Question 48·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has compiled the following notes about the whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis):
- Its large, fatty seeds are a major food source for Clark’s nutcrackers and for grizzly bears emerging from hibernation.
- Clark’s nutcrackers bury caches of the seeds; forgotten caches germinate, so the bird is the tree’s primary seed disperser.
- The tree is declining throughout the northern Rocky Mountains because of white pine blister rust (a fungal disease), outbreaks of mountain pine beetles, and rising temperatures.
- When whitebark pine stands disappear, high-elevation soils erode more quickly, snow melts earlier, and alternative foods for bears are scarce.
The student is drafting a letter urging park officials to prioritize whitebark pine conservation. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to emphasize that saving the tree would benefit an entire high-elevation ecosystem?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, start by underlining key task words in the prompt (here: “prioritize conservation” and “benefit an entire high-elevation ecosystem”). Then scan the notes and quickly label which ones show broad, ecosystem-wide effects versus narrow or background details. When you read the answer choices, eliminate any that (1) ignore the stated purpose (for example, explaining causes instead of benefits), (2) use only a single narrow detail, or (3) focus on just one species. Choose the option that best combines multiple relevant notes and directly achieves the writing goal in the prompt.
Hints
Focus on the goal of the letter
The student is writing to urge conservation and needs to show why protecting this tree helps an entire high-elevation ecosystem, not just one animal or just the tree itself.
Look for notes that are ecosystem-wide
Which notes talk about multiple species and environmental conditions (like soil and snow), rather than just how the tree reproduces or why it is declining?
Eliminate choices that are too narrow
If an option focuses mainly on a single process (like seed dispersal), one cause of decline, or mainly on one animal, it probably doesn’t fully answer the question about benefiting the whole ecosystem.
Check that the choice combines ideas
The best option should weave together more than one note to show both how animals and the physical environment benefit when the tree is preserved.
Step-by-step Explanation
Restate the task in your own words
The question wants a sentence for a persuasive letter that urges conservation of whitebark pine and emphasizes that saving the tree benefits an entire high-elevation ecosystem, not just one part of it. So we need a choice that:
- Is about conserving or preserving the tree.
- Shows many connected effects on animals and the environment.
- Uses information that clearly comes from the notes.
Identify the most relevant notes
Look at which notes deal with ecosystem-wide effects rather than just one detail.
- Note 1: Seeds feed Clark’s nutcrackers and grizzly bears → shows importance to multiple animal species.
- Note 2: Nutcrackers disperse seeds → explains how the tree reproduces, more about a specific interaction.
- Note 3: Causes of decline → focuses on why the tree is in trouble, not what happens if we save it.
- Note 4: When stands disappear, soils erode faster, snow melts earlier, and alternative bear foods are scarce → shows broader environmental and food-web impacts.
To show benefits to the entire ecosystem, the best sentence should combine ideas like those in notes 1 and 4: multiple species and physical environment.
Match each choice to the notes and the goal
Now quickly match each option to the notes and ask: Does it highlight ecosystem-wide benefits of saving the tree?
- Choice A: Focuses on how birds hide seeds that sprout → mainly note 2 (seed dispersal). That’s about how trees grow, not about ecosystem-wide benefits.
- Choice C: Explains why the tree is declining (disease, beetles, climate change) → uses note 3. That’s about causes of decline, not why saving the tree helps the ecosystem.
- Choice D: Talks about grizzly bears traveling farther for food when trees vanish → a single-species effect drawn from notes 1 and 4, but it doesn’t show benefits to the whole ecosystem.
- One remaining choice links multiple species and environmental effects, and clearly supports an argument that preserving the tree helps many parts of the alpine ecosystem.
Confirm the best match with the notes and purpose
The remaining option, choice B, states that preserving whitebark pine is crucial and explains why in ecosystem terms: its fatty seeds feed Clark’s nutcrackers and grizzly bears (note 1) and its roots anchor soil and snow that many other alpine species depend on (note 4). This directly shows that saving the tree benefits many animals and the physical environment in high elevations, so B is the correct answer.