Central Ideas and Details SAT question

Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately states the main idea of the text. According to the text, Eugene Wigner hypothesized that a crystal could exist that would be composed of electrons and have a honeycomb-like shape. The text goes on to say that the existence of the Wigner crystal remained unconfirmed until Feng Wang and colleagues were able to make an impression of one using two semiconductors and an ultrathin sheet of graphene. Thus, the main idea is that researchers have obtained the most definitive evidence to date of the existence of the Wigner crystal.

Choice B is incorrect because the text focuses on one kind of crystal—the Wigner crystal— and doesn’t discuss crystalline structures in general. And although the text conveys that Wang and colleagues figured out a way to capture an image of a Wigner crystal, it doesn’t address the idea of applying this approach to other types of crystals. Choice C is incorrect because the text describes in general the process Wang and colleagues followed to obtain an impression of the Wigner crystal; it doesn’t address the relative importance of each component in that process. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t state that researchers had a hard time getting an impression of the Wigner crystal because of its honeycomb structure. Nothing in the text indicates why it took so long to prove the existence of this crystal or take an impression of it.