- what is the most commonly accepted hypothesis for formation of the
solar system and of the earth?
- how does the internal layering of the earth relate to the way in which
the planet was formed?
- what are the primary compositional layers of the earth, and at what
depths below the surface do they begin and end?
- what are the layers that are distinguished on the basis of their physical
properties and where do they begin and end? what explains the changes in
physical properties (for example, between lithosphere and asthenosphere
or between inner and outer core)?
- what is the geothermal gradient and how is it different beneath continents
and oceans?
- what is the average depth of the ocean basins and what is the average
elevation of the continents? how can you explain the difference between
the two?
- what are the major physical features of the ocean margins and the ocean
floor?
- how are passive margins different from active margins?
- what are the three kinds of plate boundaries and what are the dominant
processes that happen at each type?
- what are "typical" and maximum rates of plate motion? (if
present trends continue, how long will it take before portions of San Francisco
and Los Angeles are facing each other on oppostie sides of the San Andreas
Fault?
- what are the elements of the primary "cycles" that govern
earth processes (including the hydrologic cycle, the rock cycle, and biogeochemical
cycling)?
- what are the three major groups of rocks and what is their relevant
abundance at the earth's suface or in the earth's crust as a whole?
- what are the concepts of uniformitarianism and catastrophism? why are
James Hutton's observations so profoundly important in the history of geology?
- what is convection and how does this process relate both to processes
in the atmosphere and in the earth's interior?
- what are the two major sources of energy driving earth processes?
Some interesting web sites to get you started
Back to home page
Newsgroup for Geography 111