EARTH SCIENCE QUIZ Flashcards
The universe is literally everything, the sum of all existence. It includes all matter, like stars and galaxies. The universe also includes all radiation and all other forms of energy.
The Origin of the Universev
“ordinary” matter
consisting of protons, electrons, and neutrons that comprises atoms, planets, stars, galaxies, and other bodies
Baryonic matter
matter that has gravity but does not emit light.
Dark matter
a source of anti-gravity; a force that counteracts gravity and causes the universe to expand.
Dark energy
an early stage in the formation of a star resulting from the gravitational collapse of gases.
Protostar
a nuclear fusion reaction (i.e., nucleosynthesis) responsible for the energy produced by stars.
Thermonuclear reaction
stars that fuse hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms in their cores; outward pressure resulting from nuclear fusion is balanced by gravitational forces
Main Sequence Stars
the distance light can travel in a year; a unit of length used to measure astronomical distance
Light years
- the building blocks of galaxies born out of clouds of gas and dust (nebula) in galaxies
- Instabilities within the clouds eventually results into gravitational collapse, rotation, heating up, and transformation to a protostar-the core of a future star as thermonuclear reactions (nucleosynthesis) set in.
Stars
clusters of billions of stars and clusters of galaxies form superclusters. In between the clusters is practically an empty space.
- Galaxy
Was first predicted by George Lemaitre, the father of Big Bang Theory
EXPANDING UNIVERSE
Universe began from a “singularity” that expanded overtime
EXPANDING UNIVERSE
nearest galaxy in the Milky Way
Andromeda constellation aka Andromeda galaxy
radial pulse
Cepheid Star
Galaxies are moving away from each other, hence as evidence for an expanding universe, just as predicted by Einstein’s
Red Shift
Abundant Elements
Hydrogen
Helium
Lithium
can explain what may be holding galaxies together for the reason that the low total mass is insufficient for gravity alone to do so
Dark matter
can explain the observed accelerating expansion of the universe.
Dark energy
Based on recent data, the universe is how many years old
13.8 billion years old.
This evidence for expansion contradicted the previously held view of a static and unchanging universe.
Theory of General Relativity.
velocities of distant objects in the universe in proportion to their distance from Earth
Hubble’s law
who discovered the CMB
Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson (1964)
Also known as relic radiation
COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND (CMB)
It maintains that new matter is created as the universe expands thereby maintaining its density. Its predictions led to tests and its eventual rejection with the discovery of the cosmic microwave background.
STEADY STATE THEORY (BONDI & GOULD, & HOYLE, 1948)
It postulates that 13.8 billion years ago, the universe expanded from a tiny, dense and hot mass to its present size and much cooler state.
BIG BANG THEORY
The big bang theory rests on two ideas:
Einstein’s General Relativity (1915) and the Cosmological Principle.
Gravity is thought of as a distortion of space-time and no longer by a gravitational field in contrast to the Law of Gravity by Newton
Einstein’s General Relativity
assumes that the universe
is homogenous and
isotropic when averaged
over large scales
Cosmological Principle
believed in
many gods and myths which
narrate that the world arose
from an infinite sea at the first
rising of the sun.
Ancient Egyptians
tell the story of a creator
god Mbombo (or Bumba) who,
alone in a dark and water-
covered Earth, felt an intense
stomach pain and then
vomited the stars, sun, and
moon.
The Kuba people of Central
Africa
in _______there is the narrative
that gods sacrificed Purusha,
the primal man whose head,
feet, eyes, and mind became
the sky, earth, sun, and moon
respectively.
India
the _____ of _______, _______ and _______claim that a supreme being
created the universe, including
man and other living
organisms.
The monotheistic religions of
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
a huge disc- and spiral-shaped
aggregation of about at least
100 billion stars and other
bodies.
Milky Way galaxy
this is where the solar system is located
Milky Way galaxy
This galaxy is about _________ across
100 million
light years
The solar system revolves
around the galactic center once
in about ________ years.
240 million
The Milky Way is part of the so-
called Local Group of galaxies,
which in turn is part of the
____________
Virgo supercluster of galaxies
Much of the mass of the Solar
System is concentrated at the
______ (Sun) while angular
momentum is held by the __________
center, outer planets.
Orbits of the planets elliptical
and are on the same plane.
Yes
Except for hydrogen, helium, inert gases, and volatiles, the universe and Earth have similar abundance especially __________________
for rock and metal elements.
The sun and the large planets have
enough gravity to retain ___________________. Rare inert gases are too light for the Earth’s gravity to retain, thus _______________.
retain hydrogen and helium, the low abundance.
Retention of volatile elements by the
Earth is consistent with the idea that
some materials that formed the Earth and the solar system were ____ and ____; otherwise, the volatiles would have been lost. These suggest that the Earth and the solar system could be derived from materials with composition similar to that of the ________.
“cold” and solid;
universe
present atmosphere is composed of
78% nitrogen (N),
21% oxygen (O2),
0.9% argon, and
trace amount of other Gases
The presence of heavy elements such as ____, _____ and ______on Earth suggests that it was derived from remnants of a supernova and that the Sun is a __________ star made by recycling materials.
lead, silver, and uranium
second-generation star
“Rotating gaseous cloud that
cools and contracts in the
middle to form the sun and the
rest into a disc that become
the planets” (Swedenborg,
Kant, & Laplace, 1700’s).
NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS
Buffon’s (1749) Sun-comet encounter that sent matter to form planet;
James Jeans’ (1917) sun-star encounter that would have drawn from the sun matter that would condense to planets,
ENCOUNTER HYPOTHESIS
The______ is the
thin gaseous layer that
envelopes the
Lithosphere
ATMOSPHERE
consists of the interior and surface of Earth, both of which are made up of rocks.
LITHOSPHERE
an important process shaping the surface of the Earth.
Plate Tectonics
is the set of all life forms on Earth.
BIOSPHERE
base of food chain.
Photosynthetic organisms
who ur husband
Thomas S. Gonzales (2007)
About 70% of the Earth is covered with liquid water _________ and much of it is in the
form of ocean water.
HYDROSPHERE
Illustrates how water is exchanged or cycled through Earth’s subsystems such as lithosphere,
HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
Water exists in three (3) phases: ______ ______ ______
solid, liquid, and gas.
is the process of a liquid’s surface changing to a gas. Liquid water evaporates and becomes water vapor.
Evaporation
also an important greenhouse gas. Together with carbon dioxide it insulates Earth and keeps the planet warm enough to maintain life.
Water vapor
is the process of a gas changing to a liquid.
Condensation
any liquid or solid water that falls to Earth
Precipitation describes
Describes a variety of ways liquid water moves across land.
RUNOFF
is the process of water vapor being released from
plants and soil.
TRANSPIRATION
is the combined components of evaporation and
transpiration, and is sometimes used to evaluate the movement of
water in the atmosphere.
Evapotranspiration
-Process where water is absorbed into the ground.
-Formation of aquifers.
INFILTRATION
Measurement of mineral’s resistance
(not specifically surface) to abrasion.
. Hardness
-Naturally occurring, inorganic solid with an orderly crystalline structure and a definite chemical composition
-Basic building blocks of rocks
MINERAL
Quality and intensity of reflected light
exhibited by the mineral.
Luster
opaque and shiny
Metallic
vitreous (glassy),
adamantine (brilliant or diamond-
like), resinous, silky, pearly, dull
(earthy), or greasy, etc.
Non-metallic
unique identifying property of
certain minerals but shares also with
others.
Color
self-colored minerals
Idiochromatic
weakly-colored or colorless, with impurities
Allochromatic
inherent color of a mineral in powdered form and can be different by surface color.
Streak
External shape of a crystal or groups of crystals is displayed or observed as these crystals grow in open spaces.
Crystal Form/Habit
mineral that do not have a crystal structure
Amorphous
-To break along parallel repetitive
planes of weakness to form smooth,
flat surfaces.
-Weak plane that developed after a
crystal is formed.
Cleavage
Minerals with no cleavages but exhibit broken surfaces that are irregular and non-planar.
Fracture
Ratio of the density of the mineral and the density of water
Specific Gravity
Certain unique properties of minerals that actually help in their identification (e.g., magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.).
Others
Mineral Groups
- Silicate (SiO4 -) -90% of rock-forming minerals
- Native Elements -form as individual elements
- Oxides (O2 -)
- Halides (F -, Cl -, Br -, I -)
- Carbonates (CO3 2-)
- Sulfates (SO4 2-)
- Sulfide (S 2-)
Common Rock-Forming Minerals
Quartz
Feldspar
Mica
- rate of cooling as one of the most important factors that control crystal size
- solidification can occur along the surface of the earth or beneath the surface of the earth
Igneous Rocks
Coarse-grained texture (slow cooling, visible crystals).
Phaneritic
Fine-grained texture (rapid cooling, small crystals).
Aphanitic
Lava cools so rapidly that crystals don’t form (e.g., obsidian).
Glassy
Two distinct crystal sizes, indicating different rates of cooling.
Porphyritic
Contains cavities formed by gas bubbles (e.g., pumice).
Vesicular
is a molten rock material beneath
the surface of the earth.
·Magma
is molten rock material extruded to
the surface of the earth through a central
vent (volcano) or a fissure eruption.
·Lava
-from solidified magma underneath the earth
-gradual lowering of temperature is indicated by the movement of magma from depth to surface causing slow cooling /crystallization
Intrusive (Plutonic) Rocks
- from solidified lava at or near the surface of the earth
- fast rate of cooling/crystallization due to huge variance in the temperature between Earth’s surface and underneath
Extrusive (Volcanic) Rocks
- these are rocks that are formed at or near the surface of the Earth
Sedimentary Rocks
Pre-existing rocks are broken down into smaller pieces by physical and chemical processes.
Weathering and Erosion:
Sediments are transported by wind, water, or ice.
Transportation
Sediments settle out of the transporting agent when energy levels decrease.
Deposition
Over time, the weight of overlying sediments compresses the lower layers.
Deposition
Dissolved minerals in groundwater precipitate between sediment grains, binding them together.
Cementation:
remains and traces of plants and animals that are preserved in rocks
Fossil Assemblages
grains, matrix and cement are the components of clastic rocks
- clastic rocks are commonly classified based on particle size
Clastic Sedimentary
evaporation and precipitation from solution or lithification of organic matter
Non-Clastic Sedimentary
pressure as main factor: occurs in areas that have undergone considerable amount of mechanical deformation and chemical
recrystallization during orogenic event which are commonly associated with mountain belts
Metamorphic Rocks
- heat and reactive fluids as main factors: occurs when a pre-existing rock gets in contact with magma which is the source of heat and magmatic fluids where metamorphic alterations and transformations occur around the contact / metamorphic aureole of the intruding magma and the rock layers.
Contact Metamorphism
pressure as main factor: occurs in areas that have undergone considerable amount of mechanical deformation and chemical recrystallization during orogenic event which are commonly associated with mountain belts
- occurs in a regional/large scale
- creates foliated metamorphic rocks
Regional Metamorphism
- constant recycling of minerals
- illustrates how geologic processes occurring both underneath and on the Earth’s surface can change a rock from one type to another.
Rock Cycle
