Geological Perspective on Global Warming

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Questions and Answers

What principle is one of the cornerstones of geology, based on the premise that present-day processes have operated throughout geologic time?

  • Catastrophism
  • Uniformitarianism (correct)
  • Evolution
  • Pangaea Theory

How have geologists been able to assign ages in years to the subdivisions of the geologic time scale?

  • Using radiometric dating techniques (correct)
  • Through carbon dating techniques
  • By studying volcanic eruptions
  • Through analyzing fossil records

What resulted from the work of many 19th-century geologists who pieced together information from numerous rock exposures?

  • Development of the geologic time scale (correct)
  • Assignment of absolute ages to Earth's history
  • Identification of Earth's subsystems
  • Discovery of radioactivity

What principle allows us to use present-day processes as the basis for interpreting the past and predicting potential future events?

<p>Uniformitarianism (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What did Hubble observe about the velocity of galaxies moving away from Earth?

<p>It increases proportionally to distance (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What larger cycle has resulted in numerous glacial advances and retreats during the past 1.8 million years?

<p>Global warming and cooling (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which geological era is characterized by the appearance of life in the oceans and the colonization of land by plants and fungi?

<p>Mesozoic (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the Doppler effect relate to the observed redshift in the spectral lines of galaxies?

<p>It causes the spectral lines to shift towards longer wavelengths (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which period on the Geologic Time Scale is known for the extinction of dinosaurs and the rise of mammals?

<p>Cretaceous (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the analogy used in the text to explain how galaxies move apart from each other?

<p>Raisins uniformly distributing within a loaf of rising bread (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What process occurs when stars undergo nuclear reactions?

<p>Conversion of lighter elements into heavier elements by nuclear fission. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Based on the text, what happens to the velocity between galaxies as their distance increases?

<p>It increases proportionally (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What happens to the composition of the universe over time?

<p>It gradually increases in heavier elements due to nuclear fusion in stars. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the motion of raisins in a rising loaf of bread relate to the expanding universe?

<p>Raisins move apart, representing the galaxies receding from each other in the universe. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used for Earth's earliest eon, encompassing the time from Earth’s formation to around 4 billion years ago?

<p>Precambrian (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the estimated composition of the universe when it is one trillion years old?

<p>20% hydrogen, 60% helium, and 20% all other elements. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which combination of layers form plates?

<p>The crust and asthenosphere (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a scientific theory based on?

<p>A large body of supporting evidence (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What phenomenon is thought to result in plate movement?

<p>Convection cells (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What led scientists to conclude the occurrence of the Big Bang approximately 14 billion years ago?

<p>An expanding universe and opaque background radiation (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

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