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: Some fungi take on different shapes, depending on their environmental conditions. These fungi are called dimorphic fungi , because they have “two forms.” For example, the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum , which causes the disease histoplasmosis, is thermally dimorphic; it has two forms that are dependent on temperature. In temperatures of about 25°C, it grows as a brownish mycelium, and looks like a mass of threads. At body temperature (37°C in humans), it grows as single, round yeast cells. 
Story: Two mycologists were studying fungi. Max studied regular fungi, while Red studied dimorphic fungi. They were both fascinated by their findings.

SOLUTION: Which person learned less about fungi that are thermally dimorphic?

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Another important physical property of water, is adhesion . In terms of water, adhesion is the bonding of a water molecule to another substance, such as the sides of a leaf's veins. This process happens because hydrogen bonds are special in that they break and reform with great frequency. This constant rearranging of hydrogen bonds allows a percentage of all the molecules in a given sample to bond to another substance. This grip-like characteristic that water molecules form causes capillary action , the ability of a liquid to flow against gravity in a narrow space. An example of capillary action is when you place a straw into a glass of water. The water seems to climb up the straw before you even place your mouth on the straw. The water has created hydrogen bonds with the surface of the straw, causing the water to adhere to the sides of the straw. As the hydrogen bonds keep interchanging with the straw's surface, the water molecules interchange positions and some begin to ascend the straw. 
Story: Andrew is drinking a glass of cold water. He gets a straw and puts it in the water then gets back to work. After a while he looks over and notices water has begun to group under the bend in the straw even though the bend is above the surface of the water.

SOLUTION: Will the amount of water gathered at this bend increase or decrease given enough time?

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: While the Grants were on the Galápagos, a drought occurred. As a result, fewer seeds were available for finches to eat. Birds with smaller beaks could crack open and eat only the smaller seeds. Birds with bigger beaks could crack and eat seeds of all sizes. As a result, many of the small-beaked birds died in the drought. Birds with bigger beaks survived and reproduced (see Figure below ). Within 2 years, the average beak size in the finch population increased. Evolution by natural selection had occurred. 
Story: The explorers visited Galapagos 1 and Galapagos 2, both islands part of the same archipelago. Island 1 had experienced a drought in recent years. Both islands had populations of birds living there.

SOLUTION:
Which island didn't have the average beak size in the finch population increase?