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UPCAT 2024 > Earth Science > Flashcards

Earth Science Flashcards

1
Q

What is “saturation point”?

A

a stage in which no more substance can be absorbed (hint: clouds).

implication: precipitation happens because it needs to make space for new vapor (hint: grey clouds, rain)

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2
Q

What happens if sunlight hits the earth?

A

absorption, scattering, reflection (of sun light)

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3
Q

What is a “dew point”?

A

temperature at which saturation occurs

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4
Q

What happens during “half-life”?

A

time taken for a radioactive substance to “halve” its quantity

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5
Q

Why is “half-life” considered to be independent?

A

because it is an intrinsic value

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6
Q

What is erosion?

A

removal of the top soil (external) –> thick line at diagram)

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7
Q

What is faulting?

A

zone of fracture at the earth’s crust

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8
Q

What is the most common type of faulting in the Philippines?

A

strike-slip fault

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9
Q

What is the movement of normal faulting?

A

land masses “move away” from each other and one slips down (depressed)

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10
Q

What is the movement of reverse faulting?

A

land masses move “towards each other” , one moves up

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11
Q

What is the movement of strike-slip faulting?

A

land masses “slide” past each other

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12
Q

What is igneous intrusion?

A

igneous rock formed deep within the layers of sedimentary rocks/crust

explanation: magma that didn’t become lava and cooled down. It didn’t reach the surface.

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13
Q

What is folding?

A

Rocks curve/bend during deformation

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14
Q

What is anticline?

A

high point of folding

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15
Q

What is syncline?

A

low point of folding

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16
Q

What are uncomformities?

A

a break in time in an otherwise continuous rock record.

(gap in geological record)

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17
Q

What is cleavage?

A

plane of weakness at a material

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18
Q

What is hardness?

A

resistance of material to damage

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19
Q

What is fluorescence?

A

ability to glow after exposure to UV light

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20
Q

What is radiation?

A

material that emits radiation

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21
Q

What is the difference between fusion and fission?

A

Fusion: atoms fuse to make big atomic nuclei
Fission: atoms split

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22
Q

what is diastrophism?

A

large scale deformation

23
Q

What is the difference between weathering and erosion?

A

Erosion: top soil only
Weathering: can be chemical and physical

24
Q

What are seismic waves?

A

sudden movements

25
Q

What are 2 types of seismic waves?

A
  1. Surface (love) waves: travel through surface of earth (e.g. ripples of water)
  2. Body waves: travel through Earth’s inner layers
26
Q

What are the 2 kinds of body waves?

A
  1. P-wave: can move through solid, liquid, gas
  2. S-wave: can move through solid
27
Q

List the earth’s layers from least to most dense.

A
  1. Continental crust
  2. Oceanic (Basaltic) crust
  3. Asthenosphere (upper mantle)
  4. Lower Mantle
  5. Outer Core
  6. Inner Core (Densest): 98% metallic
28
Q

What layer is known as the “high pressure, high temperature” and “magma zone” of the earth?

A

Upper mantle

29
Q

How do scientist know that there is a solid and liquid zone at the Earth’s layers?

A

seismic waves slow down in liquid zones + volcanic activity

30
Q

What is the difference between “focus” and “epicenter”?

A

Focus: exact location
Epicenter: projection at Earth’s surface

31
Q

What is a subduction zone?

A

region in which a portion of a tectonic plate sinks beneath another plate into the upper mantle.

Implications:
1. sinking plate disintegrates into molten lava
2. trenches
3. High pressure going up continental plate creates volcanos/mountains

note: oceanic crust sinks because it is denser

32
Q

What is the Continental Drift Theory (Wegner)?

A

the continental landmasses were “drifting” across the Earth, sometimes plowing through oceans and into each other.

33
Q

What did Wegner propose about continents?

A

continents were once united into a single supercontinent named Pangaea

34
Q

What evidence was used to prove Wegner’s theory?

A

Sea Floor Spreading

35
Q

What is sea floor spreading?

A

oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones, known collectively as the “mid-ocean ridges”, and spreads out laterally away from them.

36
Q

Explain Carbon-14 dating?

A

After specimen dies, it stops emitting carbon 14. Scientists use this as a point of reference.

(Decayed/Undecayed = predictable rate)

37
Q

What is the plate tectonic theory?

A
  • explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth’s subterranean movements.
  • theory that states that Earth’s outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle.
38
Q

What are the three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries?

A
  1. Convergent: colliding plates
    • causes the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into a mountain ranges or one of the plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench (e.g. Pacific Ring of Fire)
  2. Divergent: two plates move away from each other
    • magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth’s mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust (e.g. Mid-Atlantic Ridge)
  3. Transform: Two plates sliding past each other (e.g. San Andres fault zone)
    • crust is not created or destroyed
39
Q

What is the movement of the Earth’s rotation on its axis?

A

clockwise

40
Q

What is the movement of the Earth’s revolution?

A

counter-clockwise

41
Q

What are the characteristics of extrusive igneous rocks?

A
  1. small crystals (i.e. “aphanitic” = cannot be seen by the naked eye)
  2. rapid cooling
42
Q

What are the characteristics of intrusive igneous rocks?

A
  1. course/ large crystals (i.e. “phaneritic = can be seen by naked eye)
  2. slow cooling - underneath earth’s surface; not exposed to air
43
Q

What is the most abundant mineral at earth’s crust?

A

silicates (sand)

44
Q

What is “specific heat” requirement?

A

amount of heat requirement for a substance to increase 1°C.
note: S.H. is intrinsic

45
Q

What are thermal trench?

A

Mid-Oceanic Ridge: part of oceanic crust moving away each other via convection current (its also Divergent)

46
Q

Explain the relationship between the Earth and Sun’s gravity?

A

Newton’s Law of Gravitation:
- Gravitational Force = (Gravitational Constant × Mass of first object × Mass of the second object) / (Distance between the center of two bodies)^2.

Translate: ALL objects attract in proportion to the product of their masses & the square of their distance

47
Q

Why is Polaris used as a celestial reference point for the Earth’s latitude system?

A

because it is located over the Earth’s axis

48
Q

Rocks are classified based on _________.

A

How they were formed

49
Q

what are sedimentary rocks?

A

rocks formed from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms

50
Q

what are metamorphic rocks?

A

rocks formed by high heat, high pressure

51
Q

what are igneous rocks?

A

form when magma (molten rock) cools and crystallizes

52
Q

What is the earth’s core made of?

A

iron and nickel

53
Q

What is low and high pressure air?

A

low pressure: wet, at warm areas of ocean, rising
high pressure: dry, at cool areas of ocean, sinking

UPCAT 2024 (3 decks)

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