Lyell's ideas that gradual, everyday geologic processes had shaped Earth challenged the prevailing estimate of Earth's age at ____, because ____.
A) 6 billion years old; only catastrophic geologic events could sculpt Earth's surface
B) 600 million years old; species needed millions of years to evolve
C) 600,000 years old; nobody had observed the evolution of species
D) 60,000 years old; geologic processes quickly change landscapes on Earth's surface
E) 6,000 years old; such slow geologic processes would take millions of years to sculpt Earth's surface

Question

Lyell's ideas that gradual, everyday geologic processes had shaped Earth challenged the prevailing estimate of Earth's age at ____, because ____.​
A) 6 billion years old; only catastrophic geologic events could sculpt Earth's surface​
B) ​600 million years old; species needed millions of years to evolve
C) ​600,000 years old; nobody had observed the evolution of species
D) ​60,000 years old; geologic processes quickly change landscapes on Earth's surface
E) ​6,000 years old; such slow geologic processes would take millions of years to sculpt Earth's surface

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Lyell's ideas of gradualism implied that Earth had to be much older than the then-common belief of 6,000 years, as the slow processes of erosion, sedimentation, and other geological changes would require millions of years to shape the planet's surface.

Lyell's Ideas That Gradual, Everyday Geologic Processes Had Shaped Earth