Question

A fracture in the crust of the Earth is called ___________ .
Crack
Fault
Valley
None of the above

Answer 1

Hint:A fracture refers to any kind of discontinuity or split in a geological surface. The terms - crack, fault and valley refer to some kind of deformation caused to the surface of the Earth. The deformation can be a break or an elongation of the surface of the Earth.

Complete step by step answer.
Step 1: Explain the terms- crack, fault and valley.
A crack refers to a break or brittle discontinuity on a surface that causes the surface to get torn open as the crack is created. These cracks in rocks are called fractures.

Faults are fractures formed on the crust of the Earth where the cracks have caused the sides of the rocks to slide past each other. The rocks on either side of a fracture are called fault blocks. The lithosphere of the Earth is continuously being pushed and pulled and stretched and squeezed. These kinds of movements force the rocks to crack and sometimes split. This is called fracturing. Once this occurs, the rocks on either side of the
fracture can slide past one another by applying an additional force.

A valley is a stretched depression of the surface of the Earth. They are caused due to the combined effect of the gravitational force, water and ice.
Therefore, a fracture in the crust of the Earth is called a fault.

So the correct option is b.

Additional information:The sliding surface along which the rocks slide past one another is called the fault plane and the amount of sliding is called slip. Faults are of different types, namely strike-slip fault, normal fault and thrust faults. A sudden slip on a fault leads to earthquakes.

Note:A crack in a rock is called a fracture. So a crack can lead to the formation of a fault if there is a movement of rocks relative to one other involved.