This document contains worksheets, multiple choice questions, and essay questions to
accompany the 2010 BBC documentary Men of Rock, Episode 1: Deep Time, hosted
by Iain Stewart. It is episode 1 of 3.
The video is commonly available on Youtube.
The fill-in-the-blank questions are in chronological order with respect to the video such
that students can complete the questions in numerical order as the video plays.
The multiple choice questions are more conceptual and somewhat larger in scope. They
are designed to spur deeper learning, requiring students to piece together disparate
pieces of information. As such, they do not necessarily follow the chronological
sequence of the video. They are intended as quiz or exam questions administered after
students have watched the video and had time to ponder some of the larger concepts.
The essay questions can be assigned as homework or administered as part of an exam.
They are intended to assess whether students can assemble individual discoveries and
seemingly unrelated pieces of evidence into a larger, cohesive narrative in support of a
valid scientific theory.
Date: ____________
Name: _______________________________
Men of Rock
Episode 1: Deep Time
BBC (2010)
1. ____________________ would become the founding father of geology.
2. When Hutton studied geology as a student, he discovered that the leading
authority on the topic was ____________________.
3. On the basis of his observations while working at his farm, Hutton deduced that
water carried sand, silt, and mud from his fields to the sea and that this
incessant ____________________ was occurring both at his farm and
worldwide.
4. Hutton was concerned because, ultimately, topsoil loss would cause people
to ____________________.
5. Hutton was convinced that the earth must have a way to
____________________.
6. Hutton’s first clue of the earth’s self-healing ability was found in his observation
of ____________________.
7. Hutton’s first big idea was that the processes of land destruction/reconstruction
are ____________________ actions that continue to this day.
8. The ____________________ rock deposited from layers of mud and sand is
found everywhere.
9. One of the problems with Hutton’s original hypothesis was that not all rocks are
formed from sediments. Discussions with James Watt led Hutton to wonder if
____________________ within the earth might have sufficient power to change
and renew the landscape.
10. Hutton saw ____________________ as the vents of a giant furnace deep in the
earth.
11. Hutton was able to explain differences in the appearances of rocks at the earth’s
surface on the basis of his observation of the solidification behavior of molten
____________________.
12. ____________________ are formed inside glass rock when atoms stick together.
13. When glass cools quickly, the crystals are ____________________ and the glass
is ____________________. When glass cools over a long period,
____________________ crystals are created.
14. When Hutton presented his ideas to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his ideas
were rejected and he was accused of being an ____________________.
15. Hutton challenged the Biblical view of creation by asserting that
____________________ was a young rock that started out molten.
16. While exploring the intersection of two rivers in Glen Tilt, Scotland, Hutton
observed ____________________ mixed with ____________________, which
proved that it was once molten; thus, the earth was changing, not constant.
17. Molten granite was proof of a giant ____________________ in action.
18. At Siccar Point, Hutton observed rocks at different angles—some vertical, some
horizontal. Hutton interpreted this as one long ____________________ cycle
piled on top of another.
19. What Hutton did not know is that ____________________ move slowly across
the globe, which is why the rock layers do not lie flat.
20. Although Hutton did not know exactly how the rock layers at Siccar Point formed,
he knew they must be ____________________ processes that occurred in
____________________ time.
21. “No ____________________ of a beginning, no ____________________ of an
end.”
22. Kelvin rejected Hutton’s hypothesis of the earth as a system of endless change,
arguing that the earth must have ____________________.
23. The basis of Kelvin’s argument was that, like a cannonball on a pendulum, the
earth is continually losing ____________________.
24. Kelvin reasoned that the earth started ____________________ and had been
losing energy ever since.
25. On the basis of the melting temperature of granite and the current temperature
of the earth, Kelvin estimated that the earth should be ____________________
years old.
26. Kelvins error was that he assumed the earth had cooled to the point of
____________________.
27. Kelvin failed to account for a source of energy deep within the earth:
____________________.
28. In addition to being responsible for Hutton’s heat engine, radioactivity provides
information about how ____________________ the earth is.
29. Radioactive uranium breaks down into ____________________ at a regular rate,
enabling calculations of the ages of uranium-containing rock samples.
30. The Lewisian gneiss sample collected by Dr. Stewart was
____________________ years old, or approximately ____________________
the age of the earth.
Multiple Choice
1. When Hutton studied geology as a student, he discovered that the leading authority on
the topic was
A) Lord Kelvin
B) James Watt
C) The Bible
D) The Royal Scottish Academy
2. On the basis of on his observations at his farm, Hutton reasoned that
____________________ was(were) occurring worldwide.
A) catastrophic floods.
B) erosion.
C) volcanism.
D) plate tectonics.
3. Hutton’s first clue of the earth’s mechanism to rebuild itself was found in his observation
of
A) sand/rock layers.
B) glass melting.
C) volcanoes.
D) erosion.
4. Hutton’s great realization was that the processes of land destruction/reconstruction
A) occur quickly.
B) occur slowly.
C) occurred at different rates throughout earth’s history.
D) cannot be observed directly.
5. One of the problems with Hutton’s original hypothesis was that not all rocks were
formed from sediments. Discussions with James Watt led Hutton to realize that rocks
could also be formed
A) under intense pressure.
B) under intense heat.
C) underground.
D) underwater.
6. Hutton was able to explain differences in the appearances of rocks at the earth’s surface
on the basis of his observation of the solidification behavior of
A) glass.
B) granite.
C) lava underwater.
D) magma.
7. Slow cooling results in ____________________ crystals, and rapid cooling results in
____________________ crystals.
A) large; small
B) small; large
C) irregular; regular
D) clear; opaque
8. The following picture show the unconformity (horizontal rock layers overlaying observed
by Hutton at Siccar Point, Scotland:
What conclusion did Hutton draw on the basis of this observation?
A) Horizontal and vertical rocks layers are capable of forming simultaneously.
B) Rock layers are capable of moving sideways.
C) The geologic events that led to such an unconformity must have occurred very
slowly over a geologic time scale.
D) The forces that caused such an uniformity could cause continents to drift.
9. “No vestige of a beginning, ____________________.”
A) no end in sight.
B) no beginning of an end.
C) no prospect of an end.
D) no end of a beginning.
10. Which of following statements describe errors in Kelvin’s calculations of the earth’s age?
I. He wrongly assumed that the earth had cooled to a completely solid state.
II. He failed to account for differences in the cooling rates of different rocks.
III. He failed to account for the heat generated by radioactive decay.
A)
B)
C)
D)
I and II only.
I and III only.
II and III only.
I, II, and III.
Essay Questions
1. Describe the progression of Hutton’s reasoning that started with his observation of
topsoil erosion at his family farm and led to his conceptualization of “deep time.”
2. Explain the basis of Lord Kelvin’s early attempt to determine the age of the earth, and
then explain why his estimate was wildly inaccurate.
ANSWER KEYS
Fill in the Blank
1. James Hutton
2. theology/religion/The Bible
3. erosion
4. starve
5. make new land/rebuild itself
6. sediment/rock layers
7. slowly
8. sedimentary
9. heat
10. volcanoes
11. glass
12. Crystals
13. Small; clear; large
14. atheist
15. granite
16. pink/red granite; sandstone
17. heat engine
18. geological
19. continents
20. gradual; deep
21. vestige; prospect
22. an age
23. energy
24. molten
25. 20-40 million
26. a completely solid state
27. radioactivity
28. old
29. lead
30. 2.5-3 billion; two-thirds
Multiple Choice
1. C
2. B
3. D
4. B
5. B
6. A
7. A
8. D
9. C
10. B
Grading rubrics for writing prompts/essay questions
Assignment 1
Describe the progression of Hutton’s reasoning that started with his observation of topsoil
erosion at his family farm and led to his conceptualization of “deep time.”
Key point
Possible
score
A. Observed topsoil was eroding
2
B. Deduced that erosion must be occurring worldwide.
2
C. Reasoned that the landscape would be barren unless a
process exists to create new land.
2
D. Deduced that rock layers form from sediments deposited
slowly
2
E. Discovered that rocks can also be formed under intense
heat.
2
TOTAL
Actual
score*
10
* Scoring guide:
2 = Student accurately and fully states key point
1 = Students mentions key point but does not explain it or makes a factually incorrect
statement.
0 = Student does not mention key point
Assignment 2
Explain the basis of Lord Kelvin’s early attempt to determine the age of the earth, and then
explain why his estimate was wildly inaccurate.
Key point
Possible
score
A. Assumed that the earth was originally molten
2
B. Based calculation on the melting temperature of
granite
2
C. Assumed that the earth completely solidified.
2
D. Estimated the earth was 20-40 million years old.
2
E. Did not account for radioactive heating.
2
TOTAL
Actual
score
10
* Scoring guide:
2 = Student accurately and fully states key point.
1 = Students mentions key point but does not explain it or makes a factually incorrect
statement.
0 = Student does not mention key point.