🔍 Key Concepts

• Oil spill response methods (mechanical recovery, chemical dispersants, sorbents, booms) • What materials like straw, sawdust, or pads actually do when placed on an oil spill • The difference between absorbing/adsorbing oil and blocking or dispersing it

💭 Think About

• Think about what happens physically when you put straw on an oil sheen on the water—does it soak it up, push it away, or chemically change it? • Which category is used to pick up or take in oil so it can be removed from the water’s surface? • Is straw something that reacts chemically with oil, or is it a simple material used to collect it?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify which option describes a material that takes in or holds oil so it can be removed • Make sure you can clearly distinguish between a chemical agent (disperses/breaks up oil) and a physical material that soaks oil up • Eliminate any choice that implies the material is used mainly to block or divert the oil, rather than to take it in