AY Honors/Geology - Advanced/Answer Key

1. Have the Geology Honor.

2. Provide the following information:

a. How do earthquakes tell us what the interior of the earth is like?

Answer: For one, they show us that faults are active and moving. Faults are rock fractures that show evidence of movement. Earthquakes generally happen along faults. Rocks move apart releasing energy that causes an earthquake. The energy released causes waves (seismic). In fact the core of the earth was discovered with seismic waves. They bend along the interfaces of different materials. There are two different waves. P waves travel through fluid and solids. S waves do not. They only pass through solids. By noticing that the S waves did not go to the center of the earth they came to the conclusion that it must be a fluid, for S waves cannot pass through fluids. P waves bend in the core because they are slowly passing through a liquid. This has also helped them estimate the size of earth’s core by studying the last shadow zone of the S wave.

References: http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/interior.html

b. How can a lot of water (as in Noah's flood) do in a few months what a little water would require thousands or millions of years to do?

	A lot of water passing through an area quickly erodes the dirt and changes it into mud which can lead to a mud slide or other catastrophes (such as a drastic change in the landscape. This could include the covering of islands and continents if there is a large enough supply of water). It can destroy towns and city potentially washing everything away. Also if the flood were to involve glaciers and an extremely gross amount of water it could change the temperature in the atmosphere. It also can change the locations of rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. Also if enough water is left in an area it can form a small body of water.

c. Why are evidences of glaciers seen in the temperate climes where there are now no glaciers?

It has been concluded that in the past there was an ice age and that much of the earth was covered by it. In many places they have melted away but in mountain tops, Kilimanjaro, and Antarctica they are still present. When a glacier moves it leaves behind striations and grooves. Rocks are also left behind when it melts as well as other sediments that the glacier picked up.

d. How do creationists, who believe in a universal flood and in a young age for the earth since creation, understand and use the geological time chart?

e. What is the continental drift (plate tectonics) theory, and how can creationists fit such geological activity into time since creation?

3. Where in the world would you likely see:

a. Large glaciers

b. Active volcanoes

c. Sand dunes

d. Sinkholes

e. Fiords

f. Faultblock mountains

g. Folded mountains

h. Chalk cliffs

i. Icebergs

j. Atolls

4. Write a 500-word paper on one of the following:

a. Describe the interesting geology you saw on a trip you took recently.

b Describe the geological activity that happened because of a heavy rain, flood, or windstorm that you experienced.

References