science

Payson ophiolite

Payson ophiolite is a 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 Payson ophiolite rather than just read about it. In short: The Payson ophiolite is an ophiolite of Statherian age (late Paleoproterozoic) located near Payson, Arizona, US. Description The Payson ophiolite crops out south and west of the town of Payson, Arizona, in the Arizona transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The Payson ophiolite is an ophiolite of Statherian age (late Paleoproterozoic) located near Payson, Arizona, US.

Description The Payson ophiolite crops out south and west of the town of Payson, Arizona, in the Arizona transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range. It consists of a well-developed sheeted dyke complex that grades below into gabbroic rock and above into submarine volcanic rock. The whole sequence dips gently (by about 15 degrees) to the southwest. The ophiolite is exposed over a sizable area and is little deformed, with metamorphism limited to the lower greenschist facies. Much of the gabbro is essentially unaltered. The ophiolite is intruded by a sill of granitic rock, the Payson Granite, which conceals the deepest layers of the ophiolite, including the entire ultramafic mantle portion of the ophiolite. The deepest accessible layers are the gabbronorite of Round Valley. Regionally, the ophiolite is thought to be overlain by the Tonto Basin Supergroup.

Origin and Tectonics The ophiolite is part of the Mazatzal block, a terrane 50 to 60 kilometers (31 to 37 mi) wide on the eastern end of the Arizona transition zone. The Payson ophiolite lies on a basement of granitic rock overlain by felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rock of the Larson Spring Formation. This shows that the ophiolite was emplaced by rifting of an existing island arc, which likely produced a pull-apart basin.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Payson ophiolite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Payson ophiolite claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In 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 Payson ophiolite 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 Payson ophiolite 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 Payson ophiolite

In research: Payson ophiolite appears in 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 Payson ophiolite 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: Payson ophiolite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Gila County, Arizona, Ophiolites, Precambrian Arizona, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Payson ophiolite 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 Payson ophiolite in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Payson ophiolite in simple terms?

The Payson ophiolite is an ophiolite of Statherian age (late Paleoproterozoic) located near Payson, Arizona, US. Description The Payson ophiolite crops out south and west of the town of Payson, Arizona, in the Arizona transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range.

Why does Payson ophiolite matter?

Because it connects several 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 Payson ophiolite?

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 Payson ophiolite.