Origin of Solar System Flashcards
What is geology
Physical and Historical Geology?
The study of Earth, other planets, moons, and beyond
- studies earth processes, earth materials, and earth history
Physical: the study of Earth materials and processes
Historical: the study of the origin and evolution of Earth, its continents, oceans, atmosphere, and life (what, how, and why things occurred) - includes theory of plate tectonics and evolution
What is a theory? What are the 3 rules for a theory?
A testable explanation for natural phenomena, supported by lots of evidence
- hypotheses must be testable
- results must be reproducible
- hypotheses/theories must be potentially falsifiable (can be proven wrong)
What does the universe include? What are some of the basic characteristics of the universe and its creation
Universe includes all matter and energy
- has no edge, and therefore no centre
- is expanding and cooling
- began with a big bang about 14 billion years ago > created space and time
Explain the steps of the scientific method using the big bang theory (formulation of the theory)
Observations:
- universe is expanding
- universe is permeated by background radiation
Hypothesis: all matter and energy originated from one starting point
Tests: used physics and astronomy
Theory: big bang theory - created space and time 14 billion years ago from infinitely hot and dense single point
Explain the idea that our universe is expanding (velocity and colour aspect)?
Who noted these things?
What about remnant radiation?
The galaxies are moving away from each other
- velocity increases with increasing distance
- optical spectra are red-shifted (doppler effect - increase or decrease in wave frequencies as the source and observer move toward or away from each other)
*Edwin Hubble noted these two things with his telescope
Remnant radiation should exist from cooling > cosmic microwave background is leftover radiation from big bang
Explain the formation of the solar system through the Solar Nebula Theory (when was it)
4.6 billion years ago
- Condensation and collapse of interstellar material resulted in rotating cloud of gases and small grains
- Flattened into rotating disk with the majority of the mass in the centre which formed the Embryonic Sun
- Rotating cloud of material around centre was the solar nebula > eddies condensed gases and solid particles > particles accumulated into larger masses (planets)
Describe the differences between the Terrestrial and Jovian planets
Terrestrial (mercury, venus, earth, mars):
- closer to sun
- smaller and denser
- solid surfaces
- slower rotation
- metal cores
- formed at higher temperature
Jovian (Asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto):
- further from sun
- non-solid surface
- dense H, He, ammonia, methane
- faster rotation
- small rocky cores
- formed at lower temperature
Explain the steps of the Homogeneous Accretion Theory (how the earth formed)
- The early earth would’ve had a uniform composition and density
- Temp of early earth reached melting point of iron and nickel which then settled to earth’s center (bc denser than silicate minerals) > lighter silicates (minerals containing silicon and oxygen) flowed upward to form the mantle and the crust
- Differentiated earth formed, consisting of a dense iron-nickel core (solid core with liquid core overtop), an iron-rich silicate mantle, and a silicate crust with continent and ocean basin
What are some of the subsystems of earth that make it a system of interconnected components?
- atmosphere
- biosphere
- hydrosphere
- lithosphere
- mantle
- core
How did the formulation of plate tectonic theory change the way geologists view Earth?
now view Earth from a global perspective in which all of its subsystems and cycles are interconnected, and Earth history is seen as a continuum of interrelated events that are part of a global pattern of change
What is cosmology?
the study of the origin, evolution, and nature of the universe
What is Einstein’s theory of relativity?
space-time continuum → space and time are linked, without space there can be no time, therefore there is no “before the Big Bang”
What happened the 1st second following the big bang
the four basic forces (gravity, electromagnetic force, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force) separated and the universe experienced enormous expansion
What are the things making up our solar system?
The sun, 8 planets, 5 known dwarf planets, at least 100 known moons or satellites, many asteroids, Kuiper belt, and the distant Oort cloud
Reasons for the 3 different layers of earth?
- density differences
- variations in composition, temperature, and pressure
What is the lithosphere?
the solid upper mantle and the overlying crust - broken into plates which interact and create earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mountain ranges, and ocean basins
What is the theory of organic evolution?
idea that all present-day organisms are related and descended with modifications from organisms that lived during the past
How was the geologic time scale made?
19th-century geologists took info from rock exposures and based the chronology on changes in Earth’s biota (plant and animal life) through time
What is uniformitarianism?
premise that present-day processes have operated throughout geologic time → physical and chemical laws of nature have remained the same - processes that shaped the earth in the past are the same ones shaping it today
