Class lecture notes Flashcards
Heliocentric Universe
Sun Centered
Geocentric Universe
Earth Centered
Occam’s Razor
The simple explanation is usually the right one
What are Waves?
Disturbances that transmit energy
What is a Wavelength?
Distance between 2 crests or trough
What’s the Doppler Effect?
An ambulance moving towards you has higher pitch than after it passes you
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Colors visible to the human eye. 99.9% is not visible.
What is Red Light
Low frequency=long wavelength
What is Blue light
High Frequency=Short wavelength
What is a Red Shift
Light source moving away an observer appears redder
What is a Blue shift
Light source moving towards an observer appears bluer
What was the Big Bang
All matter and energy compressed to a single point and then exploded to form the universe
What is a Atom
Smallest building block of all matter. Made up of electrons, protons, and neutrons.
Atomic number
Number of protons in the nucleus
Atomic mass
Protons + Neutrons
What is an Isotope
Element with the same number of protons and electrons but a different number of neutrons
Nuclear fission
Splitting of an atom to release energy
Nuclear fusion
Atomic nuclei combine to produce a new element and a lot of energy
STELLAR Nucleosynthesis
Nuclear fusion within stars to form new elements
SUPERNOVA Nucleosynthesis
When a star dies it produces heavier elements
What is the Oort cloud
Region of icy objects that exist beyond the outmost reaches of the solar system
What’s a Heliosphere
Bubble of plasma and magnetic fields
Kuiper belt
Comets originate from the belt with Neptune’s orbit being the inner edge
What does Neptune’s orbit define?
Defines interplanetary space
What is the Nebular theory
Explains the formation of our sun and planetesimals
Inner planets
Small and rocky: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Outer planets
Gas giants. Large, gassy, and icy.
How did the atmosphere and ocean form?
Atmosphere developed from volcanic gases
What makes the Earth Habitable
Not too close/far from the sun and has a good magnetic field
Why Mars is NOT habitable
No magnetic field and no water
Why Venus is NOT habitable
Runaway greenhouse effect, thicker atmosphere, and it is way too hot
Earth’s magnetosphere
Deflects most of the solar wind
Van Allen Radiation Belt
Region that traps charged particles produced by solar wind
Geodynamo
Helps produce Earth’s magnetic field. The field is produced by churning of liquid iron in Earth’s outer core
What percentage of the Earth is Land vs Sea
30% dry land and 70% ocean.
What is Pangea
Super continent that broke up and drifted
Where is ocean crust formed (Seafloor spreading)
New Ocean crust is formed at mid ocean ridges
What happens within Subduction zones
Old oceanic lithosphere is subducted beneath continents and occasionally oceans
What is Paleomagnetism
Iron rich materials record the orientation and intensity of earths magnetic field
Magnetic field flips how often?
450,000 years
What are Chrons
Longer intervals
What are Subchrons
Shorter intervals
What is the youngest sea floor
Mid ocean ridges
How old is the oldest sea floor
250 MA
Divergent boundary
Plates spread apart
Convergent boundary
Plates come together
Transform boundary
Plates slide past eachother
What has the Same DENSITY but different MASS
Mountain belts
What has the same MASS but a different DENSITY
Mid ocean ridges
What are Tectonic plates
large, rigid pieces of Earth’s crust and upper mantle that move slowly over time
What is Continental rifting
Continental lithosphere can sometimes break apart
Rifting produces what?
Volcanos and Earthquakes
Rifting LEADS to what?
Sea floor spreading
What is Subduction
Denser lithosphere dives below less dense lithosphere
What are Plumes
Upwelling of hot mantle material. Originate in the core mantle boundary below hotspots.
