fit as it does not relate to the subject of light.
- worst: 'Worst' is an adjective that describes the lowest quality, which does not fit as it does not relate to the subject of light.
- forms: 'Forms' is a noun that refers to types or shapes, which does not fit as it does not relate to the subject of light.
Correct answer: forms
Explanation: The term 'forms' is a plural noun that refers to different types of life. It fits grammatically and contextually as it describes the various living entities that exhibit iridescence.
Meaning: 'Forms' refers to different types or varieties of life.
Wrong options:
- however: 'However' is a conjunction that introduces a contrast, which does not fit as it does not describe types of life.
- best: 'Best' is an adjective that indicates the highest quality, which does not fit as it does not describe types of life.
- sunlight: 'Sunlight' is a noun that refers to light from the sun, which does not fit as it does not describe types of life.
- added: 'Added' is a verb that indicates an action of including something, which does not fit as it does not describe types of life.
- made: 'Made' is a verb that indicates creation or formation, which does not fit as it does not describe types of life.
- tested: 'Tested' is a verb that indicates an action of examination, which does not fit as it does not describe types of life.
- worst: 'Worst' is an adjective that describes the lowest quality, which does not fit as it does not describe types of life.
Correct answer: tested
Explanation: The word 'tested' is a verb that indicates the action of examining or evaluating the bees. It fits grammatically as it follows the subject 'the team' and is contextually relevant as it describes the action taken by the researchers.
Meaning: 'Tested' means to examine or evaluate something to determine its quality or performance.
Wrong options:
- however: 'However' is a conjunction that introduces a contrast, which does not fit as it does not describe an action taken by the team.
- best: 'Best' is an adjective that indicates the highest quality, which does not fit as it does not describe an action.
- sunlight: 'Sunlight' is a noun that refers to light from the sun, which does not fit as it does not describe an action.
- added: 'Added' is a verb that indicates including something, which does not fit as it does not describe the action of evaluating the bees.
- made: 'Made' is a verb that indicates creation or formation, which does not fit as it does not describe the action of evaluating the bees.
- forms: 'Forms' is a noun that refers to types or shapes, which does not fit as it does not describe an action.
- worst: 'Worst' is an adjective that describes the lowest quality, which does not fit as it does not describe an action.
Correct answer: however
Explanation: The word 'however' is a conjunction that introduces a contrast to the previous statement about the bees' ability to find flowers. It fits grammatically as it connects two contrasting ideas and is contextually relevant as it indicates a shift in the discussion.
Meaning: 'However' is used to introduce a statement that contrasts with or seems to contradict something that has been said previously.
Wrong options:
- best: 'Best' is an adjective that indicates the highest quality, which does not fit as it does not connect contrasting ideas.
- sunlight: 'Sunlight' is a noun that refers to light from the sun, which does not fit as it does not connect contrasting ideas.
- added: 'Added' is a verb that indicates including something, which does not fit as it does not connect contrasting ideas.
- made: 'Made' is a verb that indicates creation or formation, which does not fit as it does not connect contrasting ideas.
- tested: 'Tested' is a verb that indicates an action of examination, which does not fit as it does not connect contrasting ideas.
- forms: 'Forms' is a noun that refers to types or shapes, which does not fit as it does not connect contrasting ideas.
- worst: 'Worst' is an adjective that describes the lowest quality, which does not fit as it does not connect contrasting ideas.
Correct answer: added
Explanation: The word 'added' is a verb that indicates the action of including more flowers in the experiment. It fits grammatically as it follows the subject 'the team' and is contextually relevant as it describes the action taken by the researchers.
Meaning: 'Added' means to include or incorporate something additional.
Wrong options:
- however: 'However' is a conjunction that introduces a contrast, which does not fit as it does not describe an action taken by the team.
- best: 'Best' is an adjective that indicates the highest quality, which does not fit as it does not describe an action.
- sunlight: 'Sunlight' is a noun that refers to light from the sun, which does not fit as it does not describe an action.
- made: 'Made' is a verb that indicates creation or formation, which does not fit as it does not describe the action of including more flowers.
- tested: 'Tested' is a verb that indicates an action of examination, which does not fit as it does not describe the action of including more flowers.
- forms: 'Forms' is a noun that refers to types or shapes, which does not fit as it does not describe an action.
- worst: 'Worst' is an adjective that describes the lowest quality, which does not fit as it does not describe an action.
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