Week 4 Chapter Questions
pdf
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Columbia College - Missouri *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
105
Subject
Geology
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
Pages
2
Uploaded by BailiffBatMaster887
Week 4 Chapter Questions
Part II: The Birth of the Scientific Method
Chapter 12: Isaac Newton (1687)
1. Explain the significance of Newton’s 1st major work, Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy. What two groundbreaking tasks did he perform with this work? Newtons first major
work "Mathematical Principals of Philosophy" held importance because it was clarifying all of
the remaining questions Galileo did not answer regarding his theories. Newton was clearing up
all the grey areas when it came to what gravity was or how it worked. Newton also clarified WHY
the planets should be eliptical instead of circular. On top of this, during his studies, Newton came
up with the math calculus, in order to calculate the force in a changing environment .
2. Where did Galileo go wrong in his theories about gravity (i.e. ‘gravitas’)? What did Newton
propose that differed? Galileo made the theory that the force of gravity would remain constant,
no matter how they fell. Newton purposed that the force changed throughout He assumed that
the further the planets were from the sun the less pull of gravity.
3. Newton refused in Principia to “feign the hypothesis”. Explain.
Part III: Reading the Earth
Chapter 13: Compte de Buffon (1749-1788)
1. What/how did early naturalists such as Lightfoot and Ussher estimate the age of the earth to
be.
Lightfoot used the old testament to help him determine the age of the earth. With a similar
approach, Usher used the bible and his own astonomical observations to determine the age.
2. What were Nicholas Steno’s 3 essential principles, in your own words. Why were these
principles important in understanding fossils?
The first principle was principle of superstition
where the layers at the bottom were deemed to be the oldest and over time got piled on with
new layers of rock. it was believed to be started under water where the pressure of water
compressed the top layers. The second priciple was principal of original horizontality , this
indicates that the layers of rocks always form horizontally. The last principle is principle of lateral
continuity, this indicates that the layer of the rock is always ongoing, meaning if it is uneven but
possesses the same material, they were seperated by a later event.
3. What did Buffon estimate the age of the Earth to be, and what experimental method did he
use?
Buffon heated iron spheres and measured the amount of time it took them to cool off. He
believed the earth started as a "molten globe" and eventually cooled off to its resting
temperature. He believes the earth to be close to 3 billion years old.
Chapter 14: Hutton (1785) and Cuvier (1812)
1. Describe Hutton’s theory of uniformity. How did he describe the age of the earth? Huttons
theory of uniformity indicates that we are still able to determine the age of earth through
natural processes that are still measurable. He described the age of earth as being impossible to
define.
2. How did Cuvier’s Catastrophism theory differ from Hutton’s ideas? Cuviers theory indicates
that the world had multiple significant catastrophic events and that it dates way further back.
Chapter 15: Lyell (1830)
1. Lyell set out to principles that would make geology into a science. Explain what he meant.
Lyell was determined to make geology play a role in science rather than history insinuating that
the history of catastrophes played a role in science.
2. Lyell’s theory of Uniformitarianism includes three interlocking principles for geology. Describe
these.
-actualism, meaning that past forces are still present and can be observed.
-anticatastrophism - the degree of forces has not differed from that of the past
-the earth as a steady state system, meaning there is no progression or altered direction of the
earth, and the periods are the same.
Chapter 16: Holmes (1913)
1. Lyell’s Uniformitarianism implied no beginning and no end to the Earth. But attempts to age
the Earth continued. Explain the theories of Lord Kelvin and John Joly.
Lord Kelvin implied that upon conversion of energy from one thing to another some of the
energy is expanded. Assuming that the sun coverts energy indicates that it will also lose some of
its own over time.
John Joly believed it to be a slow long process, by observing the amount of sodium in the ocean.
2. Ernest Rutherford and Arthur Holmes proposed a new dating technique. Explain what this
technique entails. By 1930, this technique had help estimate the age of the Earth to be what?
Through the study of radioactive decay, it led them to believe the age to be over 3 billion years
old.
Chapter 17: Wegener (1915)
1. Alfred Wegener proposed Pangea to explain the current surface of the Earth. Explain what
Pangea is and how he thought continental drift was possible. Pangea was labeled as a
"supercontinent" a large mass that had eventually seperated. He suggested that the core was
not hard, but rather made of liquid that decreased in density the closer to the surface it was.
2. Why were Wegener’s theories met with derision? What evidence was eventually found to
support his theories?
Chapter 18: Alvarez (1997)
1. How did (1) a paper on the Columbia Plateau published in 1923 and (2) the space program
each renew the Uniformitarianism vs Catastrophism debate?
2. Explain the major finding of Walter Alvarez in 1991 and why it was important.
Walters search for an impact crater ended when he cameacross acater125 miles long along the
yucatan coast. It was significant as it possessed layers upon layers of sediment as it would
possess history long before the dinosaurs.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help