AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -One year of growth is therefore represented by a ring consisting of a light part and a dark part. The darker wood is not formed in winter, as some people believe, because the cambium is completely inactive in the winter. The following year, a new two-part ring is added.

Detailed explanation-2: -Start in the middle of the stump or cross-section of wood and count the first dark ring you see. Continue counting outwards from the middle ring until you reach the last dark ring. The total number of dark rings represents the age of the tree in years. (Don’t count the bark of the tree as a dark ring.

Detailed explanation-3: -A tree’s annual growth rings reveal how it has flourished-or floundered-over time, with the size of the rings indicating years of health or hardship. But sometimes nature throws a wrench into the works, and a tree will form more than one growth ring in a year.

Detailed explanation-4: -A tree ring, representing one year, consists of two layers: A light colored layer which forms in the spring and early summer, which is typically thicker because the tree is growing. A dark colored layer which forms in late summer and fall, which is typically thinner because the trees growth slows.