Answer :
Final answer:
The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, helped to remove seeds from plant fibers, greatly increasing cotton production and leading to the Cotton Revolution. So, the correct answer is option b) It helped to remove seeds from plant fibers.
Explanation:
The correct answer to the student's question about the cotton gin is b) It helped to remove seeds from plant fibers. The cotton gin was a significant invention by Eli Whitney in 1793 that revolutionized the production of cotton by efficiently cleaning the seeds from the raw cotton. This invention dramatically increased the productivity of cotton processing, enabling one enslaved laborer to clean the seeds from fifty pounds of cotton a day, a task that would have taken the equivalent of removing seeds from one pound by hand. Contrary to decreasing production, it significantly boosted it and led to a surge in the supply of cotton in the market.
Richard Arkwright, who is incorrectly mentioned in option c), was an inventor, but his contributions were separate from the creation of the cotton gin. While the cotton gin did lead to an increase in the value of cotton textiles by making the raw material more available and less expensive to produce, the specific function of the cotton gin was to remove seeds, making option b) the true statement regarding the cotton gin. Whitney's invention marked a transformative period, often referred to as the Cotton Revolution, with cotton production in the U.S. soaring from about 73,000 bales in 1800 to 730,000 bales by 1820.