ESS197 final exam

Question 1

the three parts of the earth are:

Answer 1

core, mantle, crust.

Question 2

describe the core.

Answer 2

• made out of two main parts, a solid inner core and a liquid outer core
• the center of our planet
• up to 55 000 C

Question 3

what is the outer core of the earth made of?

Answer 3

mostly nickel, iron, and molten rock.

Question 4

describe the mantle.

Answer 4

• between the core and the crust.
• about 2900 km thick.
• the top part of the mantle and the crust form the lithosphere.

Question 5

what is the mantle made of?

Answer 5

dense, iron and magnesium-rich rock.

Question 6

describe the crust.

Answer 6

• the top, outermost layer of the earth.
• two types of crust, oceanic and continental.

Question 7

describe oceanic crust.

Answer 7

denser and thinner; made mostly out of basalt.

Question 8

describe continental crust.

Answer 8

less dense and thicker; made mostly out of granite.

Question 9

is continental crust thicker or thinner than oceanic crust?

Answer 9

thicker.

Question 10

is continental crust more or less dense than oceanic crust?

Answer 10

less.

Question 11

geologic time scale is define as:

Answer 11

a representation of time on the geological record.

Question 12

the four eons, in order from oldest to youngest, are:

Answer 12

hadean, archean, proterozoic, and phanerozoic.

Question 13

the three eras in the phanerozoic eon, from oldest to youngest, are:

Answer 13

paleozoic, mesozoic, and cenozoic.

Question 14

the periods in the paleozoic era, from oldest to youngest, are:

Answer 14

cambrian, ordovician, silurian, devonian, carboniferous, and permian.

Question 15

the periods in the mesozoic era, from oldest to youngest, are:

Answer 15

triassic, jurassic, and cretateous.

Question 16

the periods in the cenozoic era, from oldest to youngest, are:

Answer 16

tertiary and quaternary.

Question 17

how many periods are there?

Answer 17

eleven.

Question 18

the cambrian period is known for:

Answer 18

invertebrate animals and brachiopods.

Question 19

the ordovician period is known for:

Answer 19

early bony fish.

Question 20

the silurian period is known for:

Answer 20

earliest land animals.

Question 21

the devonian period is known for:

Answer 21

first seed plants.

Question 22

the carboniferous period is known for:

Answer 22

first insects.

Question 23

the permian period is known for:

Answer 23

first reptiles.

Question 24

the triassic period is known for:

Answer 24

first dinosaurs.

Question 25

the jurrasic period is known for:

Answer 25

first birds.

Question 26

the cretaceous period is known for:

Answer 26

modern seed plants, dinosaurs.

Question 27

the tertiary period is known for:

Answer 27

rise in mammals.

Question 28

the quaternary period is known for:

Answer 28

the age of the humans.

Question 29

the theory of plate tectonics states that:

Answer 29

earth's lithosphere is divided into multiple plates that move around and make contact with each other.

Question 30

the rock cycle is:

Answer 30

a series of processes that transform one type of rock into another.

Question 31

the three types of rock in the rock cycle are:

Answer 31

igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary.

Question 32

igneous rock is:

Answer 32

made from the solidification of magma or lava.

Question 33

metamorphic rock is:

Answer 33

already existing rock altered via heat, pressure, or chemical changes that do not melt the rock.

Question 34

sedimentary rock is:

Answer 34

rock created from the accumulation, computation, and cementation of mineral and organic particles.

Question 35

relative dating:

Answer 35

describing the relative order of past events without determining a numerical age.

Question 36

absolute dating:

Answer 36

the process of determining age via radiometric techniques.

Question 37

define fossil.

Answer 37

the preserved remains of plants + animals in sedimentary rock.

Question 38

fossils are important because:

Answer 38

they provide important evidence for evolution, and information regarding past environments. can also be used to date rocks.

Question 39

the two categories of fossils are:

Answer 39

fossilized body parts and fossilized traces.

Question 40

define index fossil.

Answer 40

a fossil that is characteristic of a particular span of geologic time or enviroment.

Question 41

to be an index fossil, a fossil must be:

Answer 41

- abundant - represent a short paleontological range - have a widespread geographic distribution.

Question 42

define mass extinction.

Answer 42

a short period in geological time in which a high percentage of biodiversity or distinct species dies out.

Question 43

how many mass extinction events have occured?

Answer 43

five.

Question 44

the five mass extinctions, from oldest to youngest, are:

Answer 44

- the ordovician-silurian extinction - the late devonian extinction - the permian-triassic extinction - the triassic-jurrasic extinction - the cretaceous-tertiary extinction

Question 45

when did the ordovician-silurian extinction occur, what was the death rate, and what were the causes?

Answer 45

- 440 million years ago. - death rate of around 85% of al animal species on earth. - causes: climate change.

Question 46

when did the late devonian extinction occur, what was the death rate, and what were the causes?

Answer 46

- 365 million years ago. - death rate of around 70-80% of species in marine communities. - causes: lack of aquatic oxygen circulation, decrease of CO2 in the atmosphere, and global cooling.

Question 47

what was the late devonian extinction known as?

Answer 47

The Age of the Fishes.

Question 48

index fossils of the late devonian extinction:

Answer 48

trilobites.

Question 49

when did the permian-triassic extinction occur, what was the death rate, and what were the causes?

Answer 49

- 250 million years ago. - death rate of 99%. - causes: mass volcanism, rise in ocean + atmospheric temperatures.

Question 50

index fossils are the permian-triassic extinction:

Answer 50

lystrosaurus, conodonts.

Question 51

when did the triassic-jurrasic extinction occur, what was the death rate, and what were the causes?

Answer 51

- 210 million years ago. death rate of around 76%. - causes: mass volcanism, climate change (more CO2 in atmosphere, causing temps. to go up)

Question 52

when did the cretaceous-tertiary extinction occur, what was the death rate, and what were the causes?

Answer 52

- 65 million years ago. - death rate approximately 75% of all life on earth. - causes: mass volcanism, asteroid impact. - dinosaurs were the dominant land animals during this time.

Question 53

index fossils of the cretaceous-tertiary extinction:

Answer 53

- coccolithophores, dinosaurs.

Question 54

what was the biggest mass extinction ever recorded?

Answer 54

the permian-triassic extinction.

Question 55

the Quaternary Extinction Event:

Answer 55

- not a mass extinction. - the extinctions of megafauna all over the world. - causes: climate change and human hunting. - 50 000 to 10 000 years ago.