16Hit1600
Information and IdeasMediumInference from a tree-ring pattern

Information and Ideas practice question

The oak beams in the barn all show the same unusually narrow growth ring, which matches a ring in living oaks nearby dated to the cold summer of 1816. This suggests that ____

Which choice most logically completes the text?

  1. A. the beams came from trees that were growing in the area in 1816, so the barn was built after that year.Correct
  2. B. the barn was built before 1816.
  3. C. the beams were imported from another continent.
  4. D. the living oaks were planted in 1816.

Answer: A. the beams came from trees that were growing in the area in 1816, so the barn was built after that year.

A ring from 1816 in the beams means the trees were alive then and felled later.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. the barn was built before 1816.
Trees felled before 1816 could not contain an 1816 ring.
C. the beams were imported from another continent.
The ring matches local oaks, suggesting local timber.
D. the living oaks were planted in 1816.
The oaks have a ring FROM 1816, so they were already growing.

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