Chapter 1: The Abyss of Time


Lava flow. Courtesy Getty Images	In this chapter you will view the internal structure of Earth and describe geological processes that have occurred over vast spans of time. You will learn about theories that show Earth has a long history of development, and you will also discover that geological change proceeds very slowly.

Turn to page 294 of the textbook, and read the Chapter 1 introduction.

Deep time involves time spans that are not comparable to any that you encounter in your day-today life. Yet, you need a sense of deep time to understand explanations of geological processes. You will find out more about deep time in the next activity.

Try This Activity: Deep Time

Note: If you do not have access to a cash-register tape, you can create your own tape by cutting sheets of plain paper into strips about 4 cm wide. Tape the strips together until you get a strip that is 5 m long.

Read the activity on page 295 of the textbook. Follow the directions, and answer the questions.

Check your answers with those in the “Suggested Answers” in the online course.