Final answer:
The Start of Authority (SOA) record in a DNS zone 1) provides authoritative information about the DNS zone. Hence, option 1) is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
The purpose of the Start of Authority (SOA) record in a DNS zone is to provide authoritative information about the DNS zone.
It includes important details such as the primary name server for the domain, the email address of the domain administrator, the serial number for the zone, and other parameters that control the behavior of the DNS zone.
For example, the SOA record can specify the time interval for refreshing the zone data, the time interval for retrying failed zone transfers, and the maximum time interval that other DNS servers should cache the zone data.