earth science

George A. Thompson (geologist)

George A. Thompson (geologist) is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand George A. Thompson (geologist) rather than just read about it. In short: George A. Thompson (June 5, 1919 – May 12, 2017) was an American geologist.

Key takeaways

George A. Thompson (geologist) belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect George A. Thompson (geologist) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of George A. Thompson (geologist) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

George A. Thompson (June 5, 1919 – May 12, 2017) was an American geologist.

Biography Thompson was born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania. In 1964, Thompson and Manik Talwani used gravity data where they demonstrated how the thin crust underlying the western United States during which he proved that the Basin and Range Province should be balanced by influx of mass. During the 1980s he and his students studied exposed parts of deep crust and upper mantle which explained that by combining interlayered mafic and ultramafic rocks can cause laminated and laterally discontinuous reflection of the Moho Province on deep seismic-reflections. In 2008 he was awarded a Penrose Medal for his participation in helping to build a geophysics department. During his life he served as a chair at such departments as Geophysics from 1967 to 1986 and Geology department from 1979 to 1982. For two years, from 1987 to 1989, he was a dean of Stanford University's School of Earth Sciences and served as the Otto N. Miller Professor in the same department for 9 years.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with George A. Thompson (geologist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what George A. Thompson (geologist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to George A. Thompson (geologist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about George A. Thompson (geologist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of George A. Thompson (geologist)

In research: George A. Thompson (geologist) appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses George A. Thompson (geologist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: George A. Thompson (geologist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1919 births, 2017 deaths, American geologist stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for George A. Thompson (geologist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study George A. Thompson (geologist) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what George A. Thompson (geologist) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain George A. Thompson (geologist) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is George A. Thompson (geologist) in simple terms?

George A. Thompson (June 5, 1919 – May 12, 2017) was an American geologist.

Why does George A. Thompson (geologist) matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study George A. Thompson (geologist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on George A. Thompson (geologist).