Exam 1: Why Study Earth

Read carefully through the paragraph below, and decide which of the options is correct. Nineteenth century geologists recognized that no extraordinary means are required to explain geologic features. For example, we can observe the slow, persistent processes of erosion, transportation and deposition of sediment by flowing water and wind. Over the immense span of geologic time these processes result in the formation of great thicknesses of sand, gravel and mud which never consolidate into rock. No cataclysms are required. Using observations of processes and results to interpret other results where the process was not observed is called the Principle of Supernatural.

Why is the San Andreas fault in California useful to geologists?

Why do scientists formulate principles?

Archaeologists uncover a fossil imprint of a palm frond in New Jersey. Through various tests and analyses, they see that the fossil is from about 200 million years ago - the Jurassic period. What can you conclude about the climate of this ancient environment, based on today's environments? (Principle of Uniformitarianism).

Changes in widely accepted hypotheses represent the failure of science to provide the right result.

What is a hot spot, and how are these natural phenomena explained?

Why is geology such a useful tool in our ever-changing society?

The scientific method is a step-by-step cookbook recipe for doing science.

Direct laboratory experimentation is often not possible in geological studies for all of the following reasons except that

________ is faster than ground water flow.

Which of the following is least affected by convection heating?

Landslides, rock falls, and floods illustrate

Geologists use a single tool to gather information about Earth.

If a continental plate meets an oceanic plate at a convergent boundary, which would be subducted?

Energy is the measure of the ability to do work.

Why is historical geology important?

The Andes mountain chain was created as a result of plate tectonics. An ocean plate (the Nazca plate) collided with a continental plate (the South American Plate), and the Andes were the result. Which type of boundary is associated with this mountain building event, and what took place in order for the mountains to form? (Theory of Plate Tectonics).

The erosion rate of river valleys is faster than the rate of ________.

Could a warming trend in Colorado be caused by currents from the Pacific Ocean?

Work on or within Earth does not require energy.