SAT OwlFarmers in New England often find large boulders in their fields made of a type of rock that does not match the bedrock beneath them. Instead, the boulders match rock formations located many kilometers to the north. Geologists know that thick sheets of ice once covered the region and slowly flowed southward before melting thousands of years ago. Taken together, these facts suggest that the boulders ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
formed in the same fields where farmers found them.
were placed in the fields by early farmers.
were carried south by moving ice and left behind when it melted.
were pushed north by rivers flowing from the south.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
The boulders match rock to the north, not the rock beneath them, and ice sheets once flowed south across the region. The logical conclusion is that the ice carried the boulders south and dropped them when it melted, choice C.
Choice A contradicts the key clue: the boulders do not match the bedrock under the fields, so they did not form there.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. This choice contradicts the passage, which states the boulders do not match the bedrock beneath the fields, proving they did not form in that location.
- B. The text provides no evidence that early farmers moved the boulders, and this explanation ignores the geological clues about ice sheets and northern rock formations.
- D. This choice contradicts the facts because the boulders match rock to the north, not the south, and the ice flowed southward rather than rivers pushing them north.
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