EARTH SCIENCE REVIEWER Flashcards
Plato and his student Aristotle –
first widely accepted idea about
the structure of the Universe.
* Geocentric Model – „Earth-centered‟
Aristotlean Universe
Heliocentrism
“Sun-centered”
The Copernican Revolution
As the currently accepted theory of the
origin and evolution of the universe, the _____ Theory 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.
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory has withstood the tests for expansion
the redshift
abundance of hydrogen, helium, and lithium,
CMBR
this was Einstein‘s favoured model after he
rejected his own original model (Einsteinian
Universe). The oscillating universe followed the
general relativity equations of the universe with
positive curvature, which results in the universe
expanding for a time and contracting due to
pull of its gravity in a perpetual cycle of Big
Bang, followed in time, BigCrunch.
Oscillating Universe (1930)
-proposed by English astronomer Fred Hoyle
and the Austrians Thomas Gold and Herman
Bondi.
-the theory predicted a universe that
expanded but did not change its density with
matter being inserted into the universe as it
expanded in order to maintain a constant
density.
Steady State Universe
-initially “many worlds” by American physicist
Hugh Everett III and Bryce DeWitt in the 1960s
and 1970s.
- sees our universe as just one of the many
“bubbles” that grew as part of a multiverse.
Multiverse
-by American physicist Alan Guth
-based on the BigBang
-he incorporated a short, early period of
exponential cosmic inflation in order to solve
the horizon and flatness problems of the
standard Big Bang model
Inflationary Universe
– matter that has gravity but do not emit light
Cold dark Matter
“ordinary matter”
– protons, electrons, neutrons, atoms, planets, stars,
galaxies, nebulae, and otherbodies
Baryonic Matter
the Universe’s rate
of expansion will increase
substantially so that everything in
it, down to the smallest atom, will
be ripped apart.
The Big Rip
– a source of anti-gravity
Dark Energy
the building block of galaxies born out of
clouds of gas and dust in galaxies.
Stars
In 1929, Edwin Hubble announced his significant
discovery of the “redshift” and its interpretation
that galaxies are moving away from each other,
hence as evidence for an expanding universe,
just as predicted by Einstein‟s Theory of General
Relativity.
* He observed that spectral lines of starlight made
to pass through a prism are shifted toward the
red part of the electromagnetic spectrum, i.e.,
toward the band of lower frequency; thus, the
inference that the star or galaxy must be moving
away from us.
Expanding Universe
the universe will stretch
forever, distributing heat evenly in
the process until none is left to be
usable enough. The universe will
slowly cool as it expands until
eventually it is unable to sustain any
life.
The Big Chill
An average star at
the center of our
solar system;
It is by far the largest
object in our solar
system;
It sheds most of the
heat and light that
makes life possible
on Earth
The Sun
predicts that,
after having expanded to its
maximum size, the Universe will
finally collapse into itself to form
the greatest black hole ever.
The Big Crunch
the universe
would simply expand and contract
(or bounce) forever.
The Big Bounce
is the largest
and most massive
planet.
It takes about 12
years for ___ to
orbit the sun.
has 79 known
moons.
Special feature-The
Great Red Spot
“Mini SolarSystem”
Jupiter
has the largest
volcano in our solar
system: Olympus Mons.
Olympus Mons is
approximately 15 miles
high.
appears red
because of iron oxide,
or rust, in its soil.
has two moons
and takes about two
years to complete an
orbit.
Mars
is the only planet
known to support living
organisms.
has one moon
and an oxygen rich
atmosphere.
Earth
Closest planet to the
sun; smallest
Mercury has a
revolution period of
88 days. Mercury has
extreme temperature
fluctuations, ranging
from 800F (daytime)
to -270F(nighttime);
Almost no
atmosphere.
Mercury
Brightest object in the
night sky (next to the
Sun and Moon);
Very hot due to large-
scale greenhouse
effect;
It takes 225 days to
complete revolve
around the sun;
Rotates on in axis 243
days (Retrograde).
Venus
It takes the ___ approximately 29 days to
complete one rotation. The same side of the
___ always faces us.
The ___ surface is covered in dust and
rocky debris from meteor impacts. It has no
water or atmosphere.
The___ reflects light from the sun onto the
earth’s surface.
Moon
is composed almost
entirely of hydrogen
and helium.
has many rings
made of ice. ___
rings are very wide.
They extend outward to
about 260,000 miles
from the surface but
are less than 1 mile
thick.
has 62 known
moons, some of which
orbit inside the rings!
It takes ___ about 30
years to orbit the sun.
Saturn
is blue in color
due to methane gas
in its atmosphere
has 11 dark rings
surrounding it.
has 27 known
moons and takes 84
years to complete
one orbit.
Special feature: It
rotate horizontally
meaning it rotate on
its side (barrel motion)
Uranus
has the
fastest winds in the
solar system: up to
2,000 km/hr.
is also blue in color
methane due to gas in its atmosphere.
takes 165
years to orbit the
sun and has 14
moons.
Neptune
5 officially recognized dwarf planets
Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris
are
either rocky or
metallic objects
that orbit the
Sun. They are
too small to
considered
planets but are
sometimes called
planetoids.
Asteroids
asteroids that are on a
collision course with Earth.
Meteoroids
streak of light created when a
meteoroid strikes our atmosphere at
high velocity and friction causes the
chunk of space matter to burn up.
Meteors
what is left that strikes the
Earth’s surface if the meteoroid does not
burn up completely.
Meteorite
small, fragile, irregular-
shaped body composed of a mixture of non- volatile grains and frozen gases.
Their orbits are
highly elliptical or
parabolic.
Comets
A large body of small
objects orbiting (the short
period comets) the Sun in
a radial zone extending
outward from the orbit of
Neptune (30 AU) to about
50 AU. Pluto maybe the
biggest of the Kuiper Belt
object.A large body of small
objects orbiting (the short
period comets) the Sun in
a radial zone extending
outward from the orbit of
Neptune (30 AU) to about
50 AU. Pluto maybe the
biggest of the Kuiper Belt
object.
Kuiper Belt
Long Period
(period > 200 Comets years)
seems to come mostly
from a spherical region at
about 50,000 AU from the
Sun.
Oort Cloud
The common theme
for these hypotheses
involves an unlikely
encounter between
the sun and other
celestial body (e.g.
comet, star,
protoplanet,
interstellar cloud)
Encounter Hypotheses
sun-comet encounter;
Buffon
sun-star encounter;
James Jeans
planetesimal hypothesis;
T.C. Chamberlain and F. R. Moulton’s
sun’s companion star
colliding with another to form a proto-planet
that breaks up to form Jupiter and Saturn;
Ray Lyttleton’s
accretion theory to form the
planets exceeds the age of the solar system;
Otto Schmidt
capture theory (a variation
of James Jeans’ near-collision hypothesis).
M.M Woolfson
In the 1700s Emanuel
Swedenborg, Immanuel
Kant, and Pierre-Simon
Laplace independently
thought of a rotating
gaseous cloud that cools
and contracts in the
middle to form the sun
and the rest into a disc
that become the planets
Nebular Hypotheses
refers to the
solid earth including minerals, rocks,
and geologic landforms
Geosphere / Lithosphere
totality of earth’s water
including the Cryosphere
Hydrosphere
mixture of gases that
surround the planet
Atmosphere
Refers to the way light reflects from the
surface of the mineral.
Luster
all life forms and even
organic matter that hasn’t decomposed
yet
Biosphere
is a naturally occurring,
inorganic solid that has a crystal structure
and a definite chemical composition
Mineral
generally opaque and exhibit a
resplendent shine similar to a polished
metal.
Metallic
vitreous (glassy),
adamantine (brilliant/diamond-like),
resinous, silky, pearly, dull (earthy),greasy,
etc.
Non-metallic
*Occurs in minerals
with a fibrous
structure.
Silky Lustre
*The mineral does not
reflect light and has
the same appearance
as soil.
Dull or Earthy Lustre
is the ability of a mineral to
resist abrasion or scratching on its
surface
Hardness
One way geologists use
relative hardness of minerals.
Moh’s scale
tells the color of a mineral’s
powder. To find the streak of a mineral
you rub the mineral against an unglazed
tile called a streak plate.
Streak color
is the external expression
of the internally ordered arrangement
of atoms.
Crystal Form/ habit
refers to the tendency of a mineral
to break along planes of weakness in the
chemical bonds, or along planes where bond
strength is the least.
Cleavage
Produced by the
intersection of three
cleavage planes
Prismatic Cleavage
The cubic crystals are
truncated across their
corners at 45° by four
cleavage planes
Octahedral Cleavage
refers to the non-planar
breakage of minerals.
Fracture
refers to the weight or
heaviness of a mineral, and it is expressed as the ratio of the mineral’s weight to an equal volume of water.
Specific Gravity
concentration of a mineral that is of scientific or technical interest
Mineral Ocurrence
mineral occurrence of sufficient size and
grade or concentration to enable extraction under the most
favorable conditions
Mineral Deposit
mineral deposit that has been tested and known to
be economically profitable to mine
Ore Deposit
rock or mineral material used as filler in cement,
asphalt, plaster, etc; generally used to describe nonmetallic
deposits
Aggregate
naturally-occurring material from which a mineral or
minerals of economic value can be extracted
Ore
Types of Mineral Deposits
METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS AND NON-METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS
Set of processes through which useful resources are
withdrawn from a stock of any nonrenewable source.
Mining
Utilized to extract ore minerals that are close to Earth’s surface; open pit mining, quarrying,
placer mining and strip mining
Surface Mining
Utilized to extract ore minerals
from the orebody is that is deep under the Earth’s surface
Underground Mining
not economically viable
unless the ore is of high grade
Sand and Gravel Extractions
huge quantities of rock
needs to be removed and discarded
Extraction from Buried Ore Bodies
producing ore minerals from ores through
crushing, separating, and purifying
Ore Processing
These are rocks that are
derived from the cooling and
solidification of magma or
lava
Igneous Rock
molten rock material
beneath the surface of the Earth
Magma
molten rock material
extruded to the surface of the
earth
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 Rocks (Plutonic)
Fragmental rocks usually
associated with violent or
explosive type of eruption
Pyroclastic 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 Phaneritic textures
Extrusive Rocks (Volcanic)
Weathering of rocks, erosion,
sediment transport and
deposition, compaction and
cementation * Rocks that are rat or near the
surface of the Earth
* Temperature and pressure at
the Earth’s surface are low,
allowing for the sedimentary
processes to happen
Sedimentary Rocks
Grains, matrix and cement are
the components of clastic
rocks
*
Commonly classified based on particle size
Classic Sedimentary
Evaporation and precipitation
from solution or lithification
Non-classic Sedimentary
Formed below the surface of
the earth through the process
of metamorphism (heat and
pressure)
* Recrystallization of minerals in
rocks due to changes in
pressure and temperature
conditions
Metamorphic Rocks
Heat and reactive fluids as
main factors * Occurs when a pre
-existing
rock gets in contact with
magma
* Metamorphic alterations and
transformations occur around
the contact / metamorphic
aureole
* Non
-foliated metamorphic rocks
Contact Metamorphism
Pressure as main factor
- Occurs in areas that have
undergone considerable
amount of mechanical
deformation and chemical
recrystallization - Foliated metamorphic rocks
Regional Metamorphism
