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Geological structures and deformation
Quick questions on Dip and strike: the orientation of a tilted bed and the dip and strike symbol - Eduqas GCSE Geology
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is dip?Show answer
When beds are tilted by Earth movements, the dip describes how steeply they slope. Dip is the angle the bedding makes with the horizontal, measured down the line of steepest slope (the direction water would run). It is recorded as an amount (for example ) and a direction (for example towards the south-east). A horizontal bed has a dip of ; a vertical bed dips at .
What is strike?Show answer
The strike is the compass bearing of a horizontal line drawn on the surface of the tilted bed. Because that line is level, the strike has no angle of slope, only a direction. Crucially, the strike is always at right angles (90 degrees) to the dip direction. Picture a tilted table top: water runs off in the dip direction, and the level edge across the slope is the strike, perpendicular to it.
What is q1?Show answer
Define strike and state its angular relationship to the dip direction. [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
A bed dips at , but a cross-section shows an apparent dip of . What does this tell you about the direction of the section? [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
State how the outcrop width of a steeply dipping bed compares with that of a gently dipping bed of the same thickness. [1 mark]
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