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UPCAT 2024 > Earth Science > Flashcards

Earth Science Flashcards

(53 cards)

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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?

Study These Flashcards
A

large scale deformation

23
Q

What is the difference between weathering and erosion?

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A

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

24
Q

What are seismic waves?

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A

sudden movements

25
What are 2 types of seismic waves?
1. Surface (love) waves: travel through surface of earth (e.g. ripples of water) 2. Body waves: travel through Earth's inner layers
26
What are the 2 kinds of body waves?
1. P-wave: can move through solid, liquid, gas 2. S-wave: can move through solid
27
List the earth's layers from least to most dense.
1. Continental crust 2. Oceanic (Basaltic) crust 3. Asthenosphere (upper mantle) 4. Lower Mantle 5. Outer Core 6. Inner Core (Densest): 98% metallic
28
What layer is known as the "high pressure, high temperature" and "magma zone" of the earth?
Upper mantle
29
How do scientist know that there is a solid and liquid zone at the Earth's layers?
seismic waves slow down in liquid zones + volcanic activity
30
What is the difference between "focus" and "epicenter"?
Focus: exact location Epicenter: projection at Earth's surface
31
What is a subduction zone?
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
What is the Continental Drift Theory (Wegner)?
the continental landmasses were “drifting” across the Earth, sometimes plowing through oceans and into each other.
33
What did Wegner propose about continents?
continents were once united into a single supercontinent named Pangaea
34
What evidence was used to prove Wegner's theory?
Sea Floor Spreading
35
What is sea floor spreading?
oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones, known collectively as the "mid-ocean ridges", and spreads out laterally away from them.
36
Explain Carbon-14 dating?
After specimen dies, it stops emitting carbon 14. Scientists use this as a point of reference. (Decayed/Undecayed = predictable rate)
37
What is the plate tectonic theory?
- 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
What are the three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries?
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
What is the movement of the Earth's rotation on its axis?
clockwise
40
What is the movement of the Earth's revolution?
counter-clockwise
41
What are the characteristics of extrusive igneous rocks?
1. small crystals (i.e. "aphanitic" = cannot be seen by the naked eye) 2. rapid cooling
42
What are the characteristics of intrusive igneous rocks?
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
What is the most abundant mineral at earth's crust?
silicates (sand)
44
What is "specific heat" requirement?
amount of heat requirement for a substance to increase 1°C. note: S.H. is intrinsic
45
What are thermal trench?
Mid-Oceanic Ridge: part of oceanic crust moving away each other via convection current (its also Divergent)
46
Explain the relationship between the Earth and Sun's gravity?
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
Why is Polaris used as a celestial reference point for the Earth's latitude system?
because it is located over the Earth's axis
48
Rocks are classified based on _________.
How they were formed
49
what are sedimentary rocks?
rocks formed from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms
50
what are metamorphic rocks?
rocks formed by high heat, high pressure
51
what are igneous rocks?
form when magma (molten rock) cools and crystallizes
52
What is the earth's core made of?
iron and nickel
53
What is low and high pressure air?
low pressure: wet, at warm areas of ocean, rising high pressure: dry, at cool areas of ocean, sinking

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