Question

the suits were orange racal suits, designed for field use with airborne biological agents, and they were the same type of suit that had been used at kitum cave - in fact, some of them had come back from africa in gene johnsons trunks. the suit has a clear, soft plastic bubble for a helmet. the suit is pressurized. air pressure is supplied by an electric motor that sucks air from the outside and passes it through virus filters and then injects it into the suit. this keeps the suit under positive pressure, so that any airborne virus particles will have a hard time flowing into it. - the hot zone, richard preston read the passage. then use the drop - down menus to answer the questions. what is the central idea of the passage? suits protect the body from the hot agent. which detail supports the central idea? the suit protects against virus particles. the suit was designed for field use. the suit uses electricity and air pressure.

Explanation:

The passage describes the suits (their origin, design features like the plastic bubble helmet, pressurization mechanism with air from outside passing through virus filters and injected into the suit). The central idea is about the suits' protective function. The detail "The suit protects against virus particles" directly supports the central idea as it ties into how the suit's design (pressurization, virus - filtering) keeps harmful (virus) agents out, which is related to protecting the body from the "hot agent" (implied harmful biological agent). The other details like "designed for field use" or "uses electricity and air pressure" are more about the suit's characteristics rather than its protective function which is the core of the central idea.

Answer:

For the first question (central idea), the answer is "Suits protect the body from the hot agent". For the second question (detail supporting central idea), the answer is "The suit protects against virus particles".