Geo midterm

Question 1

What are the Earth’s open systems?

Answer 1

atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cyrosphere, lithosphere

Question 2

What is the relationship between distance on the map and distance in the real world?

Answer 2

A map scale. It tells you how much the real world is reduced to fit on the map

Question 3

What are the 4 most common elements?

Answer 3

O, Si, Al, Fe

Question 4

What does the scientific method test?

Answer 4

To test and possibly disprove a hypotheses

Question 5

Why is earth modeled as an ellipsoid?

Answer 5

Earth is non-spherical due to gravity and plastic nature of the planet

Question 6

What is the purpose of isolines?

Answer 6

to connect points of equal value on a map. They are used to show things like elevation, temperature, or pressure.

Question 7

How do latitude and longitude work? What is the size of degree of latitude?

Answer 7

Latitude measures how far north or south a place is from the Equator. Latitude lines run horizontally.
Longitude measures how far east or west a place is from the Prime Meridian. Longitude lines run vertically, from the North to the South Pole.
The size of a degree of latitude is about 111 kilometers (69 miles)

Question 8

What are the Earth’s layers?

Answer 8

Inner core, outer core, mantle, crust

Question 9

What are seismic waves? How do they help map the Earth’s interior?

Answer 9

Seismic waves are vibrations that travel through the Earth, usually generated by earthquakes or artificial explosions. They come in two main types:
P-waves (Primary waves): These are faster and can move through both solid and liquid layers of the Earth.
S-waves (Secondary waves): These are slower and can only travel through solids, not liquids.
By studying how these waves behave—how they bend, speed up, or stop—scientists can identify the different layers inside the Earth (like the crust, mantle, and core) and understand their composition and physical state.

Question 10

How do igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks form? What is an example of each?

Answer 10

Igneous: origin by fire. Extrusive igneous rocks are formed when molten material solidifies above ground. Intrusive igneous rocks solidify before reaching the surface. (granite)
Metamorphic: Any rock, either igneous or sedimentary may be transformed into metamorphic rock by going through profound physical or chemical changes under increased temperature and/or pressure (marble)
Sedimentary: Sediments: rock fragments, mineral grains, dissolved material precipitated out, even whole rocks can become part of a sedimentary rock Lithification is the process of cementation, compaction, and hardening of sediments into sedimentary rock (coal)

Question 11

Explain the rock cycle

Question 12

What is the difference between relative dating methods (cross-cutting and superposition) and absolute dating (radiometric decay)?

Answer 12

Relative: Helps scientists figure out the order in which rocks and layers form
Absolute: Gives an exact date in years by measuring the decay of radioactive elements in rocks, telling us how long a go they formed.

Question 13

What are the steps of the water cycle?

Answer 13

Precipitation, interception, infiltration, surface detention, overland flow, inter flow, groundwater flow, evaporation, evapotranspiration

Question 14

What is an aqufier?

Answer 14

a body of rock, soil, or unconsolidated materials that can transmit groundwater in sufficient quantities to supply wells or springs

Question 15

What is the difference between physical, chemical, and biological weathering?

Answer 15

Physical: freeze and thaw, salt weathering, thermal expansion and contraction, wetting and drying,
Chemical: solution–water dissolves, oxidation/reduction, carbonation
Biological: Often a combination of mechanical and chemical weathering mediated by plants or animals

Question 16

What triggers landslides?

Answer 16

Seismic triggering, Precipitation (Rainfall Intensity),Human activities, De-vegetation, Altering of Slopes, Angle, Water Content

Question 17

What is the soil order?

Answer 17

Ardisols, ultisols, oxisols, mollisols,alfisols, spodosols, gerlisols

Question 18

What are the types of plate boundaries, and what landforms result?

Answer 18

Convergent boundaries (occurs when 2 plates move towards each other/ mountain ranges)
Divergents boundaries (2 plates move away from each other/ mid-ocean ridges)
Transform boundaries (2 plates slide past each other horizontally/fault lines)

Question 19

What are the types of eruptions?

Answer 19

Exhalative eruption, Effusive eruption, Explosive eruption

Question 20

What is a strike?

Answer 20

Line representing the intersection of a planar feature with a horizontal plane –measured in degrees W or E of north

Question 21

What is a dip?

Answer 21

Angle of a tilted bed relative to a horizontal plane

Question 22

What is a joint?

Answer 22

Fracture in the earth’s crust, but with no displacement of rock bodies
A crack in a rock is also called a join

Question 23

A system consists of interacting components. What does interacting mean?

Answer 23

There is an exchange of energy, mass, or momentum between components

Question 24

What factors influence earthquake intensity?

Answer 24

Location, duration of shaking, distance from the fault, local conditions such as population

Question 25

The upper mantle extends down from the base of the crust to the top of the lower mantle, and
includes a layer that is “plastic” meaning

Answer 25

the material can deform and flow under stress

Question 25

The cleavage of a mineral describes its

Answer 25

tendency to form bright plane surfaces when broken

Question 26

At the land surface, movement of water to the atmosphere is a combination of

Answer 26

evaporation and transpiration

Question 27

The global carbon cycle represents the movement

Answer 27

of carbon between many sources and sinks across many time scales

Question 28

The most active earthquake zones on earth are associated with

Answer 28

plate boundaries

Question 29

A mixture of fragmented and weathered minerals and rocks with variable proportions of air and
water whose development is influenced by climate and living organisms is a description of

Answer 29

soil

Question 30

The breakdown of rocks in place is known as

Answer 30

weathering

Question 31

The two most common elements present in the Earth’s crust are

Answer 31

silicon and oxygen

Question 32

The density of internal layers of the planet _________ as you move from the core to the surface

Answer 32

decreases

Question 33

To accurately determine location including elevation, your GPS receiver must receive a
signal from how many satellites at minimum?

Answer 33

4