Modules 24-28 REVIEW DAY Flashcards
Order of Earth’s layers:
inner core, outer core, mantle, asthenospehere, lithosphere
How does metamorphic rock form?
Heat and pressure applied to igneous and sedimentary rock create metamorphic rock.
What does physical weathering change?
Physical weathering changes the physical composition of the rock. (like paper ripping)
What does chemical weathering change?
Chemical weathering changes the chemical composition of the rock, often due to acid rain.
Which boundaries cause the mountain ranges to form?
Convergent plate boundary
Which boundaries cause seafloor spreading?
Divergent plate boundary
Explain subduction.
Subduction is when a plate slides under another one.
What is a levee?
land that’s built up to control flood water
What water is basically mounds of dirt built up?
levee
Dams can sometimes interrupt fish’s movement - what is put in to help with this?
Fish ladder
Where do we find floodplains?
We find them by rivers, NOT by big lakes or any lakes for that matter
Why would ancient civilizations make their settlements along rivers?
When the rivers flood and waters come back down they leave sediments that make them fertile.
What is base saturation?
soil bases to soil acids
What is the A horizon?
topsoil
What is the actual top layer?
O Horizon
This type of rock is dark contains minerals with iron magnesium and calcium found in the ocean.
Basaltic (type of igneous)
The ability of a soil to absorb and release nutrients.
Cation exchange capacity
An earthquake occurs as a direct result of
potential energy release along a fault
A 6.2 earthquake is how many times greater than a 3.2 earthquake
1000 times
The surface mining control and reclamation act of 1977 mandates…
that the land cannot be disturbed during the mining process (anything messed up is fixes back to its original state)
What are some environmental issues with mountaintop removal?
No where to put waste so it ends up in oceans or other places where it doesn’t belong.
Makes the waters acidic.
Mine tailings.
issues with mine tailings because the water used in the mines that washes through brings acidic stuff with it that spreads to the ecosystems; collapse often, these miners are often getting Black Lung Disease; FIRES
Subsurface mining
Reasons to build a dam:
hydropower, recreation, to keep certain areas from flooding, simply to control waters
scale of 2 is 10 times greater than 1, scale of 3 is 100 times greater than 1, scale of 4 is 1000 times greater than 1
Richter Scale
Which layer of the earth contains magma
mantle
What is the brittle outermost layer of the earth
lithosphere
What makes scientists believe that the earth wasn’t always how the continents are now
theory of plate tectonics
What does the theory of plate tectonics state?
at one point in time the continents have been together (A theory that states that the earth’s solid outer shell (lithosphere) broken into large, rigid pieces called plates that can move relative to each other by sliding atop the non-solid asthenosphere)
What is the process of speciation that happens when continents move apart
allopatric speciation
Where does extrusive rock cool?
On the outside (extrusive - exit)
What rock is lighter in color; quartz etc.
granitic (type of igneous)
What type of rock forms when continents collide?
metamorphic
How did the book say that caves were formed
water flows through the ground and ERODES; how over time the water wears away areas and rocks and you get caves
What does acid rain form from?
sulfur
What are the five primary soil formation factors?
climate, time, parent material, topography, organisms
What are the three particle sizes?
clay, silt, sand
Which of three particle sizes is the largest?
sand
Which of three particle sizes is the smallest?
clay
What is the triangle with the different kinds of soil?
Soil texture triangle
Small concentrations of coal for instance are called what
veins
What are the vessels that are everywhere?
Disseminated vessels
What mining happened during the gold rush?
Placer mining
What is the depth that it must be to do subsurface mining?
328 feet
What happens during saltwater intrusion?
Saltwater comes into well; cone of depression; you’re pumping water faster than it can recharge itself
What is the liquid called that is there in reverse osmosis
brine - produces a brine that is saltier than seawater
What is called whenever you boil water and collect the steam
distillation
This is a solution that’s been proposed by economists, allows interest parties to compete for water, price of water in this system is driven by market
free market system
During a tiered water price system…
the more water you use the more it costs
a style of landscaping that removes water intensive vegetation from lawns and replaces it with more water efficient native landscaping
xeriscaping
how much water you use per capita
water footprint
you grow plants in water, no dirt
hydroponic agriculture
What is spray irrigation?
you spray the plants
What is drip irrigation?
tube drips slowly, most expensive, most efficient
Difference between furrow and flooding…
- flooding you flood the fields, furrow is in between rows of plants like more individual
Free response: Mountaintop mining is the process of removing 50-200 vertical meters of mountaintop to extract coal from underlying seams. Following the removal of topsoil, material underlying coal seams is removed with explosives. This process leaves behind a tremendous amount of soil, rock, and coal tailings. The tailings are often pushed into adjacent valleys that contain headwater streams and floodplains. Much of the coal tailings become oxidized, and they can release sulfuric acid after a rainfall. When coal extraction is complete, the mountains are not rebuilt. However, mining companies are required to contour the landscape so that rainfall and snowmelt drain from the mountain along similar paths as in the pre-mining landscape. Companies are also required to add topsoil to the mountain and seed the soil to facilitate plant growth.
(a) Topsoil is often added by large tractors that compact the soil. How does soil compaction alter the flow of water down the mountain?
(b) List two ways in which soil compaction may alter plant growth on the mountain following all reclamation activities.
(c) List two environmental consequences that are likely to result from filling valleys with mountaintop tailings, and two consequences that might arise downstream of the mining site.
(d) What other coal mining practice(s) could be used to remove the coal from mountains with less environmental impact than mountaintop mining? - could do subsurface mining
(a) Topsoil becomes less permeable (it cannot absorb water). This leads to rapid water flow, it flows directly over the surface rather than penetrating soil.
(b) Soil compaction can prevent water and nutrients from entering the soil. This slows plant growth and can also lead to erosion (the physical removal of rock fragments from a landscape or ecosystem) or surface runoff.
(c) Filling valleys could lead to natural flow of water and nutrients being disrupted, which can ruin plant growth. This can also make water become contaminated as a result of mining due to sulfuric acid.
(d)
Predicting earthquakes could save many lives and prevent costly damage. Currently, we are only able to predict what areas are likely to experience earthquakes but not when an actual event will occur.
(a) Describe how an earthquake occurs. In your answer, describe the location of the epicenter.
(b) We may be able to predict earthquakes by measuring the electric charge of minerals in the ground. When pressure is applied to many crystals, they emit a small electric charge that increases with pressure, a phenomenon known as “piezoelectricity”. Describe how we might use piezoelectricity to predict the future occurrence of an earthquake.
(c) The amount of ground movement is directly proportional to the magnitude of the earthquake. The amount of ground movement produced by an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0 on the Richter scale is equal to 10 millimeters. What is the amount of ground movement that would occur during an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale?
(d) If an area of land experiences an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 on Richter scale every 40 years, how long will it take for that area to move 10 meters?
A dam is constructed in a river next to a small town, creating a reservoir.
(a) Name THREE reasons for which that dam may have been built.
(b) Shortly after the dam’s construction, the salmon population in the river begins to decline. Propose a hypothesis for why the population declines. Describe a potential solution to this problem.
(c) Following the dam’s construction, the density of farms increases along the river. Describe how the construction of the dam might lead to increased farm density in the area.
(d) The reservoir initially acts as a habitat for perch and other fish species. However, it eventually becomes hypoxic and the fish die off. Describe how the changes in the reservoir might be related to an increase in farming intensity.
