Chapter 1

Question 1

What is Science?

Answer 1

A systematic approach to studying the natural world.

Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and
understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic
methodology based on evidence.

Question 2

Scientific methodology includes the following

Answer 2

*Objective observation: Measurement and data (possibly although not
necessarily using mathematics as a tool)
* Evidence
* Experiment and/or observation as benchmarks for testing hypotheses
* Induction: reasoning to establish general rules or conclusions drawn from
facts or examples
* Repetition
* Critical analysis
* Verification and testing: critical exposure to scrutiny, peer review and
assessment

Question 3

Scientific method

Answer 3

The way a scientist
approaches a problem.
the steps include
1. observing
2. formulating a hypothesis
3 .testing the hypothesis
4. evaluating results.

Question 4

Hypothesis

Question 5

Theory

Answer 5

A hypothesis that has been tested and is strongly supported
by experimentation, observation, and scientific evidence.

Question 6

Earth System Science

Answer 6

more all-inclusive view of geology - study of all system - the atmosphere, the oceans, mountain range, volcanos

Question 7

A System

Answer 7

A portion of the universe that can be isolated for the purpose of observing and measuring change.

Question 8

An Open System

Answer 8

can exchange both matter and energy across its boundaries.

An island offers a simple example that allows matters and engergy to cross its boundaries

Question 9

A closed System

Answer 9

has boundaries that do not allow any matter to enter or escape the system. The boundaries may (and in the real world, always do) allow energy, such as sunlight, to pass through.

An example of a closed system would be a perfectly sealed oven, which would allow the material inside to be heated but would not allow any of that material to escape.

Question 10

Earth’s Interconnected Sub Systems

Answer 10

The Earth system can be divided into four very
large subsystems:
1. The geospsere - The solid Earth, as a whole.
2. The Biospsere - The system consisting of all living and recently dead
organisms on Earth.
3. The Atmosphere - The envelope of gases that surrounds Earth.
4. hydrosphere - The system comprising all of Earth’s bodies of water and ice, both on the surface and underground.

Question 11

Litmosphere

Answer 11

Earth’s rocky outermost layer - the outermost part of the
geosphere

Question 12

Three interrelated Earth cycles

Answer 12

1. Hydrologic Cycle (Water cycle) - A model that describes the movement of water through the reservoirs of the Earth system; the water cycle.
2. Rock Cycle - The set of crustal processes that form new rock, modify it, transport it, and break it down.
3. Tectonic Cycle - Movements and interactions in the geosphere and the
   internal Earth processes that drive them.

Question 13

What is Geology?

Answer 13

The scientific study of the Earth.

Geology is the study of planet Earth – the materials of which it is made, the
processes that modify these materials, the resulting products, and the history
of the planet and the life forms it has sustained since its formation c. 4.55
billion years ago.

Geology considers the physical forces that act on the Earth, the chemistry of
its constituent materials including rocks, minerals, soils and water, and the
biology of its past inhabitants as revealed by fossils

The knowledge thus obtained is placed in the service of humanity – to aid in
the discovery of energy and mineral resources in the Earth’s crust, to identify
and optimize land usage for agriculture and other activities, to identify
geologically stable sites for major structures/development, and to inform
society concerning the hazards associated with living on an active, dynamic
planet.

Question 14

What is Earth System Science?

Answer 14

The study of the interconnected components of our environment—the
atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere—and how they
interact to produce an integrated whole.

Earth System Science (ESS) is a rapidly emerging transdisciplinary endeavour
aimed at understanding the structure and functioning of the Earth as a complex,
adaptive system

Question 15

Branches of Geology?

Answer 15

1.Physical geology
2. Historical geology

Question 16

Physical geology?

Answer 16

understanding the processes that operate at or beneath the surface of Earth and the
materials on which those processes operate.

Examples - Mountains, buildings, volcanic eruptions, river, oceans

Question 17

Historical geology?

Answer 17

the sequence of events that have occurred in the past.
These events can be inferred from the evidence left in Earth’s
rocks.

Question 18

Harrison (Jack) Schmitt

Answer 18

planetary geologist, is
the only scientist (so far) to walk on the Moon, for
the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Here, he is collecting a lunar
sample to take back to Earth.

Question 19

Climatologists

Answer 19

A person that studies climate change - ice, sand

Question 20

A seismologist

Answer 20

A person that studies earthquakes

Question 21

Volcanologists

Answer 21

A person that studies volacanos - sounds, heat of the erruption

Question 22

Solar System

Answer 22

consists of the Sun and the group of objects in orbit around it.
146 known moons and 27 provisional moons, at least eight dwarf planets, a vast number of
asteroids and comets, and innumerable fragments of rock and dust

Question 23

Planets

Answer 23

There eight planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

(My Very Educated Mother Just served us Noodles)

Question 24

Requirement to be planet (international scientific agreement (2006))

Answer 24

• be in orbit around the Sun
• be large enough that it takes on a nearly round shape
• have cleared its orbit of other objects

Question 25

Exoplanets

Answer 25

planets in solar systems outside of our own—have been confirmed by NASA, with thousands of additional candidates

Question 26

Terrestrial Planets (Small, rocky, and dense)

Answer 26

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,

Question 27

Jovian Planets (Large, less dense)

Answer 27

Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus

Question 28

Kuiper Belt objects

Answer 28

Pluto-like bodies beyond in the orbit of Neptune

Question 29

Dwarf planet (Pluto like bodies)

Answer 29

an object that orbits the Sun, is large enough that its own gravity has pulled it into a spherical shape, but its gravity is too small to have “cleared the neighborhood around its orbit” by gravitational attraction of surrounding debris.

Question 30

How The solar system was formed

Answer 30

1. Cloud of matter (nebula) begins to contract gravitationally. Process may have been initiated or accelerated by shock waves from supernova explosion (not shown).

2.As gas cloud contracts, it spins faster and faster, forming a central bulge and a wide disk.

3.Contraction raises temperature; process of nuclear fusion begins in central bulge—Sun begins to shine. Outer disk cools—now contains wide swath of rocky debris. Larger chunks of debris begin to attract smaller chunks by gravity, thereby growing larger (accretion).

Question 31

The nebular hypothesis

Answer 31

originally formulated by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in 1755 and now widely accepted as the best description of planetary formation, hypothesizes that the solar system coalesced out of a swirling cloud of interstellar dust and gas called a nebula

Question 32

fusion

Answer 32

When the gases at the center of the cloud of gas and dust became sufficiently hot and dense, an energy-producing nuclear reaction called fusion began, and our Sun was born.

The process of fusion, which combines hydrogen atoms to form helium, has powered the Sun for 4.56 billion years and will continue to power it for billions of years into the future

Question 33

Planetary accretion

Answer 33

a 20th-century supplement to the nebular hypothesis, accounts for the existence of meteoroids and asteroids. According to the accretion hypothesis, the outer portions of the solar nebula cooled as it flattened out into a disk of rocky, metallic, and icy debris before any of the planets were formed

Question 34

Meteorite, Meteors, Meteorites

Answer 34

1. Meteorite - A fragment of extraterrestrial material that falls to Earth. (pieces of debris that fall to earth)
2. Meteors - if they burn up in the atmosphere
3. Meteorites if they reach Earth’s surface.

Question 35

differentiation (the formation of crust, mantle and core of Earth)

Answer 35

During the period of partial melting, terrestrial planets separated into layers of differing chemical composition, a process called differentiation. Earth’s geosphere differentiated

into three layers:
1. a relatively thin, low-density, rocky crust;
2 .a rocky, intermediate-density Mantle;
3.a metallic, high-density Core.

Question 36

How Earth’s moon Formed

Answer 36

Eartrh Collided with Theia and regrouped the clumps and dust into the moon as we know

Question 37

basalt

Answer 37

the terrestrial planets. All of them have experienced volcanic activity, which means they have or once had internal heat sources. The volcanism is dominated by the eruption of lava that cools to form a volcanic rock called basalt

Question 38

weathering

Answer 38

The nature of Earth’s solid surface is another special characteristic. Earth is covered by an irregular blanket of loose debris formed as a result of weathering

Question 39

regolith (soil, river mud, desert sand, rock fragments, and other unconsolidated debris.)

Answer 39

the chemical alteration and mechanical breakdown of rock caused by exposure to water, air, and living organisms. This layer is called regolith (from the Greek words for “blanket” and
“stone”). It includes soil, river mud, desert sand, rock fragments, and other unconsolidated debris. Earth’s regolith is unique because it teems with life

Question 40

Why is Earth Unique

Answer 40

Regolith and weathering - has created Earth surface
Plate tectonic - Has shaped continent

Question 41

Earth Vs its closest neighbours

Answer 41