Tree ring dating simulation worksheet
Index
- How do tree rings work?
- Are tree ring cross sections perfectly circular?
- Do real tree rings look like this?
- What is tree ringing?
- What separates One Tree ring from the next?
- What do tree rings tell us about the seasons?
- How reliable are tree growth rings?
- Can you tell how old a tree is by its rings?
- Why are tree rings narrow on one side?
How do tree rings work?
The length of this growing season depends on the climate in a particular location. During each growing season, the trunk of the tree grows thicker, producing a layer of new wood called a tree ring. It’s possible to see the boundary between one ring and the next because of differences in the color of the wood.
Are tree ring cross sections perfectly circular?
Real tree ring cross-sections are not perfectly circular (and centered), or even symmetric, like the ones in this model. Different types of trees have different responses in their growth rates to temperature and precipitation.
Do real tree rings look like this?
Real tree ring cross-sections are not perfectly circular (and centered), or even symmetric, like the ones in this model. Different types of trees have different responses in their growth rates to temperature and precipitation. Some thrive in warm conditions, while others grow quickly when it is especially wet.
What is tree ringing?
A dark colored layer which forms in late summer and fall, which is typically thinner because the trees growth slows Tree ring data is only collected outside of the tropics.
What separates One Tree ring from the next?
By the end of the growing season, the cell walls have become thick and dense, leaving the telltale dark stripe (or latewood) that separates one tree ring from the next. But dendrochronologists – people who study and date tree rings – say that the problem with ring-counting is that false rings and missing rings are common.
What do tree rings tell us about the seasons?
The light-colored rings represent wood that grew in the spring and early summer, while the dark rings represent wood that grew in the late summer and fall. One light ring plus one dark ring equals one year of the tree’s life. The color and width of tree rings can provide snapshots of past climate conditions.
But dendrochronologists – people who study and date tree rings – say that the problem with ring-counting is that false rings and missing rings are common. Plus, counting individual rings will only give you the age of the tree when it was chopped down or died. How do you place the true age of that tree in the context of geological time?
Why are tree rings narrow on one side?
