Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. ancient egyptians studied the stars to:
a. predict the flooding of the nile river.
b. appoint the next pharaoh.
c. create new medicines from plants.
d. create a new writing system.

The correct answer is a.

Explanation:

The river Nile is the largest river in the world, stretching north across northeastern Africa. The Nile Delta river was the site were the ancient Egyptian civilization was founded and flourished. The Nile was vital for the Egyptians, not only as a source of freshwater, but also because of its floods. A small flood meant not enough water would be available for crop irrigation, while a large flood meant towns along the river could be devastated. The Nile flooded yearly between the months of May and August, and Egyptians learned to anticipate the floods by studying the stars. Egyptians knew that Sirius rose above the horizon yearly around July 19 (according to the Julian calendar), which helped predict the flooding of the Nile River. Egyptians developed 365-day long calendars in order to keep track of the date according to the stars.