Geology

Question 1

Law of Universal Gravitation

Answer 1

• Newton

- Explained tides

Question 2

Cosmogony

Answer 2

theory of the Earth and its origins that were based on physical laws

Question 3

Archbishop James Usher and Genesis

Answer 3

• said that Divine Creation was 12:00 noon October 24rd 4004 BC
• wrote 2000 page chronology on human history

Question 4

Genesis Implications

Answer 4

1) said that only one geological event shaped the earth: Great Flood of Noah

Question 5

William Weston

Answer 5

New Theory of Earth: tried to explain biblical events from cometary events

• 6 days of creation
• circular orbit by god working through Newtons laws, physical laws are the tools of god
• fall of man and expulsion of Adam and even because of comet hitting earth

Question 6

Why did the flood occur?

Answer 6

-Earth was close to the water tail of comet. Forces opened cracks in earths surface

Question 7

coming of conflagaration

Answer 7

• another comet will come and wreck shit

- producing elliptical orbit

Question 8

The consummation

Answer 8

• christ will reign for 1000 years
• battle of armageddon will be fought, the righteous will win and go to heaven
• earth will take a hit from another comet and everything will end

Question 9

Benoit de Maillet

Answer 9

• story where character comes up with radical ideas
  1) Earth has seen eternal cycles of creation and destruction
  2) Oceans once covered earth
  3) Evolution of Life

Question 10

What was the problem with fossils

Answer 10

why are marine creature fossils on mountain tops

Question 11

Fossil Skeptics - problem with fossils

Answer 11

• extinction isn’t physically possible

- why would god put things on earth if they were going to go extinct and if they didn’t have a purpose

Question 12

Nicholas Steno

Answer 12

• found tongue stones
• stones with sharks teeth inside
• showed that an object from a living being can get in stone

Question 13

Robert Hooke’s thoughts on Genesis

Answer 13

• genesis skeptic
• sedimentary rocks are not the remains of the flood
• extinction is real

Question 14

Neptunium key points

Answer 14

1) attempt to understand geological formations (mountains) as a consequence of recession of oceans
- neptunists made no reference to bible or great flood
- no reference to the bible or great flood

2) established the “stratigraphical principle of superposition”

3) supported “principle of horizontality”
- had origins with steno –> layers of sediment originally deposited under gravity
- dating technique

Question 15

Neptunism Significance

Answer 15

-discovered deep time to confirm that the Earth has been around for longer than theology states

Question 16

Plutonism key points

Answer 16

1) emphasized internal heat as an agent for geological change

2) James Hutton founded plutonsm with “Theory of the Earth with proofs and illustrations”
- argued 2 points: uniformitarianism, geological cycles and a steady state earth

Question 17

Uniformitarianism

Answer 17

causes of geological change are slow and constant

Question 18

Geological cycles and a steady state earth

Answer 18

mountains erode which deposit sediment in oceans; sediment’s pressure forms molten magma; molten bubbles up an forms continents
-no long-term directional change

Question 19

Plutonism’s view of Mountains vs Neptunium

Answer 19

Opposite

Question 20

Significance of Hutton’s work

Answer 20

• length of geographical time scale
• earth’s surface could reform continuously
• steady state earth
• movement of earth

Question 21

Charles Lyell

Answer 21

• defended uniformitarianism

- friends with Darwin, encouraged darwin to publish

Question 22

Georges Cuvier and William Smith

Answer 22

• the stratigraphical column
• describes vertical location of rocks in an area
• deeper = older

Question 23

what was the stratigraphical column characterized by

Answer 23

1) principle of super position

2) unique assembly

Question 24

Biological Significance of Stratigraphical column

Answer 24

• life changes over time

- evolution?

Question 25

Debates about geological change (1900’s)

Answer 25

1) rate of change - is it uniform?
- uniformitarianism - slow, uniform
- catastrophism - large scale changes separated by periods of changelessness

2) Direction of Change
- directional geology (Buffon, Neptunists)
- cyclic, Steady state (hutton, lyell) (no directional movement of countries)