Which representation correctly breaks the word 'tap' into onset and rime?

Which representation correctly breaks the word 'tap' into onset and rime?

• A. Onset: t; Rime: ap
• B. Onset: ta; Rime: p
• C. Onset: tap; Rime:
• D. Onset: a; Rime: tp

Answer: (A)

Onset is the initial consonant(s) before the vowel, and rime is the rest of the syllable from the vowel onward (the vowel plus any following consonants). In the word tap, the initial sound before the vowel is t, so the onset is t. The remaining part, ap, includes the vowel a and the final consonant p, so the rime is ap. This matches the representation onset: t; rime: ap. The other options misplace the vowel: putting ta as the onset includes the vowel in the onset, which isn’t correct; making the onset the entire word leaves no rime to represent the vowel-containing portion; putting a as the onset moves the vowel into the onset and leaves tp as the rime, which also doesn’t fit the rule.

Onset is the initial consonant(s) before the vowel, and rime is the rest of the syllable from the vowel onward (the vowel plus any following consonants). In the word tap, the initial sound before the vowel is t, so the onset is t. The remaining part, ap, includes the vowel a and the final consonant p, so the rime is ap. This matches the representation onset: t; rime: ap.

The other options misplace the vowel: putting ta as the onset includes the vowel in the onset, which isn’t correct; making the onset the entire word leaves no rime to represent the vowel-containing portion; putting a as the onset moves the vowel into the onset and leaves tp as the rime, which also doesn’t fit the rule.