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Difficulty: MediumRhetorical Synthesis: Supporting Claims

While preparing a presentation on pre-Columbian engineering, a student takes the following notes:

* The Chimú Empire (1000–1470 CE) constructed the Chicama-Moche canal to direct water through the arid Peruvian desert.
* To prevent water from eroding the canal's earthen banks, Chimú engineers designed it with a precise, gentle slope averaging only 1 to 2 meters of drop per kilometer.
* Tectonic uplift later altered the region's topography, disrupting the canal's slope alignment.
* Due to these geological changes, water could no longer flow through the canal, and the project was abandoned before completion.

The student wants to support the claim that the canal's abandonment was caused by geological activity rather than poor engineering. Which choice most effectively uses information from the given notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A
    The canal had to be abandoned because its slope of 1 to 2 meters of drop per kilometer was too steep, causing fast-flowing water to erode the earthen banks.
  2. B
    To support agriculture in the coastal desert, the Chimú Empire built the Chicama-Moche canal to transport water from the Chicama River to the Moche Valley.
  3. Although Chimú engineers successfully designed the canal with a gentle slope to prevent erosion, tectonic uplift altered the topography and stopped the water flow, causing the project's abandonment.Answer
  4. D
    Tectonic uplift was so frequent in the region that Chimú engineers intentionally designed the canal to be easily abandoned if the topography changed.

Answer

Although Chimú engineers successfully designed the canal with a gentle slope to prevent erosion, tectonic uplift altered the topography and stopped the water flow, causing the project's abandonment.
The correct answer effectively uses information from the notes to show that the project's failure was due to geological changes rather than engineering flaws. It highlights the success of the engineering design (the gentle slope designed to prevent erosion) and identifies the geological cause of abandonment (tectonic uplift altering the topography and halting water flow).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the student's rhetorical goal in the prompt.
The student wants to support the claim that the canal's abandonment was caused by geological activity (tectonic uplift) rather than poor engineering (the design was sound).
This establishes the criteria needed to select the correct choice.
2
Evaluate each choice to see which one directly addresses the goal using only information from the notes.
The choice stating that the engineers successfully designed the canal to prevent erosion, but tectonic uplift stopped the water flow, fulfills both parts of the claim (sound engineering and geological cause of failure). Other choices either neglect this goal, misrepresent the notes, or introduce speculative details.
Comparing the options against the notes ensures the correct choice is factual and relevant.

Key Concept

Rhetorical Synthesis: Supporting Claims
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Rhetorical Synthesis: Supporting Claims

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