GEOL 008 Lecture 3: 03 - Uniformitarianism and the Age of the Earth
Document Summary
Detailed genealogies in genesis 5, 11, etc. Earth was created by god on october 23, 4004 b. b. (at 6 pm) Naturalists worked to interpret the world assuming ~6000 year age. Catastrophism - earth shaped by a long history of big events (several. Meteor impacts, floods, earthquakes, etc. million years) Not built by sudden catastrophes but tiny changes over time. Rock formations formed very slowly over long periods of time. Similar to the very slow rates occurring today. These gradual processes shape the landscape over very long periods of time. How long for moon to reach present distance from earth. Element defined number of protons(ex 6 protons = carbon) carbon-12, carbon-14. Isotope = same element but with different number of neutrons (ex: Mass number is indicated: protons + neutrons. Certain isotopes are unstable, elements have an optimal balance of protons and neutrons. Unstable isotopes naturally and spontaneously decay to a different element (ie: the number of protons changes)