To study centuries-old earthquakes and the geologic faults that caused them, seismologists usually dig trenches along visible fault lines, looking for sediments that show evidence of having shifted. βββ
Intro topic Β·Methods for studying causes of past earthquakes
Start by looking for buried sediments that shifted during a possible earthquake
Explain method Β·Use carbon 14 to back-date when material shifted (i.e., when possible earthquake occurred)
Carbon 14 is a radioactive form of carbon that decays (i.e., turns into a different form of carbon) at a known rate, so the amount of carbon 14 left in something can tell us how old that thing is
Explain new method Β·Use lichen growth to back-date rockfalls in mountain ranges
Lichens begin growing on rocks after an earthquake causes rockfalls; because they grow at a known rate, the size of a lichen patch on a rock can tell us when that rock first fell
Carbon 14 dating is less accurate because it can be hard to know how much carbon 14 the material started with (just knowing the rate of carbon 14 decay on its own can't tell us how old that material is)
Limitations of lichenometry Β·Limited time period, complications related to site selection
Passage Style
Single position
1.
Which one of the following ββββ ββββββββββ βββββββββ βββ ββββ ββββ ββ βββ ββββββββ
Question Type
Main point
The author focuses on describing lichenometry and the advantages it has over radiocarbon dating. The main point is best captured by the beginning of P2 and P3.
a
Lichenometry is a βββ ββββββ βββ ββββββ ββββ βββββββββββ ββββ βββ ββββββββββ ββββ βββββββββββ βββββββ
This best captures the main point of the passage, which is to tell us about lichenometry and its advantages.
Thereβs no support for the claim that lichenometry is more accurate than βany other methodβ of discerning dates of past earthquakes. The author only compares lichenometry to radiocarbon dating.
The author doesnβt suggest that radiocarbon dating can be abandoned.
Difficulty
93% of people who answer get this correct
This is a slightly challenging question.
It is similar in difficulty to other questions in this passage.
CURVE
Score of students with a 50% chance of getting this right
25%126
136
75%146
Analysis
Main point
Science
Single position
Answer Popularity
PopularityAvg. score
a
93%
164
b
2%
153
c
0%
147
d
5%
155
e
0%
144
Question history
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