Question

read the passage.
fruit or vegetable?
according to botanists, who study and classify plants, a fruit is the part of a plant that contains seeds. by this definition, not only melons and plums but zucchinis, green beans, and tomatoes are all fruits. in fact, based on this definition, any vegetable with seeds could be classified as a fruit. in contrast, nutritionists, who study diet, reserve the term \fruit\ only for sweet, fleshy fruits, using \vegetable\ for those that are low in fructose, or fruit sugar. vegetables are usually eaten as part of a meal, while fruits are often eaten as a snack or dessert. nutritionists argue that although tomatoes may be fruits from a botanical perspective, they arent eaten the way typical fruits are, so theyre vegetables. depending on who you ask, a tomato can be considered a fruit, a vegetable, or both.
what is the main, or central, idea of the passage?
botanists consider all plant parts with seeds to be fruits, but nutritionists consider many of them to be vegetables.
tomatoes are scientifically classified as fruits, but they are not served the way other fruits are often served.
nutritionists consider plant parts that have seeds but are not high in fructose to be vegetables.

Explanation:

The passage compares the botanical and nutritional classifications of fruits and vegetables. Botanists define fruits as plant parts with seeds. Nutritionists use "fruit" for sweet, fleshy items and "vegetable" for low - fructose ones. The main idea should cover both perspectives.

• The first option: It encompasses the key difference between botanists (all plant parts with seeds as fruits) and nutritionists (many such parts as vegetables), which is the core comparison in the passage.
• The second option: Focuses only on tomatoes, which is a detail used to illustrate the main idea (the difference between the two classifications) rather than the main idea itself.
• The third option: Only presents the nutritionists' view (about low - fructose plant parts as vegetables) without including the botanists' perspective, so it's incomplete.

Answer:

Botanists consider all plant parts with seeds to be fruits, but nutritionists consider many of them to be vegetables.