Back to the full dot-point answer
EnglandGeologyQuick questions
Geological structures and deformation
Quick questions on Joints and unconformities: fractures without movement and gaps in the rock record - Eduqas GCSE Geology
6short 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 are joints?Show answer
A joint is a crack or fracture in a rock along which no movement has taken place (this is the key difference from a fault). Joints form by:
What are unconformities?Show answer
An unconformity is a buried surface of erosion that separates older rocks below from younger rocks above, with a gap in time between them. During that gap, deposition stopped and erosion removed some rock, so part of the geological history is simply missing at that point.
What is reading them to reconstruct history?Show answer
Joints and unconformities are read alongside folds and faults to work out the order of events:
What is q1?Show answer
State the key difference between a joint and a fault. [1 mark]
What is q2?Show answer
List two processes that can form joints in rocks. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
State what an unconformity tells you about the geological history of an area. [2 marks]
Have a question we have not covered?
This dot-point answer is short enough that we have not extracted many short questions yet. Read the full dot-point answer or ask Mo, our study assistant, in the chat for follow ups.