1.
Uniformitarianism
is best stated in the phrase, “The present is the key to the past.” Paraphrased, it says that processes that operate today are those that shaped the geology of the past. It suggests a very slow, gradual progress to geologic process that are found in the rocks.
What theory can be summarized into the sentence the present is the key to the past explain this sentence?
The present is the key to the past… The idea that the same natural laws and processes that operate on Earth today have operated in the past is an assumption many geologists use in order to better understand the geologic past. This idea is known as
uniformitarianism
, also defined as “the present is the key to the past”.
What theory of geological evolution is presented in the following statement the present is the key to the past?
In geology,
uniformitarianism
has included the gradualistic concept that “the present is the key to the past” and that geological events occur at the same rate now as they have always done, though many modern geologists no longer hold to a strict gradualism.
What is the most important theory in geology?
Plate tectonics
is the most important concept in modern geology.
What is the geological theory?
Modern geologic theory, made famous by Charles Lyell in the 1830’s in his journal called The Principles of Geology, was based on
the premise that all things have changed, and will continue to change, and all things have done so and will do so under the same forces of nature
.
What is uniformitarianism what theory did it oppose?
This concept developed in the late 1700s, suggests
that catastrophic processes were not responsible for the landforms that existed on the Earth’s surface
. This idea was diametrically opposed to the ideas of that time period which were based on a biblical interpretation of the history of the Earth.
What is Charles Lyell’s theory?
Lyell argued that
the formation of Earth’s crust took place through countless small changes occurring over vast periods of time
, all according to known natural laws. His “uniformitarian” proposal was that the forces molding the planet today have operated continuously throughout its history.
Can be summarized by the phrase the present is the key to the past?
This concept became known as
uniformitarianism
and can be summarized by the phrase “the present is the key to the past.” It was a direct rejection of the prevalent theory of the time, catastrophism, which held that only violent disasters could modify the surface of the earth.
What did James Hutton contribute to evolution?
James Hutton (1726 – 1797) is best known for his important contributions to the science of geology (uniformitarianism and the great age of the earth). However, Hutton was also the first person to
propose a mechanism of natural selection
to account for evolutionary change over time.
What is the meaning of the phrase the present is the key to the past quizlet?
The principle that the answers to the past can be found in the present, meaning
that everything is uniform in how it works
.
What is tectonic plate theory?
The theory of plate tectonics states that
the Earth’s solid outer crust, the lithosphere, is separated into plates that move over the asthenosphere
, the molten upper portion of the mantle. Oceanic and continental plates come together, spread apart, and interact at boundaries all over the planet.
What is the unifying theory of geology?
Plate Tectonics
—The Unifying Theory of Geology.
What is the unifying theory of geology Why is it called unifying?
The theory of plate tectonics
is a unifying theory that helps explain many seeming unrelated geologic phenomena. The theory states that Earth’s lithosphere is broken into numerous slabs or plates which are in constant motion driven by heat flow from within the Earth’s interior (mantle and core).
What is the meaning lithosphere?
The lithosphere is
the solid, outer part of the Earth
. The lithosphere includes the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust, the outermost layers of Earth’s structure. It is bounded by the atmosphere above and the asthenosphere (another part of the upper mantle) below.
What is the theory of plate tectonics quizlet?
plate tectonics. The theory of plate tectonics
states that Earth’s surface is made of rigid slabs of rock, or plates, that move with respect to each other
. tectonic plates. Earth’s tectonic plates are large pieces of lithosphere. These lithospheric plates fit together like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.
What does geology consist of?
Geology is
the study of the Earth
, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them. It includes the study of organisms that have inhabited our planet.
