Chapter Outline

Comprehending and Applying

Comprehending and applying: the understanding of what we read and see and the using of this knowledge in new ways and in different contexts

Summarizing the Main Idea

• To summarize a main idea is to briefly express a writer's key thought.
• In a passage the main idea may be expressed in a single sentence, often the first or final sentence.
• Sometimes the main idea is not expressed in a single sentence at all. In this case, you determine the main idea by summarizing what it is you think the author wants you to know.
• In a graphic the main idea is the statement that best summarizes the given information.

Restating Information

• To restate information is to use different words and phrases to express the same idea.
• You restate information on paper or in your thoughts to express that information in a way that is more like the way you talk or think.
• Restating information does not change meaning, but it may make ideas easier to understand.

Identifying Implications and Inferences

• To imply means to suggest. A writer or speaker may imply something to be true without saying it in words.
• To infer means to guess at what is not said directly. A reader or listener infers what an author is saying without the author actually saying it in words.

Applying Given Ideas

• To apply a given idea is to use an idea or principle to explain an observation or experimental result, or to make a prediction.
• A scientific principle is a given idea that can often can be applied to more than one situation.
• Scientific classification is the application of scientific definitions to a variety of organisms or nonliving objects.

Applying Remembered Ideas

• To apply a remembered idea is to use knowledge you have about general scientific ideas—knowledge that may not come from a passage or graphic.
• Often a question that asks you to apply a remembered idea can be answered by using common sense—intuition based on your daily experience.