Geology Flashcards
What is accretion?
The process of dust and material forming planets.
According to Archbishop Ussher of Ireland, how old was the Earth? How did he go about figuring this out?
He believed that the Earth was about 6,000 years old, and he got this number from a literal reading of the Bible.
What important observation did James Hutton make?
He observed that because erosion is a slow process responsible for the way we see the Earth today, the Earth had to be older than was previously thought.
What important observation did Lord Kelvin make?
He observed that if an object is hotter in the center than it is at the surface, it must be losing heat, and that the Earth couldn’t do that forever. He calculated that the Earth was around 96 million years old.
What is a half-life?
A half-life is the amount of time it takes for radioactive decay to occur for a certain isotope. Using this information, we can date objects.
How old is the oldest Earth mineral?
4.404 billion years old.
What is a carbonaceous chondrite?
Meteorites that are heavy in iron.
