Chapter 6 - 7: Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Earth and Space Flashcards
What does the Lithosphere consist of?
Minerals and Rocks
What is a Mineral?
Solid inorganic substance with atoms that are extremely organized
True or false? Minerals can be made up of one or several elements
True
What are three ways minerals can be classified?
- Color
- Transparency
- Hardness
How do you identify a mineral by color?
Determin if the mineral is idiochromatic or allochromatic by its streak.
What is the difference of idiocrhomatic and allochromatic?
Idochromic the streak of the mineral being the same color of the mineral, while allochromic is the streak being different.
How do you identify a mineral by transparency?
— By the ability to pass light through it: Transparent, Translucent, Opaque
What is the difference of Transparent, Translucent, Opaque minerals?
- Transparent : Light passes through completely
- Translucent: Light partially passes through
- Opaque: Light does not pass through
How do you measure a minerals’ hardness?
It’s resistance to being scratched (the Mohs scale)
What is any material extracted from a mine called?
Ore
What is a deposit (from a mine)
Large quantities of minerals
What is a mine called
Open pit mine
What is a drift mine
Horizontal mine
What are the three types of rocks?
Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic
What is an igneous rock?
Rock formed when magma cools and solidifies
What is a sedimentary rock?
Rocks formed by the accumulation and compaction of debris
What is a metamorphic rock?
Rocks that were originally igneous or sedimentary that were transformed by heat or pressure
Where does soil come from?
Parent rock which has been warned down and turned into smaller fragments by wind, rain, and frost mixed with dead organic matter
What is a soil Horizons
The layers of soil
What are the five soil horizens in order?
- Organic matter
- Topsoil
- Sub soil
- Fragmented Parent rock
- Unaltered parent rock
What are the three conditions nessacary for plant life
- Sufficient amount of minerals
- Enough moisture
- Appropriate soil PH
What is the criteria for permafrost?
Ground that has been 0*C or below for at least two years
What is the active layer of permafrost?
The top layer that is able to thaw in the summer and freezes again in the winter
What is permafrosts impact on climate change regarding the ground?
- Due to increasing temperature’s permafrost is starting to thaw causing the once frozen land to be unstable which results in landslides.
What is permafrosts impact on climate change regarding the atmosphere?
Permafrost stores a lot of carbon, when it melts it is released in the form of methane, a GHG responsible for warming the planet. Aggravating the plant.
What are the three energy resources the lithosphere supplies?
- Fossil Fuels
- Uranium
- Geothermic
What is fossil fuels (oil and natural gas)
Energy in the form of oil that comes from the decompision of marine animals and algee that died and sank to the sea floor, slowly turning into oil and natural gas.
What is coal, where did it come from?
Coal comes from terrestrial plants that once grew millions of years ago in swamps.
What are consequences of fossil fuels
- CO2 is released
- Acid rain
- Non-renewable and will eventually run out
What is nuclear (uranium) energy
The splitting a nucleus (fission) of a uranium atom produces a large
amount of energy called nuclear energy, with no GHG emission.
What are the consequences of uranium use?
- Radiation
- Radioactive waste
What is geothermal energy?
Energy that comes from the internal heat of the earth