instruction:
You are given an elementary science question along with a few answer options. List all the words from the question that are essential and sufficient for choosing the correct answer option. Keep in mind that essential words are necessary to understand the meaning of the given question. However, non-essential words provide little information needed to select the correct answer. You can think about it like this: If the question was in another language, knowing the meaning of which words were necessary and enough for you to understand the question and answer it?. If your answer consists of multiple spans of words from the question, separate those using a comma (", "). Do not generate any word that is not present in the question. Make sure that your response is contained in the given question and the words are in the same order as the question.
 Grammatical correctness is not important.
question:
Question: The primary reason that plants are important for an ecosystem is because they (A) provide energy for consumers. (B) depend on other organisms for shelter. (C) break down dead animal matter. (D) consume nutrients for energy.?
answer:
reason, plants, important, ecosystem


question:
Question: Measurements of carbon dioxide concentrations in the air taken over the past decade have shown a (A) leveling off. (B) slow increase. (C) steady decline. (D) dramatic increase.?
answer:
Measurements, carbon, dioxide, concentrations, air, past, decade


question:
Question: The seeds of an oak come from the ___. (A) fruit (B) leaf (C) root (D) stem?
answer:

seeds, oak