Which statement best describes the effect of doubling the vertical scale on the apparent dip angle in a cross-section?

• A. The apparent dip becomes steeper
• B. The apparent dip remains unchanged
• C. The apparent dip becomes shallower
• D. The apparent dip increases numerically but not angle-wise

Answer: (A)

Doubling the vertical scale changes the apparent dip because the apparent dip is the angle a bed line makes in the cross-section drawing, which is created with a vertical scale applied to represent vertical distances. When you increase the vertical exaggeration, vertical changes are depicted as larger relative to horizontal ones, so the bed line appears steeper. Mathematically, if tan of the true dip is multiplied by the exaggeration factor, the apparent dip angle increases (tan of the apparent dip becomes 2 times tan of the true dip when vertical scale is doubled). The true dip hasn’t changed; the representation has become steeper.