TASK DEFINITION: You are given a background paragraph that describes one or more causal or qualitative relationships such as a relationship in economics or a scientific law and a story that makes use of the concepts or the relationship described in the provided paragraph. You need to come up with a question about the story that requires an understanding of the relationship described in the background paragraph. The generated question should not be answerable without both the background and story. Write a question about the story that requires a relationship in the background paragraph to answer. Check whether your question requires both the background paragraph and the story to answer. If your question can be answered by only one of these, try to rewrite your question so that it requires both. Note that "flipping" a word in the question can give rise to a new question where the answer will be different from the original question. Often, "flipping" a word gives rise to flipping the direction of the relationship, for example, from "increase" to "decrease."
PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: In the U.S., the majority of electricity is produced by burning coal or other fossil fuels. This causes air pollution, acid rain, and global warming. Fossil fuels are also limited and may eventually run out. Like fossil fuels, radioactive elements are limited. In fact, they are relatively rare, so they could run out sooner rather than later. On the other hand, nuclear fission does not release air pollution or cause the other environmental problems associated with burning fossil fuels. This is the major advantage of using nuclear fission as a source of energy. 
Story: Panama and Ecuador are two neighboring countries. Ecuador uses nuclear fusion to produce its electricity, while Panama uses fossil fuels.

SOLUTION: Which country burns less coal?

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Many respiratory diseases are caused by pathogens. A pathogen is an organism that causes disease in another organism. Certain bacteria, viruses, and fungi are pathogens of the respiratory system. The common cold and flu are caused by viruses. The influenza virus that causes the flu is pictured below ( Figure below ). Tuberculosis, whooping cough, and acute bronchitis are caused by bacteria. The pathogens that cause colds, flu, and TB can be passed from person to person by coughing, sneezing, and spitting. Illnesses caused by bacteria can be treated with antibiotics. Those caused by viruses cannot. 
Story: The doctors studied two groups of people, group one which included people with respiratory diseases caused by viruses, and group two, which had people with respiratory diseases caused by bacteria.

SOLUTION: Which group didn't include people that had acute bronchitis?

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Figure B above shows an important relationship between the wavelength and frequency of a wave. The top wave clearly has a shorter wavelength than the second wave. However, if you picture yourself at a stationary point watching these waves pass by, more waves of the first kind would pass by in a given amount of time. Thus the frequency of the first waves is greater than that of the second waves. Wavelength and frequency are therefore inversely related. As the wavelength of a wave increases, its frequency decreases. The equation that relates the two is. 
Story: Jenna is studying waves and their related characteristics. Today, is she analyzing two different waves, wave D and wave M. Wave D has a very long wavelength, and wave M has a short wavelength. In order to verify her findings though, she is going to stand still and have both waves pass over her for the same amount of time and record the number of waves of each type that passed her.

SOLUTION:
Will less wave D or wave M waves pass Jenna?