geo 1 Flashcards
What are the basic differences between the disciplines of physical and historical geology?
Physical geology examines Earth’s materials and processes, while historical geology focuses on Earth’s past and the development of life.
A ________ is a well-tested and widely accepted view that best explains certain scientific observations.
Theory
The ________ division of the geologic time scale is an era of the Phanerozoic eon.
A) Proterozoic B) Paleozoic C) Paleocene D) Permian
B) Paleozoic
The asthenosphere is actually a part of the ________ of the Earth.
A) mantle B) inner core C) crust D) outer core
A) mantle
The most prominent features on the ocean floor are the ________.
Mid-ocean ridges
The ________ refers to the sum total of all life on Earth.
A) biosphere B) hydrosphere C) atmosphere D) asthenosphere
A) biosphere
What does NOT provide evidence or clues to the composition of Earth’s interior?
A) comets B) diamond-bearing rocks C) slivers of crustal and mantle rocks now exposed at Earth’s surface D) meteorites
A) comets
Active mountain belts are most likely to be found where on the continents?
Along plate boundaries
________ is the process by which rocks break down in place to produce soils and sediments.
Weathering
The ________ is not a part of Earth’s physical environment.
The Sun
The composition of the core of Earth is thought to be ________.
Iron and nickel
The continental shelf is located ________.
Along the edges of continents, extending into the ocean
________ rocks form by crystallization and consolidation of molten magma.
Igneous
The ________ is thought to be a liquid, metallic region in the Earth’s interior.
Outer core
A ________ system is one in which energy moves freely in and out, but no matter enters or leaves the system.
Closed
________ plate boundaries have the largest magnitude earthquakes.
Convergent
The continental drift hypothesis was rejected primarily because Alfred Wegener could not do what?
Explain the mechanism for movement of continents
Deep-oceanic trenches are most abundant around the rim of the ________ ocean basin.
Pacific
Deep ocean trenches are surficial evidence for ________.
Subduction zones
What are the differences between the asthenosphere and the lithosphere?
The lithosphere is rigid and brittle, while the asthenosphere is ductile and flows slowly.
The ________ is (are) a logical evolutionary analog of the African Rift Valleys ten million years from now.
Red Sea
The Aleutian Islands occur at what sort of plate boundary?
Convergent boundary (ocean-ocean)
What most accurately describes the type of large volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands?
Shield volcanoes
Cooler, older oceanic lithosphere sinks into the mantle at ________.
Subduction zones
