Question

grammar passage
plastic pollution is globally distributed across all oceans due to its properties of buoyancy and durability. the absorption of toxic materials into plastic while traveling through the environment have led some researchers to claim that synthetic polymers in the ocean should be regarded as hazardous waste. through photodegradation (damage due to exposure to sunlight) and other weathering processes, plastics break apart and disperse in the ocean. as they break apart, plastics travel the oceans and form giant masses of plastic called “gyres.”

when plastic pollution is eaten by or entangles marine life, ranging from zooplankton to 10 whales, seabirds, and marine reptiles, it has well - documented negative impacts. absorption of persistent organic pollutants onto plastic and their transfer into the tissues and organs through ingestion is impacting marine animals as well as lower trophic - level organisms. these impacts are further exacerbated by the persistence of floating plastics, ranging from resin pellets to 11 large derelict nets.

hint: most act english questions can be answered by looking at the referenced sentence without reading the whole passage
question 3/5
this question refers to 10
choose the option that best improves the underlined portion of the sentence.
a no change
b whales seabirds and marine reptiles
c ,whales, seabirds, and marine reptiles,
d ,whales, seabirds, and marine reptiles

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the sentence structure. The phrase "ranging from zooplankton to..." needs proper punctuation and formatting for the list of marine life. Option C uses a comma before the list (to set off the appositive phrase) and commas between the items in the list, which is correct. Option A lacks necessary punctuation, Option B has no punctuation between items, and Option D has an extra space before the comma which is incorrect.

Answer:

C. ,whales, seabirds, and marine reptiles,