Exam 1 Flashcards
Sketch and explain the Rock Cycle
Sedimentary goes up and around too sedimentary rock(Erosion), which then goes to metamorphic rocks, then that too magma, then lastly is igneous rock which is right under sedimentary!
Identify the continents on a world map
Asia, South America, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia
What significant driving force required Catastrophists to believe the
earth was only about 6000 years old?
The church
Why are fossils not found in igneous rocks
The heat and pressure would destroy fossil evidence
What are the basic differences (size, location & density) between the
Terrestrial and the Jovian Planets?
Terrestrial are smaller, closer to the sun and more dense
Jovian are more massive, further from the sun and more gaseous
How and when did our atmosphere form?
A result of volcanic outgassing from 4.6 - 3.6 bya
What is happening to Sea-Level around the world? Why is it
happening?
Climate change is casing the ice caps to melt and raise sea level
Physical Geology
The branch of geologic study focusing on Earth materials
and Earth processes
Nebular Theory
The generally accepted theory for the formation of the solar
system.
Mantle
The largest interior layer of the Earth. This layer contains the
convection cells
Uniformitarianism
The geologic thought processes acting on the Earth now,
are the same as the processes in the past
Biosphere
The portion of the Earth system where life exists
Asthenosphere
The “Silly Putty” like layer of the Earth, located
immediately below the lithosphere. This layer facilitates the movement of
the Earth’s plates.
List and explain the evidence Alfred Wegener presented to support his
Continental Drift Hypothesis
Fossil and rock correlation
Paleoclimatic evidence
Puzzle pieces
What type of movement occurs at a Diverging Boundary? Identify a
diverging boundary on a world map
Plates are moving away from one another.
The middle of the Atlantic Ocean
What type of movement occurs at a Diverging Boundary? Identify a
diverging boundary on a world map
Plates are moving away from one another.
The middle of the Atlantic Ocean
What type of movement occurs at a Converging Boundary? Identify a
converging boundary on a world map.
Plates are moving towards each other. The Himalaya Mountains
What type of movement occurs at a Transform Boundary? Identify a
transform boundary on a world map
Plates are sliding past one another
The San Andreas Fault System
What evidence exists to support Plate Tectonics?
Fossil and rock correlation
Hot Spots and Mantle Plumes
Thickness of sediment on the ocean floor
Are oceanic floors comprised mostly of granitic rock or basaltic rock
Basaltic rock
Are the continents comprised mostly of granitic rock or basaltic rock
Granitic rock
What is the average densities of continental & oceanic lithosphere?
Continental is 2,7g/cm3
Oceanic - 3.0g/cm3
How can Plate Tectonics cause climate change
It can cause climate change because the plates move closer to the poles so the temperatures decrease.
As the plates move closer to equator, the temperature will increase
How can Plate Tectonics cause evolution
Life forms largely depend on climate, and so as the climate changes, life forms will become extinct and will be replaced
What is the approximate age & location of the oldest Atlantic Ocean
Floor?
The oldest is 200 mya and is along the east coast of North America and South America as well as along the west coast of Africa
What is the approximate age & location of the youngest Atlantic Ocean
Floor?
The youngest is 0 myo in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean
List 4 physical properties helpful in identifying the name of a mineral
Streak, color, hardness and breakage
If you can scratch a mineral with your fingernail, what is the approximate
hardness of the mineral?
it would be 2.5
Why do some minerals leave a streak, and some minerals do not leave a
streak?
Some do and don’t because only minerals softer then the streak plate 6.5 will leave a streak.
List the eight most abundant elements in the continental crust
Silicon, Oxygen, Iron, Aluminum, Calcium, Sodium
Magnesium & Potassium
Why are caves, caverns and sinkholes associated with carbonate
formations?
Because carbonates are water soluble
Why are sinkholes becoming a more frequent occurrence
They are occurring more and more because our water is becoming more acidic, so it is dissolving the carbonates more rapidly
Specific Gravity!
WITHOUT the UNITS
Mineral
A naturally occurring inorganic substance
Luster
How a mineral reflects light
Non-Ferromagnesian
Light colored silicates
Aphanitic Texture
An igneous rock with mineral crystals too small to be seen without glasses
Porphyritic Texture
An igneous rock with a few visible crystals within an aphanitic matrix
Magma
Liquid igneous rock on the subsurface
Lava
Liquid igneous rock on the surface of the earth
Phaneritic Texture
an igneous rock with large visible crystals
Pegmatitic Texture
an igneous rock with a few very large mineral crystals
Igneous Rock
Formed from magma or lava
intrusive/Plutonic Rock
Igneous rock that formed magma
Extrusive/Volcanic Rock
Igneous rock that formed from lava
What are the three most common gases associated with volcanic
eruptions?
Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and water vapor
What is the average density of the basaltic rock covering the ocean floor?
3.0g/cm3
What is the average density of the granitic rock that makes up the
continental lithosphere?
2.7g/cm3
Name two mafic minerals
Hornblende & Olivine
Name two felsic minerals
Milky Quartz & Potassium Feldspar
Are basaltic eruptions mild or violent?
Mild
Are granitic eruptions mild or violent?
Violent
Pyroclastic
Any solid material ejected during a volcanic eruption
Caldera
a large depression caused by a volcanic eruption
Viscosity
a measurement of a materials resistance to flow
How is viscosity related to the shape of a volcano?
high viscosity magma will create a steeply sloped volcano while Low viscotsy magma will create a very large middle sloped volcano
which are more violent, granitic or basalt
granitic!
What are a few indicators that would signal a pending volcanic eruption?
increased gasses coming out
change in shape
increased seismic activity
SO2 & CO2 are gases associated with volcanic eruptions. Which gas will
cause the climate to become warmer, which gas will cause the climate to
become cooler?
SO2 is cooler
CO2 is warmer
Which type of volcano exists at Yellowstone Park? Does it have violent or
mild eruptions?
caldera volcano with violent eruptions
Why would an eruption of Mount Rainier be more destructive than the
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens?
It would be more destructive because it would create a lot of lava and it would bury the surrounding area
Are the volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands associated with a diverging
boundary, a converging boundary or a mantle plume?
A mantle Plume
Divergent boundary
pull away from each other
Convergent boundaries
One plate going underneath the other plate ( Eurasian plate, Juan je fuea plate)
Transfrom Boundaries
there sliding past each other ( Pacific plate, by California)
Hydrosphere
All phases of water on earths surface
Atmosphere
The blanket of gases around the earth
Biosphere
plants, animals, and all life forms
Name the oceans
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern ocean.
The inner earth layers
Inner core, outer core, Lower mantle, Asthenosphere, lithosphere (crust)
Why is the asthenosphere is important?
It is important because the force behind plate tectonic motion
formation of the universe
14 mya
Slow rate means
visible crystals in the rock
Rapid rate means
no visible crystals in rock
Youngest Atlantic floor
In the middle of us and Africa, so Atlantic Ocean
Oldest Atlantic Ocean floor
By us or by Europe in in the crevasse
Long Island rivers
peconinc river, swan river, east river
Plate tectonic evolution
The climate will change, and life forms extinct so they will be replaced
Name two locations where you expect lots of igneous rock to be created?
Atlantic bridge and the Hawaiian island
