15 Questions
What technology revealed the existence of an underwater mountain range?
Echo-sounding devices
What did the discovery of the Mid-Ocean Ridge allow scientists to understand?
Sea floor spreading and polar reversal
What was the initial opinion of many scientists about the ocean floor before the discovery of the Mid-Ocean Ridge?
Relatively flat with few distinct features
What did the peculiar magnetic readings from the ocean floor lead scientists to detect?
Normal and reversed polarity
What new technology, introduced during World War I, helped in exploring the tremendous depths of the oceans?
Echo-sounding devices
What did the ocean exploration in the middle of the 20th century lead scientists to detect?
Peculiar magnetic readings from the ocean floor
What did the discovery of an underwater mountain range hold clues to unlocking?
Sea floor spreading and polar reversal
What is the main component of the ocean floor according to the text?
Basalt
Why was the discovery of stripes of rock with different polarities on the ocean floor surprising?
Because it raised questions about the cause of the magnetic variation.
What did scientists notice about the stripes of ocean floor closest to the mid-ocean ridge?
They all had normal polarity.
What led scientists to hypothesize about the cause of polar reversal phenomenon?
The discovery of alternating stripes on the ocean floor.
What process explains the creation of new oceanic crust due to the upwelling of magma?
Seafloor spreading
Why do older stripes of rocks on the ocean floor show polarities that alternate between normal and reversed?
As a result of flip-flopping of the earth's magnetic field over time.
What is the significance of new magma solidifying into rock on the ocean floor?
It records the earth's magnetic orientation at the time.
What was a key factor that led scientists to understand polar reversal phenomenon?
The pattern of alternating stripes leading away from the mid-ocean ridge.
Explore the discovery of the Mid-Ocean Ridge and its role in understanding sea floor spreading and polar reversal. Learn how the observation of normal and reversed polarity along the ocean floor contributed to our understanding of sea floor spreading. Step into the shoes of a 19th-century scientist and imagine the challenges they faced in exploring the depths of the ocean with early submarines.
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