earth science

Wilhelm Dunker

Wilhelm Dunker 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 Wilhelm Dunker rather than just read about it. In short: Wilhelm Dunker, full name Wilhelm Bernhard Rudolph Hadrian Dunker (21 February 1809, Eschwege – 13 March 1885, Marburg) was a German geologist, paleontologist and zoologist (specifically a malacologist). Wilhelm Dunker studied mining and metallurgical engineering in Göttingen and worked at first as a trainee with the local mining authority.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Wilhelm Dunker, full name Wilhelm Bernhard Rudolph Hadrian Dunker (21 February 1809, Eschwege – 13 March 1885, Marburg) was a German geologist, paleontologist and zoologist (specifically a malacologist). Wilhelm Dunker studied mining and metallurgical engineering in Göttingen and worked at first as a trainee with the local mining authority. Soon thereafter he was appointed a teacher of mineralogical sciences at the poly-technical school in Kassel. In 1854 he was appointed professor at the University of Marburg, at which he taught up to his death. Dunker was one of the most important malacologists of his time. He had a very extensive private collection of snails and shells, which he constantly increased by exchange with other collectors (and probably also by purchases). He maintained contacts with his contemporaries Rudolph Amandus Philippi, Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer, Hugh Cuming and Johannes Albers. By exchange he also acquired numerous original specimens and types from these authors. After his death, Dunker's mollusc collection was purchased by the Prussian state and placed in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, under the curatorship of Eduard von Martens, where it remains to this day. Wilhelm Dunker wrote a large number of scientific publications on the systematics of the Mollusca and described numerous new species. In the year 1846, together with Hermann von Meyer, he founded the magazine "Palaeontographica".

Works Palaeontology

1837. Beiträge zur Kenntnis des norddeutschen Oolithgebildes. 1844. Vorläufige Diagnosen mehrerer neuer Conchylien aus der norddeutschen Liasbildung, die nächstens ausführlicher beschrieben und abgebildet werden. Zeitschrift für Malakozoologie 1: 186–188. 1846. Monographie der norddeutschen Wealdenbildung. 1846. Ueber die in dem Lias bei Halberstadt vorkommenden Versteinerungen. Palaeontographica, 1: 34–41. 1846. Diagnosen neuer Konchylien aus der norddeutschen Liasbildung. Zeitschrift für Malakozoologie 3: 168–170. 1847. Ueber die in dem Lias bei Halberstadt vorkommenden Versteinerungen (Fortsetzungen). Palaeontographica, 1: 107–112, 113–125. 1847. Ueber einige neue Versteinerungen aus verschiedenen Gebirgsformationen. Palaeontographica, 1: 128–133. 1848. Ueber die in der Molasse bei Günzburg unfern Ulm vorkommenden Conchylien und Pflanzenreste. Palaeontographica, 1:155–168. 1848. Nachtrag zu der Beschreibung der in dem Lias bei Halberstadt vorkommenden Versteinerungen. Palaeontographica, 1: 176–181. 1848. Ueber einen neuen Asteracanthus aus dem Korallenkalk des Lindener Berges bei Hannover. Palaeontographica, 1: 188–189. 1851. Ueber die im Muschelkalk von Oberschlesien bis jetzt gefundenen Mollusken. Palaeontographica, 1: 283–310. 1851. Ueber Ammonites Gervilianus, d'Orb. aus dem norddeutschen Hilsthone. Palaeontographica, 1: 324–325. 1851. Capulus Hartlebeni, eine neue Schnecke aus dem Muschelkalk der Gegend von Elze im Hannoverschen. Palaeontographica, 1: 334–334. 1851. Ammonites Buchii, v. Alb. und A. parcus, L. v. Buch aus der Cölestinschicht des Muschelkalks von Wogau bei Jena. Palaeontographica, 1: 335–336. 1856. Ueber mehrere Pflanzenreste aus dem Quadersandsteine von Blankenburg. Palaeontographica, 4: 179–183. 1862–1864. Ueber die im plastischen Thone von Grossalmerode vorkommenden Mollusken. Palaeontographica, 9: 86–90. Zoology

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Wilhelm Dunker: Wilhelm Dunker — Wilhelm Dunker

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wilhelm Dunker

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wilhelm Dunker 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 Wilhelm Dunker 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 Wilhelm Dunker 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 Wilhelm Dunker

In research: Wilhelm Dunker 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 Wilhelm Dunker 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: Wilhelm Dunker is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1809 births, 1885 deaths, 19th-century German geologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wilhelm Dunker 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 Wilhelm Dunker in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Wilhelm Dunker in simple terms?

Why does Wilhelm Dunker 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 Wilhelm Dunker?

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 Wilhelm Dunker.