Final answer:
Dendrochronology is the study of tree rings to determine a tree's age and past climate. The outermost growth ring next to the bark indicates the most recent growth before the core was taken. Matching patterns of tree rings from different samples helps reconstruct environmental histories.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question pertains to the field of dendrochronology, which involves studying tree rings to determine various aspects such as the age of the tree and past climatic conditions. To ascertain when the most recent growth ring occurred, one would look for the outermost ring next to the bark which represents the tree's growth in the last season before the core sample was taken.
In the practical exercise described, students would analyze tree core samples to determine the age of the trees and understand the relationship between tree growth, climate, and environmental factors. The light-colored part of the tree ring, known as earlywood, is produced during wetter times of rapid growth, while the dark-colored part, known as latewood, is produced during drier times when growth is slower. By matching the patterns of the rings from different trees or different parts of a single tree, scientists are able to construct a record of climatic history.