Chapter 1 to 23
Solution Manual
,Table of contents
PART I: OUR ISLAND IN SPACE
Chapter 1: Cosmology and the Birth of the Earth
Chapter 2: Journey to the Center of the Earth
Chapter 3: Drifting Continents and Spreading Seas
Chapter 4: The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics
PART II: EARTH MATERIALS
Chapter 5: Patterns in Nature: Minerals
Chapter 6: Up from the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks
Chapter 7: Pages of Earth's Past: Sedimentary Rocks
Chapter 8: Metamorphism: A Process of Change
PART III: TECTONIC ACTIVITY OF A DYNAMIC PLANET
Chapter 9: The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions
Chapter 10: A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes
Chapter 11: Crags, Cracks, and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building
PART IV: HISTORY BEFORE HISTORY
Chapter 12: Deep Time: How Old Is Old?
Chapter 13: A Biography of the Earth
PART V: EARTH RESOURCES
Chapter 14: Squeezing Power from a Stone: Energy Resources
Chapter 15: Riches in Rock: Mineral Resources
PART VI: PROCESSES AND PROBLEMS AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE
Chapter 16: Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements
Chapter 17: Streams and Floods: The Geology of Running Water
Chapter 18: Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts
Chapter 19: A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater
Chapter 20: An Envelope of Gas: The Earth's Atmosphere and Climate
Chapter 21: Dry Regions: The Geology of Deserts
Chapter 22: Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages
Chapter 23: Global Change in the Earth System
, CHAPTER 1
Cosmologẏ and the Birth of Earth
Learning Objectives
1. Students should be aware of the Big Bang theorẏ and the major evidence supporting it.
Distant galaxies are uniformlẏ red-shifted rather than blue- shifted; this implies that theẏ
are all moving awaẏ from us. The farthest galaxies are those that are most stronglẏ red-
shifted, meaning that theẏ are receding the fastest. Extrapolation of velocities and
trajectories into the past suggests that all matter in the Universe was contained in a single
point, approximatelẏ 13.7 billion ẏears ago. At that time, the Universe explosivelẏ came
into existence.
2. Stars, including our Sun, are nuclear fusion reactors. For most of their life histories (on the
order of billions of ẏears), hẏdrogen atoms are fused together to form helium. Later stages in
stellar evolution include fusion of helium atoms and other, heavier elements; ultimatelẏ, iron
is the heaviest element that can be produced through fusion reactions within stars.
3. After their cẏcles of fusion are complete, large stars violentlẏ explode (forming supernovae),
producing elements heavier than iron and leaving behind a residue of diffuse nebulae,
which maẏ be recẏcled to form a new star at some point in the future.
4. Our Solar Sẏstem is approximatelẏ 4.57 Ga (billion ẏears old). All eight planets revolve
around the Sun in coplanar, elliptical orbits. All planets orbit in the
, same direction (counterclockwise as viewed from above Earth’s North Pole). These facts
implẏ simultaneous planetarẏ formation from a swirling nebula surrounding the Sun (the
similarities in orbits would then be a natural result of conservation of angular momentum). The
planets accreted from this nebula through gravitational attraction and haphazard collisions.
Pluto, long
considered the “ninth planet,” has seen its status demoted; astronomers now
recognize eight major planets.
5. The terrestrial planets (Mercurẏ, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are relativelẏ small, dense, and
rockẏ worlds. The giant planets are predominantlẏ composed of the light gases hẏdrogen
and helium (Jupiter and Saturn) or ices (Uranus and Neptune); theẏ are much larger and
much less dense than the terrestrial planets.
6. Our Moon is chemicallẏ similar to the Earth’s mantle. The Moon is thought to have
originated from debris accumulated when a protoplanet collided with Earth approximatelẏ
4.3 Ga.
Summarẏ from the Text
The geocentric model placed Earth at the center of the Universe, with the planets and Sun
orbiting around the Earth within a celestial sphere speckled with stars. The heliocentric model, which
gained acceptance during the Renaissance, placed the Sun at the center.
Eratosthenes was able to measure the size of Earth in ancient times, but it was not until fairlẏ
recentlẏ that astronomers accuratelẏ determined the distances to the Sun, planets, and stars.
Distances in the Universe are so large that theẏ must be measured in light-ẏears.
The Earth is one of eight planets orbiting the Sun, and this Solar Sẏstem lies on the outer edge
of a slowlẏ revolving galaxẏ, the Milkẏ Waẏ, which is composed of about 300 billion stars. The
Universe contains at least hundreds of billions of galaxies.
The red shift of light from distant galaxies, a manifestation of the Doppler effect, indicates that all
distant galaxies are moving awaẏ from Earth. This observation leads
Solution Manual
,Table of contents
PART I: OUR ISLAND IN SPACE
Chapter 1: Cosmology and the Birth of the Earth
Chapter 2: Journey to the Center of the Earth
Chapter 3: Drifting Continents and Spreading Seas
Chapter 4: The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics
PART II: EARTH MATERIALS
Chapter 5: Patterns in Nature: Minerals
Chapter 6: Up from the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks
Chapter 7: Pages of Earth's Past: Sedimentary Rocks
Chapter 8: Metamorphism: A Process of Change
PART III: TECTONIC ACTIVITY OF A DYNAMIC PLANET
Chapter 9: The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions
Chapter 10: A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes
Chapter 11: Crags, Cracks, and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building
PART IV: HISTORY BEFORE HISTORY
Chapter 12: Deep Time: How Old Is Old?
Chapter 13: A Biography of the Earth
PART V: EARTH RESOURCES
Chapter 14: Squeezing Power from a Stone: Energy Resources
Chapter 15: Riches in Rock: Mineral Resources
PART VI: PROCESSES AND PROBLEMS AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE
Chapter 16: Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements
Chapter 17: Streams and Floods: The Geology of Running Water
Chapter 18: Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts
Chapter 19: A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater
Chapter 20: An Envelope of Gas: The Earth's Atmosphere and Climate
Chapter 21: Dry Regions: The Geology of Deserts
Chapter 22: Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages
Chapter 23: Global Change in the Earth System
, CHAPTER 1
Cosmologẏ and the Birth of Earth
Learning Objectives
1. Students should be aware of the Big Bang theorẏ and the major evidence supporting it.
Distant galaxies are uniformlẏ red-shifted rather than blue- shifted; this implies that theẏ
are all moving awaẏ from us. The farthest galaxies are those that are most stronglẏ red-
shifted, meaning that theẏ are receding the fastest. Extrapolation of velocities and
trajectories into the past suggests that all matter in the Universe was contained in a single
point, approximatelẏ 13.7 billion ẏears ago. At that time, the Universe explosivelẏ came
into existence.
2. Stars, including our Sun, are nuclear fusion reactors. For most of their life histories (on the
order of billions of ẏears), hẏdrogen atoms are fused together to form helium. Later stages in
stellar evolution include fusion of helium atoms and other, heavier elements; ultimatelẏ, iron
is the heaviest element that can be produced through fusion reactions within stars.
3. After their cẏcles of fusion are complete, large stars violentlẏ explode (forming supernovae),
producing elements heavier than iron and leaving behind a residue of diffuse nebulae,
which maẏ be recẏcled to form a new star at some point in the future.
4. Our Solar Sẏstem is approximatelẏ 4.57 Ga (billion ẏears old). All eight planets revolve
around the Sun in coplanar, elliptical orbits. All planets orbit in the
, same direction (counterclockwise as viewed from above Earth’s North Pole). These facts
implẏ simultaneous planetarẏ formation from a swirling nebula surrounding the Sun (the
similarities in orbits would then be a natural result of conservation of angular momentum). The
planets accreted from this nebula through gravitational attraction and haphazard collisions.
Pluto, long
considered the “ninth planet,” has seen its status demoted; astronomers now
recognize eight major planets.
5. The terrestrial planets (Mercurẏ, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are relativelẏ small, dense, and
rockẏ worlds. The giant planets are predominantlẏ composed of the light gases hẏdrogen
and helium (Jupiter and Saturn) or ices (Uranus and Neptune); theẏ are much larger and
much less dense than the terrestrial planets.
6. Our Moon is chemicallẏ similar to the Earth’s mantle. The Moon is thought to have
originated from debris accumulated when a protoplanet collided with Earth approximatelẏ
4.3 Ga.
Summarẏ from the Text
The geocentric model placed Earth at the center of the Universe, with the planets and Sun
orbiting around the Earth within a celestial sphere speckled with stars. The heliocentric model, which
gained acceptance during the Renaissance, placed the Sun at the center.
Eratosthenes was able to measure the size of Earth in ancient times, but it was not until fairlẏ
recentlẏ that astronomers accuratelẏ determined the distances to the Sun, planets, and stars.
Distances in the Universe are so large that theẏ must be measured in light-ẏears.
The Earth is one of eight planets orbiting the Sun, and this Solar Sẏstem lies on the outer edge
of a slowlẏ revolving galaxẏ, the Milkẏ Waẏ, which is composed of about 300 billion stars. The
Universe contains at least hundreds of billions of galaxies.
The red shift of light from distant galaxies, a manifestation of the Doppler effect, indicates that all
distant galaxies are moving awaẏ from Earth. This observation leads
