Passage: When an international team of pumped a carbon dioxide and water mix into underground basalt rocks,…
Passage: When an international team of pumped a carbon dioxide and water mix into underground basalt rocks, basic chemistry took over. The acidic mixture dissolved rocks' calcium and magnesium and formed limestone Basically carbon dioxide is converted into stone, exclaimed the scientists.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and practical suggestion implied by the passage?
It is a cheap and practical method to produce limestone at commercial level for building purposes.
This can be used as one of the methods of carbon sequestration.
Basalt rock can be made a good source of calcium and magnesium minerals by this method.
Good rock-dissolving acid can be produced by mixing carbon dioxide and water.
Solution
Option (b) is correct: converting carbon dioxide into limestone implies a method of carbon sequestration (capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide). Option (a) is wrong - the passage does not discuss cost or commercial scale. Option (c) is wrong - the focus is limestone formation, not mineral extraction. Option (d) is wrong - the passage does not establish the production of a good rock-dissolving acid. Hence (b) is the best answer.