Free SAT Practice Question

Question 1 of 1
ID: SAT-RW-CS-025
Section: SAT Reading & Writing (RW) – Craft and Structure
Topic: Text Structure and Purpose
Difficulty level: Easy

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Many people assume that the rings visible in a cross-section of a tree trunk simply count the years the tree has lived, one ring for each year. In truth, a single growing season can lay down more than one ring when a drought halts growth and later rainfall restarts it, and in some tropical species, where the seasons barely change, rings may not form on a yearly schedule at all. Counting rings therefore gives a careful estimate of a tree’s age, not an exact tally.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

ATo qualify a widely held assumption by noting conditions under which it does not hold.

BTo explain, step by step, the procedure researchers use to count the rings in a tree’s cross-section.

CTo argue that tree rings are useless for determining anything about a tree’s age.

DTo contrast the ring growth of tropical trees with that of trees in temperate climates.

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