Logical Reasoning

PT103 · S3 · Q1 From the tenth century

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From the tenth century until around the year 1500, there were Norse settlers living in Greenland.

Given that ...

Average temperatures fell from 900 - 1500 A.D., making Greenland quite cold.

How can we explain that ...

Norse settlers in Greenland disappeared (seemingly from the cold), while Inuit settlers in Greenland continued to thrive.

Evaluate / Goal

We're going to need to learn of some difference between Norse and Inuit settlers that would make the former leave Greenland and the latter stay.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps explain why the Norse settlements in Greenland disappeared while the Inuit settlements survived?

The drop in average yearly
No Distinction
This doesn't offer us any difference between Norse and Inuit settlers, so it won't give us a way to show why one of them disappeared from Greenland while the other stuck around.
2% picked this
Correct
The Norse settlers’ diet, unlike
Why this is right
This offers us a difference between Norse and Inuit settlers. Does that difference help explain why the Norse disappeared from Greenland while the Inuit stuck around? Sure, the food that the Norse people primarily ate was unable to survive the temperature drop. Meanwhile, the Inuit's diet was not primarily based on food that was unable to survive the temperature drop. If the Norse's food supply was unable to survive the colder temperatures, then the Norse would need to leave the area. But that wasn't true about the Inuit, so they might have been able to stick around in Greenland.
Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
96% picked this
There were settlements in North
No Distinction
This doesn't offer us any difference between Norse and Inuit settlers, so it won't give us a way to show why one of them disappeared from Greenland while the other stuck around.
2% picked this
The Inuit and the Norse
No Distinction
This doesn't offer us any difference between Norse and Inuit settlers, so it won't give us a way to show why one of them disappeared from Greenland while the other stuck around.
0% picked this
The Norse community in Norway
No Impact
This doesn't offer us any difference between Norse and Inuit settlers, so it won't give us a way to show why one of them disappeared from Greenland while the other stuck around.
0% picked this

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