ERSC 1P92 Module 3 Module 3
Terminology Question and answers
correctly solved
Plate - correct answer ✔The Earth's crust consists of a number of mobile
plates, masses of crust that move independently of adjacent plates
Tectonics - correct answer ✔Dealing with structural features of the Earth
(e.g., mountains, ocean basins)
Plate Tectonics - correct answer ✔The process that involves the interaction
of moving crustal plates and results in major structural features of the Earth
Knowledge Inertia - correct answer ✔A resistance to new knowledge by
those who have spent their careers doing research and publishing results that
are fundamentally wrong because of some underlying theory
Shrinking (contracting) Earth Theory - correct answer ✔Theory first proposed
by Giordano Bruno (16th century) that the Earth contracted or shrank over
geologic time and resulted in the formation of mountains, ocean basins, and
other geological features (he compared the process to the drying of an apple)
Shrinking resulted in a reduction of the volume of material making up the
Earth and a reduction in its diameter. To accommodate the reduced volume
and diameter the rigid crust would have to shorten by folding and buckling. On
the shrunken surface the topographic highs become continental masses and
mountains and the topographic lows become lakes and ocean basins
, What did Lord Kelvin (19th century) suggest the cause of shrinking was? -
correct answer ✔The cooling of the Earth. Like metal objects, when heated
up, their volume is largest and becomes smaller as the metal cools
What are the problems with the Shrinking (contracting) Earth Theory? -
correct answer ✔• Fossils are preserved in rocks that are folded and faulted.
The fossils are of living organisms that lived on Earth prior to deformation (and
presumed shrinkage) but would not have been able to withstand the initial
high temperatures.
• Initial temperatures required for the amount of shrinkage needed to produce
mountains and ocean basins were too high to be realistic.
What is the first other mechanism of shrinkage? - correct answer ✔Extrusion
of molten rock from within the Earth (like a tube of toothpaste)
What is the problem with the other mechanism of shrinkage? - correct answer
✔This is not a plausible cause of shrinkage because amount of extrusive rock
present is not enough to explain the crustal shortening that would be needed
What is the second other mechanism of shrinkage? - correct answer
✔Chemical shrinkage (1920s) by Decay of elements within the Earth to
Helium which would escape to the atmosphere, reducing the volume of the
Earth's interior.
Combination of elements within the earth to form denser elements
Do any of the mechanisms take place? - correct answer ✔This is unknown
Continental Drift - correct answer ✔First proposed by Abraham Ortelius, a
Dutch mapmaker, it is the idea that the continents were once all together but
have drifted apart over millions of years
Terminology Question and answers
correctly solved
Plate - correct answer ✔The Earth's crust consists of a number of mobile
plates, masses of crust that move independently of adjacent plates
Tectonics - correct answer ✔Dealing with structural features of the Earth
(e.g., mountains, ocean basins)
Plate Tectonics - correct answer ✔The process that involves the interaction
of moving crustal plates and results in major structural features of the Earth
Knowledge Inertia - correct answer ✔A resistance to new knowledge by
those who have spent their careers doing research and publishing results that
are fundamentally wrong because of some underlying theory
Shrinking (contracting) Earth Theory - correct answer ✔Theory first proposed
by Giordano Bruno (16th century) that the Earth contracted or shrank over
geologic time and resulted in the formation of mountains, ocean basins, and
other geological features (he compared the process to the drying of an apple)
Shrinking resulted in a reduction of the volume of material making up the
Earth and a reduction in its diameter. To accommodate the reduced volume
and diameter the rigid crust would have to shorten by folding and buckling. On
the shrunken surface the topographic highs become continental masses and
mountains and the topographic lows become lakes and ocean basins
, What did Lord Kelvin (19th century) suggest the cause of shrinking was? -
correct answer ✔The cooling of the Earth. Like metal objects, when heated
up, their volume is largest and becomes smaller as the metal cools
What are the problems with the Shrinking (contracting) Earth Theory? -
correct answer ✔• Fossils are preserved in rocks that are folded and faulted.
The fossils are of living organisms that lived on Earth prior to deformation (and
presumed shrinkage) but would not have been able to withstand the initial
high temperatures.
• Initial temperatures required for the amount of shrinkage needed to produce
mountains and ocean basins were too high to be realistic.
What is the first other mechanism of shrinkage? - correct answer ✔Extrusion
of molten rock from within the Earth (like a tube of toothpaste)
What is the problem with the other mechanism of shrinkage? - correct answer
✔This is not a plausible cause of shrinkage because amount of extrusive rock
present is not enough to explain the crustal shortening that would be needed
What is the second other mechanism of shrinkage? - correct answer
✔Chemical shrinkage (1920s) by Decay of elements within the Earth to
Helium which would escape to the atmosphere, reducing the volume of the
Earth's interior.
Combination of elements within the earth to form denser elements
Do any of the mechanisms take place? - correct answer ✔This is unknown
Continental Drift - correct answer ✔First proposed by Abraham Ortelius, a
Dutch mapmaker, it is the idea that the continents were once all together but
have drifted apart over millions of years
