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Science 7 Cards > 7E: Planet Earth > Flashcards

7E: Planet Earth Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a geologist?

A

A geologist is a scientist who studies the Earth,

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2
Q

What are the four layers of the earth? Can you draw/explain a model of the earth?

A

Outside to Inside:

  1. Crust
  2. Mantle
  3. Outer Core
  4. Inner Core
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3
Q

What can you tell me about the layer of the Earth known as the crust?

A

Crust:

  • The crust is the outermost layer of the Earth. All of the mountains, valleys, plains, etc are part of this surface layer.
  • This is where all living organisms are found.
  • Because Earth is so hot in the inner core, the crust radiates heat into the atmosphere.
  • The crust is the thinnest layer at 10-90km.
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4
Q

What can you tell me about the third layer of the earth known as the outer core?

A

Outer Core:

  • This layer is entirely composed of liquid rock due to the extremely high temperatures.
  • This layer is estimated to be roughly 2200km thick.
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5
Q

What can you tell me about the innermost layer of the Earth?

A

Inner Core:

  • Geologists believe it consists mainly of solid iron and nickel. It reaches temperatures as high as 7000°C.
  • The weight of all the other layers increases the pressure in the core and this is what makes this layer a solid regardless of the high temperature.
  • It is estimated that the inner core has a radius of about 1250km.
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6
Q

What can you tell me about the mantle? Remember that even though it is one layer it can technically be split into two very different layers.

A

Mantle:

  • The mantle is the layer directly below the crust.
  • The mantle makes up about two thirds of Earth’s mass. It is estimated to be about 2900km thick.
  • The first half of the mantle is solid and combined with the crust forms a unique layer known as the lithosphere.
  • The second half of the mantle is composed of melted rock due to the increase in temperature and pressure.
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7
Q

What is the focus?

A

The first place that the rocks break below the surface.

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8
Q

What is an earthquake and what causes it?

A

Earthquakes are tremblings/vibrations in the ground caused by the sudden release of energy from rocks/plates in the Earth’s crust breaking/moving.

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9
Q

The “waves” caused by an earthquake are referred to as _____________.

A

Seismic Waves

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10
Q

What is a fault?

A

A fault is a crack in the Earth’s crust that is caused by an earthquake.

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11
Q

What is the epicenter?

A

The point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus.

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12
Q

How can we measure the magnitude or size of an earthquake?

A

We can measure the magnitude of an earthquake by using the Richter Scale. The richter scale goes from 0-10. Every increment of 1 represents an earthquake that is 10x stronger than the previous level.

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13
Q

What is a simple definition of a volcano?

A

A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s crust through which ashes, gas, and solid & molten rock escape from.

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14
Q

What is the difference between erosion and deposition?

A

Erosion: occurs when the products of weathering are transported from place to place.

Deposition: is the process of these materials being laid down or deposited by wind, water, and ice.

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15
Q

The Red Deer River begins from the crystal clear waters high in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta’s southeastern slopes. As the river travels eastward, it accumulates tremendous amounts of silt, sand, and dirt—causing the river to change from clear to chocolate brown. What is this an example of?

A

This is an example of deposition.

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16
Q

As rivers flow, they carry a load of silt, sand, mud, and gravel. What is another name for the material that is carried throughout the river and later deposited?

A

Sediment

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17
Q

True or False? Sedimentation is the process of sediments being deposited, usually at the bottom of oceans, lakes, and rivers.

A

True.

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18
Q

Landforms that are created by running water are known as

___________.

A

Fluvial landforms

(fluvial = fluid)

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19
Q

What does the term weathering refer to?

A

Weathering refers to the mechanical and chemical process that breaks down rocks by means of water, glacial ice, wind, and waves.

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20
Q

What are the 3 main types of weathering?

(Hint: m, c, b)

A
  1. Mechanical weathering
  2. Chemical weathering
  3. Biological weathering
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21
Q

What is mechanical weathering? Can you provide an example?

A

Mechanical weathering happens when rock is broken apart by physical forces, such as water or wind.

For example: the hoodoos found in Drumheller are an example of mechanical weathering. These rock formations are caused by years of constant bombardment by sand and rock particles blown into the formation by the wind.

22
Q

What is chemical weathering? Can you provide an example?

A

Chemical weathering happens when water and oxygen react with the minerals in rocks to produce new minerals.

Examples:

  • Acid rain breaking down a statue.
  • Rust/oxidization of natural iron.
23
Q

What is biological weathering? Can you provide an example?

A

Biological weathering is the wearing away of rocks by living things.The need to grow causes plants to force their roots into any small space

where a little soil has collected.

Examples:

  • Flower growing in sidewalk
  • Tree root breaking through a rock
24
Q

Use the following image to help you explain what a flood plain is.

A

A flood plain is the high water level caused by the extra water from melting snow and heavy rain. This extra water flow erodes the stream and river banks. Sediment deposits are left when the water levels return to normal.

25
Q

What are landslides? Where do they usually occur?

A

Landslides are sudden and fast movements of rocks and soil down a slope. They usually happen where soil on the side of a hill gets soaked with water. The wet soil then slides quickly down the hillside, taking with it all the vegetation. If any houses or other buildings were built there, they slide too.

26
Q

What makes up a rock?

A

The building blocks of rock are pure, naturally occurring solid materials called minerals.

27
Q

True or False? Just five minerals combine in different ways to form the majority of the rocks in Earth’s crust.

A

True.

These minerals are:

  • calcite
  • quartz
  • feldspar
  • mica
  • hornblende
28
Q

What is a “property”???

A

Properties are the features that a material or object has.

29
Q

What are some important properties that minerals have that can help us identify them?

A

For minerals, some important properties are:

  • colour
  • shape
  • lustre
  • streak
  • cleavage/fracture
  • hardness
30
Q

What is meant by the term lustre? How can it be used to tell two rocks of the same colour apart from one another?

A

Lustre is the way the surface of a mineral reflects light. Some minerals have a metallic lustre. This means they are shiny like metals, such as gold or silver. Even though two minerals may have the same colour, their lustre may help to tell them apart.

31
Q

What are some words that can be used to describe a materials lustre?

A

Some words that could be used to describe a mineral’s lustre are:

  • pearly, glassy, waxy, silky, greasy, and brilliant, metallic, shiny, dull, etc.
32
Q

What is the property of “streak” and how can we test it?

A

A mineral’s streak is the colour of the powder that it leaves behind when you rub it across a rough surface. The colour of the streak is not always the same as the colour of the mineral. Usually, geologists use an unglazed ceramic tile. They scratch a mineral sample on the plate, and the colour of that streak gives a clue as to the mineral’s identity.

33
Q

If you drop or break a mineral, you may notice the sample will break in a certain way. Knowing this explain the difference between the properties of cleavage and fracture.

A

If a mineral splits easily into two smooth surfaces, this can be described as cleavage.

In contrast to cleavage, fracture is a mineral breakage with rough and uneven surfaces.

(Note: any mineral can be fractured if enough force is applied.)

34
Q

What property does the following chart help us analyze? What is the name of this chart/scale?

A

The aforementioned picture is known as Mohs scale of hardness, and it helps us to assest the hardness of a mineral. The harder mineral will leave a scratch on the softer one. This scale consists of 10 minerals ranked in order of hardness. A diamond is the hardest mineral on this scale.

35
Q

One of the steps in identifying a rock is to identify the minerals it contains. For example, granite is made of quartz, feldspar, and mica. If you were given an unknown rock, how could you find out exactly what type of rock it was?

A

Answers will vary.

36
Q

Although there are many different kinds of rocks, all rocks can be organized into three major families or types according to how they were formed:

  • What are these 3 families called?
A
  • igneous
  • sedimentary
  • metamorphic.
37
Q

How is an igneous rock formed?

A

Igneous rocks form from hot, molten rock called magma, but by the time you hold them in your hands, they are hard and cold.

38
Q

What are two types of igneous rocks?

A

Intrusive and extrusive rocks

39
Q

Explain the difference between an intrusive igneous rock and an extrusive igneous rock.

A

Intrusive: rock formed from magma that hardened and cooled deep beneath the Earth’s surface.

Extrusive: rock formed from lava that has cooled on the Earth’s surface.

40
Q

What are sedimentary rocks and how are they formed?

A

They are “layered” rocks that form when small pieces of settle or sink down onto the rocks below them. Sometimes these pieces are made up of tiny shells from dead animals.

As more and more sediments pile up, the ones on the bottom are squeezed by the weight of the ones above. Over time, this pressure causes the sediments to turn into sedimentary rock.

41
Q

A metamorphic rock is a changed rock. What did it change from? What changed it?

A

A metamorphic rock is a result of a transformation of a pre-existing rock. The original rock is subjected to very high heat and pressure, which cause obvious physical and/or chemical changes.

42
Q

What was the original landmass called? What did it look like?

A

Scientists believe that the Earth’s continents used to fit together like a giant puzzle piece. This puzzle piece was known as Pangea.

43
Q

Explain the scientific theory(discovered by Wegener) that Pangea supports.

A

Pangea supports the idea of continental drift (continents shift apart from one another).

44
Q

What evidence did Wegener use to support his theory on continental drift? (There are 4)

A

Glossopteris Fossils—These were plants that resembled ferns. They lived about 250 million years ago. Their seeds could not have travelled across the ocean.

Folded Mountains—Similar mountain formations were found on different continents.

Glacial Deposits—Deep scratches in the rocks show that glaciers once covered this land.

Coal Deposits—Ancient tropical forests produced these coal deposits, which seem to

have once been connected.

45
Q

What is a glacier?

A

A large moving mass of ice and snow.

46
Q

What is a glacial deposit?

A

a deposition of rocks and scratches left from large glaciers shifting and melting

47
Q

The theory of “plate tectonics” describes what?

A

The idea that the continental crust is broken up into large areas called plates. These plates are moving very slowly in various directions.

48
Q

What is an oceanic ridge?

A

An underwater mountain range caused by plate tectonic movements.

49
Q

What is the difference between converging and diverging plates?

A

Diverging plates move away from each other, while converging plates move towards each other.

50
Q

What may sometimes occur when tectonic plates collide with each other?

A

Where plates collide with each other is usually a location that has either active volcanoes or occasional earthquakes.

Also:

  • Tsunamis
  • Mountain ranges formed
  • Fissures

Science 7 Cards (5 decks)

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