Question

In normal faulting...

Select one:
a. the fault blocks move in a sinistral fashion.
b. the hanging wall rises relative to the foot wall.
c. scarps do not form.
d. the hanging wall drops relative to the foot wall.
e. the fault blocks move in a dextral fashion.

Answer 1

In normal faulting, the hanging wall drops relative to the footwall, a process associated with tectonic extension and rifting. Hence, the correct answer is option D.

Step-by-step explanation:

In normal faulting, the correct answer is d. the hanging wall drops relative to the foot wall. In a normal fault, tectonic forces cause the lithosphere to extend leading to one side of a non-vertical fault sliding downward in comparison to the other side. The block above the fault is the hanging wall, which moves downward, and the block below is the footwall. This is often associated with rifting and can lead to the formation of geological features such as rift valleys.

Contrastingly, other fault types such as reverse faults, thrust faults, and strike-slip faults have different mechanisms and movements. In a reverse or thrust fault, the hanging wall moves upwards, not downwards as in normal faults. When it comes to strike-slip faults, the movement is horizontal rather than vertical, and can either be dextral (right-lateral) or sinistral (left-lateral), depending on the direction of the displacement as you face the fault.