In the following question, select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the idiom: "Add fuel to the fire".

Introduction / Context:
Idioms are fixed expressions whose meanings cannot be understood simply by translating each individual word. The phrase add fuel to the fire is a common English idiom that appears in news reports, conversations, and competitive examinations. Understanding this idiom helps readers interpret situations where someone unintentionally or deliberately makes a tense or bad situation even worse.

Given Data / Assumptions:
The idiom given is add fuel to the fire. The task is to select the option that best captures the figurative meaning, not the literal act of pouring fuel into flames. We assume the context of a dispute, problem, or tense situation where some action or remark influences events. The alternatives describe different effects on situations, and only one matches the idiomatic use that exam setters usually expect.

Concept / Approach:
Literally, fuel makes a fire burn more strongly by providing extra energy. When this image is transferred to human situations, the idiom add fuel to the fire means to make an already bad, tense, or emotional situation even more intense. This may happen when someone says something provocative in an argument, reveals new negative information, or takes a step that increases anger, suspicion, or conflict. Therefore the correct meaning is to cause a situation to become worse or more heated, not to solve or reduce the problem.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that fuel strengthens and enlarges a real fire when more of it is added.
Step 2: Transfer this image to a social or emotional context such as a quarrel.
Step 3: Understand that adding fuel stands for adding remarks or actions that increase intensity.
Step 4: Relate this to the idea of worsening or intensifying a bad situation.
Step 5: Among the options, choose the one that clearly means to cause the situation to become worse.

Verification / Alternative check:
In typical usage, we say remarks like His rude comment only added fuel to the fire, indicating that the comment worsened an ongoing dispute. We never use the idiom to mean improvement or escape from problems. Therefore the explanation cause a situation to become worse is consistent with common collocations and real life examples. This supports the selected option as the standard meaning.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, go from one bad situation to another, suggests change from one problem to a different problem, which is a different idiom, often expressed as out of the frying pan into the fire. Option B, a cause becomes stronger when more people join, refers to support or backing and is not related to worsening conflict. Option C only describes physical fire behaviour and ignores the figurative meaning. Option E, prevent a quarrel from breaking out, is the opposite of the idea of increasing intensity. Therefore these alternatives do not capture the idiom's sense.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes mistakenly link the idiom to the idea of simply continuing a situation rather than intensifying it. Others confuse it with phrases about changing from one problem to another. It is important to picture the literal image of pouring more fuel on a flame to remember that the idiom refers to making anger, trouble, or conflict more serious. Practising with short example sentences helps fix the correct meaning in memory.

Final Answer:
The idiom add fuel to the fire means cause a situation to become worse.