Question

Read the excerpt from “Tools of the Spymaster." James Jay's invisible ink did not become visible by heating. As he described it, his ink "would elude the generally known means of detection, and yet could be rendered visible by a suitable counterpart." Jay's invisible ink consisted of two chemicals. An agent used one chemical to write an invisible message. To read the message, the reader had to brush a second chemical on the paper; that chemical made the message visible. The two-bottle system, supplied by Jay, gave Washington the secure form of writing that he wanted. Which statement is best supported by text evidence from the excerpt? Heating was a generally known means of reading invisible ink. James Jay was widely considered a hero for his invention. Both the British and the Americans used James Jay’s invisible ink. Washington helped James Jay develop the two-bottle system.

Answer 1

A Heating was a generally known means of reading invisible ink.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

The statement which is best supported by text evidence from the excerpt is:

A. Heating was a generally known means of reading invisible ink.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the excerpt, James Jay's invisible ink would "elude the generally known means of detection." What was that means? Heating, as is stated right before the sentence. Heating was so well know that Jay was sure the enemy would try to use it to reveal the writings in the messages. However, his new ink would not appear with heating. It needed another chemical to be made visible.

We can easily eliminate the other options. The excerpt does not give us enough information to infer that Jay was seen as a hero. At no point does the passage lead us to understand that the British also had access to the ink. Finally, the excerpt does not at all say that Washington helped develop the new invisible ink.