earth science

Lester Charles King

Lester Charles King 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 Lester Charles King rather than just read about it. In short: Lester Charles King (1907–1989) was an English geologist and geomorphologist known for his theories on scarp retreat. He offered a very different view of the origin of continental landscaping than that of William Morris Davis.

Key takeaways

Lester Charles King 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 Lester Charles King to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lester Charles King from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lester Charles King (1907–1989) was an English geologist and geomorphologist known for his theories on scarp retreat. He offered a very different view of the origin of continental landscaping than that of William Morris Davis. Studying at university in New Zealand King was a disciple of Charles Cotton who was heavily influenced by Davis. While King's ideas were an attempt at refuting Davis' cycle of erosion they were themselves of cyclical nature and contributed to what Cliff Ollier has called "Davis bashing" — the ridicule of cyclical theories in geomorphology, in particular Davis' ones. Critics did however not propose alternative models. For him, the weathering of physical factors in arid areas causes the erosion of the hills, the deposition of the weathered material (pediments) and the deposition of these material in lower altitudes, contributing to the formation of the pediplain. He was also an early proponent of continental drift, having lectured on this matter at a number of U.S. universities during a tour in 1958. King was a supporter of the Expanding Earth hypothesis.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lester Charles King

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lester Charles King 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 Lester Charles King 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 Lester Charles King 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 Lester Charles King

In research: Lester Charles King 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 Lester Charles King 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: Lester Charles King is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1907 births, 1989 deaths, 20th-century English geologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lester Charles King 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 Lester Charles King in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lester Charles King 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 Lester Charles King out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lester Charles King in simple terms?

Why does Lester Charles King 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 Lester Charles King?

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 Lester Charles King.