Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-year-2-of-the-earth-sciences-geology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2022/paper-1/2/b/solution
Past exam of the year 2 of the earth sciences (geology) course of the University of Oxford 2022 Paper 1 2 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Use the same conditional optimal normal-fault dip relation as in question 1, with :The second panel of the original Mohr circle figure has and ; its tangent from the origin has slope . Resolving the stresses onto a plane places its stress point at that tangency. The diagram assumes negligible cohesion, a vertical maximum principal stress and an optimally oriented new or equivalently oriented sliding plane. Without those assumptions, a dip and a statement that sliding began do not uniquely determine the coefficient of friction.
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