Briefly explain how the Hawaiian Island chain formed. The ...

[michelleunicorn]

Briefly explain how the Hawaiian Island chain formed. The definitions of hot spot and mantle plume should be included in your explanation.

Question 2

Suppose an isotope has a half-life of 50 million years, and 1/8 of the sample remaining consists of that isotope. What is the age of the rock from which it was taken?
 A)150 million years
 B)300 million years
 C)400 million years
 D)600 million years
 E)800 million years

[jesse.fleming]

Answer to Question 1

The Hawaiian Island chain formed as the Pacific plate traveled over a hot spot on the Earth's surface created by a mantle plume. A hot spot is a location on Earth's surface where a stationary column of magma, originating deep within the mantle--a mantle plume, has slowly risen to the surface and formed a volcano. Because the mantle plumes apparently remain stationary within the mantle while the plates move over them, the resulting hot spots leave a trail of extinct and progressively older volcanoes. This trail of extinct volcanoes is the Hawaiian Island chain.

Answer to Question 2

A