Question

Read the passage.

The Oldest and Youngest Places on Earth

What is the oldest place on the earth? While the earth itself is estimated to be approximately five billion years old, most landforms are not nearly that old. Scientists debate what the oldest landform truly is, but it might be on Baffin Island. On this large northern Canadian island, which falls inside the Arctic Circle, rocks have been found that are believed to be over 4.5 billion years old. If these rocks truly are that old, then they have been around longer than the earth’s crust!

It is hard to believe that any rocks could be older than the outer surface of the earth, but their discovery in 2016 has given scientists some interesting insights about how the earth was created. As melted mantle rose to the surface and the earth’s denser elements sunk toward its center to form its core, most of the first rocks were absorbed into the earth’s inner layers. But not the rock on Baffin Island.

While there is still debate about whether Baffin Island is the oldest place on the earth, there is little question of where one of the youngest is. In December of 2014, an underwater volcano near the Pacific islands of Tonga erupted violently and continued to spurt lava and ash for over a month. When the volcano quieted, there was a new island in its place. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, as the island was named, was about one square mile in area and covered in black gravel.

It’s not unusual for small islands to be created by volcanoes, which erupt when the magma of the earth’s mantle breaks through the crust in the form of lava and ash. What is unusual is for those islands to remain longer than five years after they have been created. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was expected to dissolve back into the Pacific Ocean shortly after it was formed. But in 2020, the island was not only still around, but had developed a thriving ecosystem. From above, much of the dark gray island is now lush and green, and birds, such as owls and seagulls, make it their home. It is unknown whether the earth’s youngest island will last for long, but it has already exceeded expectations.

What do the earth’s oldest and youngest places have in common? Both were created from volcanic rock. The same type of rock that hardened and remained above ground in Baffin Island also hardened to form Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai more than four billion years later.


What is the tone of this sentence from “The Oldest and Youngest Places on Earth”?

The same type of rock that hardened and remained above ground in Baffin Island also hardened to form Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai more than four billion years later.

Responses

skeptical
skeptical

formal
formal

humorous
humorous

enthusiastic
enthusiastic

Answer 1

The tone of the sentence is formal, presenting a factual and informative statement about the geological similarities between Baffin Island and Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai. Therefore , formal is correct .

The sentence exudes a formal and informative tone, emblematic of the overarching style employed in the article "The Oldest and Youngest Places on Earth."

Its matter-of-fact presentation of geological information underscores a commitment to precision and clarity, resonating with the scientific nature of the subject matter.

The sentence, strategically structured for a direct comparison, establishes a factual connection between the ancient rock on Baffin Island and the material forming Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, bridging an astonishing time span of over four billion years.

Crucially, the choice of words, such as "hardened," imparts a scientific rigor to the description, enhancing the overall formality of the tone.

This linguistic precision contributes to a sense of authority and objectivity, reinforcing the reliability of the information presented.

Such formality aligns seamlessly with the broader stylistic approach of the article, which seeks to unravel the Earth's geological history in a clear, unbiased, and scholarly manner.

In essence, the sentence encapsulates the article's commitment to imparting knowledge, fostering an understanding of geological phenomena while maintaining a tone that is both formal and accessible to a diverse readership.