NAEP Science Grade 12

Category - Earth Science

A researcher investigating the geologic history of a region collects data on the orientation of a limestone layer exposed along a highway. The convention for reporting the orientation of the limestone layer typically would include which of the following information?
  1. The meters below the land surface of different sections of the top of the exposed part of the limestone.
  2. The angle between an imaginary vertical line and the uppermost surface of the limestone.
  3. The degree measurements that show the strike and dip of the bedding plane of the limestone.
  4. The thickness of the limestone and how it has changed from its original horizontal position.
Explanation
Correct Response: C. Strike and dip measurements are the conventional data that a geologist collects to report a geologic layer's bedding orientation in terms of the cardinal directions and the horizontal plane. An imaginary vertical plane is not referenced in recording the orientation of geologic strata (B). The depth below the land surface of the limestone strata exposed in the road cut (A) is not relevant information for reporting the bedding orientation of the limestone strata. While the thickness of a limestone bed is recorded in the field if possible, the original orientation of the bedding (D) is an interpretation of geologic history that is not typically part of mapping the orientation of geologic strata.
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