A cartoon chows a man going to sleep in a hammock suspended between two relatively short trees. The second frame of the cartoon shows the man waking 20 years later and finding his hammock 15 feet higher off the ground. Critique this drawing in terms of what you know about hte growth pattern of trees.
2007-03-12 18:41:33 · 4 answers · asked by Rubyx 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
depending on how the hammock is attached i would say that couldn't happen. if the hammock is attached via ropes tied around the trees the rope would break. this would happen because (as we can see from rings on tree trunks) trees get wider or gain girth as they grow) hope that helps.
2007-03-12 18:47:17 · answer #1 · answered by mo b 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The cartoon assumes that trees grow straight up from the ground, so that the hammock would be lifted. Actually, trees grow by extending their ends- the top of the tree extends upward by shooting, it does not get forced up by the tree erupting out of the ground. The hammock would stay at the same height, the trees would just be taller 20 years later. Assuming they are palm trees, because palms are the hammock-sleeper's tree of choice, they aren't really going to get all that much wider.
2007-03-13 10:36:31 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's wrong. The height of the hammock should not have changed. If you make a mark on a tree, 3 feet above the ground, it would aways remain 3 feet off the ground (assuming the height of the ground remains unchanged).
2007-03-13 03:24:18 · answer #3 · answered by BP 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Here is another possible answer. As the tree grows in girth,by the addition of secondary xylem and phloem, the rope cuts into the bark and girdles the two trees. This cuts off the food supply coming down in the phloem to the roots. Both trees die.
2007-03-13 09:08:33 · answer #4 · answered by ATP-Man 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋