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Geology 103
Name:
Assignment 1: Basic science and plate tectonics
Due Wednesday, April 16
1. Why is falsifiability important to science? Explain using a theory or theories
as examples.
2. One of the first theories to describe the processes that shape the Earth was
Alfred Wegener’s continental drift theory. Why wasn’t this theory accepted
widely by the scientific community? Be specific: in what way was this theory
falsifiable?
3. What is an orogeny? Why is this important in the development of the theory
of plate tectonics?
4. How is the density of a material calculated? What is isostasy, and how is it
connected to material density?
5. How does the lithosphere differ from the crust? Is there any overlap
between the areas described by these terms?
6. What is happening at a subduction zone that played a key role in helping
shape plate tectonic theory? A cross-section of a “typical” subduction zone may
help you answer this question.
7. What’s the difference between an active margin and a passive margin?
What types of active plate margins (plate boundaries) are there?
8. What is the geothermal gradient, and, compared to today, was its value
higher, lower or the same three billion years ago? How did/does this difference
affect plate tectonics?