Historians use timelines to

• A. Predict future events
• B. Organize events chronologically and understand sequences and cause-and-effect
• C. Compare current weather patterns
• D. Judge the legality of a law

Answer: (B)

Timelines organize events in the order they happened and reveal how events unfold over time. By lining up dates, historians can see sequences, durations, and how one event leads to another, helping explain cause-and-effect and patterns across history. This makes it easier to understand how changes in one era relate to changes in another and to explore long-term connections rather than just isolated facts. For example, a timeline might show how economic shifts, wars, and reforms influence each other over decades. The other options don’t fit because predicting future events isn’t what timelines do, weather patterns belong to science, and judging a law is a legal activity.