16Hit1600
Information and IdeasEasy–MediumLocating a stated detail about a method

Information and Ideas practice question

To date the shipwreck, the archaeologists did not rely on the coins found aboard, which can circulate for decades. Instead they counted the growth rings in the ship's oak timbers and matched their pattern to a regional record of tree-ring widths, placing the felling of the trees in the winter of 1541.

According to the text, how did the archaeologists date the shipwreck?

  1. A. By matching the pattern of growth rings in the ship's timbers to a regional tree-ring record.Correct
  2. B. By reading the dates on the coins found aboard.
  3. C. By consulting the ship's logbook.
  4. D. By measuring how deep the wreck lay in the sediment.

Answer: A. By matching the pattern of growth rings in the ship's timbers to a regional tree-ring record.

The second sentence gives the method: tree rings matched to the regional record.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. By reading the dates on the coins found aboard.
The text says they did NOT rely on the coins.
C. By consulting the ship's logbook.
No logbook is mentioned.
D. By measuring how deep the wreck lay in the sediment.
Sediment depth is not mentioned.

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