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Environmental Science > Chapters 1-3 > Flashcards

Chapters 1-3 Flashcards

1
Q

Scientific Method order

A
  • Observations
  • Question
  • Developing a hypothesis
  • What are consequences if hypothesis is correct Incorrect?
  • Conduct experiments
  • Conclusions
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2
Q

Nebular Hypothesis

A

Solar system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud called the solar nebula and it was composed of mostly hydrogen and helium.

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3
Q

Nebular hypothesis continued

A
  • About 5 billion years ago the nebula began to contract
  • Assumes a flat, disk shape with the protosun (pre-Sun) at the center
  • Inner planets begin to form from metallic and rocky clumps
  • Larger outer planets began forming from fragments with a high percentage of ices
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4
Q

Hydrosphere

A

Ocean – the most prominent feature of the hydrosphere
- Nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface
- About 97 percent of Earth’s water
Also includes fresh water found in streams, lakes, and glaciers, as well as that found underground

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5
Q

Atmosphere

A
  • A thin, tenuous blanket of air

- One half lies below 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles)

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6
Q

Biosphere

A
  • Includes all life
  • Concentrated near the surface in a zone that extends from the ocean floor upward for several kilometers into the atmosphere
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7
Q

Lithosphere

A

Rigid outer layer

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8
Q

System

A
  • Closed systems are self-contained (e.g., an automobile cooling system)
  • Open systems – both energy and matter flow into and out of the system (e.g., a river system)
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9
Q

Feedback Mechanisms

A
  • Negative-feedback mechanisms resist change and stabilize the system
  • Positive-feedback mechanisms enhance the change in the system. Push the system to an extreme.
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10
Q

Mineral

A
  • Natural
  • Inorganic
  • Solid
  • Possess an orderly internal structure of atoms
  • Have a definite chemical composition
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11
Q

Rock

A

any naturally occurring solid mass of mineral or mineral-like matter

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12
Q

Rock-Forming Minerals

A
  • The eight elements that compose most rock-forming minerals are oxygen (O), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg)
  • Most abundant atoms in Earth’s crust are oxygen (46.6% by weight) and silicon (27.7% by weight)
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13
Q

Rock-forming silicates

A

Most common mineral group

Contain the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron (molecule)

  • Four oxygen atoms surrounding a much smaller silicon atom
  • Combines with other atoms to form the various silicate structures
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14
Q

Igneous Rock

A

Form as Magma cools and crystallizes.

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15
Q

Plutonic/Intrusive

A

Rocks formed inside the Earth.

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16
Q

Volcanic/Extrusive

A

Rocks formed on the surface.

17
Q

Crystallization

A

Ions are arranged into orderly patterns

Crystal size is determined by the rate of cooling

  • Slow rate forms large crystals
  • Fast rate forms microscopic crystals
  • Very fast rate forms glass
18
Q

Bowen’s reaction series

A

the crystallization sequence of typical basaltic magma undergoing fractional crystallization.

19
Q

Sedimentary Rocks

A

Form from sediment (weathered products)

About 75 percent of all rock outcrops on the continents

Used to reconstruct much of Earth’s history

  • Clues to past environments
  • Provide information about sediment transport
  • Rocks often contain fossils
20
Q

Detrital Rocks

A

Material is solid particles

Classified by particle size

Common rocks include

  • Shale (most abundant)
  • Sandstone
  • Conglomerate
21
Q

Chemical Rocks

A

Derived from material that was once in solution and precipitates to form sediment

  • Directly precipitated as the result of physical processes, or
  • Through life processes (biochemical origin)

Common sedimentary rocks

  • Limestone – the most abundant chemical rock
  • Microcrystalline quartz (precipitated quartz) known as chert, flint, jasper, or agate
  • Evaporites such as rock salt or gypsum
  • Coal
22
Q

Lithification

A

How sedimentary rocks are produced

Processes

  • Compaction
  • Cementation by: Calcite, Silica, Iron Oxide.
23
Q

Bedding Plane

A

The surface that separates each successive layer of a stratified rock from its preceding layer.

24
Q

Metamorphic rocks

A

Changed form” rocks

Produced from preexisting

  • Igneous rocks
  • Sedimentary rocks
  • Other metamorphic rocks
25
Q

Metamorphism

A

Takes place where preexisting rock is subjected to temperatures and pressures unlike those in which it formed

Degrees of metamorphism

  • Exhibited by rock texture and mineralogy
  • Low-grade (e.g., shale becomes slate)
  • High-grade (obliteration of original features)
26
Q

Metamorphic Textures

A

Foliated texture

  • Minerals are in a parallel alignment
  • Minerals are perpendicular to the compressional force

Nonfoliated texture

  • Contain equidimensional crystals
  • Resembles a coarse-grained igneous rock
27
Q

Most important ore deposits are generated from hydrothermal (hot-water) solutions

A

Hot

Contain metal-rich fluids

Associated with cooling magma bodies

Types of deposits include

  • Vein deposits in fractures or bedding planes, and
  • Disseminated deposits which are distributed throughout the rock
28
Q

Rock Cycle

A

Magma cools and crystallizes into igneous rock.

Igneous weathers and erodes into sediments.

Those sediments lithify into sedimentary rocks

Those sedimentary rocks undergo heat and pressure into metamorphic rocks.

29
Q

Rock Cycle Shortcuts

A

e. g., Sedimentary rock melts
e. g., Igneous rock is metamorphosed
e. g., Sedimentary rock is weathered
e. g., Metamorphic rock weathers

Environmental Science (4 decks)

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