LSAT 122, Section 3, RC Passage 4, Maize

RC Passage 4 Explanation

PASSAGE TEXT: Every culture that has adopted the cultivation of maize-also known as corn—has been …

Paragraph Summaries

1. Maize has transformed many societies because it produces much more food per acre than most crops. Its high productivity helped shape Native American civilizations and contributed to population growth in Europe after its introduction.
2. Plants use photosynthesis to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars, with the enzyme rubisco helping this process. However, oxygen can interfere with rubisco and reduce how efficiently some plants produce energy.
3. Some plants, including maize, evolved a method called C-4 photosynthesis that prevents oxygen from disrupting sugar production. By separating the parts of the plant where oxygen is produced from where rubisco works, these plants can produce food more efficiently.

Analysis

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