rocks, plates, and atmosphere Flashcards
A region where two lithospheric plates are being pulled apart on Earth’s surface is known as a..
divergent boundary
The apparent similarities in contour of the coasts of Africa and North and South America was the first suggestion of the geologic process known as..
continental drift
The relative plate motion along the San Andreas Fault is primarily..
- convergent
- divergent
- transform
- subduction
transform
According to the book, Tsunami’s travel across the open ocean with a speed of about..
a jogging person (3m/s)
The process of cementation and compaction in sedimentary rocks is called..
lithification
The boundary between the mantle of Earth and its crust is called the..
lithosphere
What effects do we expect to observe when a light continental plate meets a denser oceanic plat in a head-on collision…
a shallow oceanic trench and volcanic activity along the coastal area of the continent
Which is most correct?
- Paleomagnetism provides evidence that over the past 500 million years, the position of the North Pole has migrated world wide.
- The theory of continental drift suggests that the magnetic poles have remained stationary, while the continents have moved.
Paleomagnetism provides evidence that over the past 500 million years, the position of the North Pole has migrated world wide.
The inner core of the Earth is Iron and Nickel at a temp. of about 4300* C. If iron’s melting point is 1535*C, why is the core solid?
pressure from the weight of the surrounding layers prevent melting
The lithosphere..
- consists, in part, of the Earth’s crust
- consists, in part, of the Earth’s upper mantle
- is closer to the surface of than the astheosphere
- all of the above are true
all of the above are true
Thermal convection movement in the outer core
- moves Earth’s crust
- heats the Earth’s core by frictional forces
- generates the Earth’s magnetic field
generates Earth’s magnetic field
The velocity of a seismic wave depends on..
- the density of the material it travels through
- the isolineracompetencity of the sediment it travels through
- its amplitude
- its frequency
the density of the material it travels through
Secondary S-waves can travel through all areas of the Earth except the..
outer core
The idea that a buoyant force exerted on the crusts (oceanic and continental) keeping them afloat is called..
isostasy
The theory of plate tectonics states that..
the lithosphere is composed of several plates that move due to the convection currents in the asthenosphere
The deepest ocean trenches are most likely to be found at a:
oceanic-oceanic converging boundary
Rocks are grouped into three classes depending on how the rock was..
- shaped
- discovered
- formed
formed
The type of rock most likely to be found at the mid-Atlantic ridge (a diverging boundary of ocean crust) is:
- sandstone
- basalt
- granite
basalt
The type of rock most likely to be found in the Himalayan mountains is..
- sandstone
- granite
- basalt
granit
Convergent boundaries are area of..
plate collision
Most of the Earth’s seismic activity, volcaism, and mountain building occur along..
plate boundaries
The founder of the theory of continental drift is credited to..
Alfred Wegener
Mohs scale is based on minerals that have a different..
- hardness
- shapes
- cleavage directions
- color
hardness
Earth’s internal layers were discovered by studying..
seismic waves
Based on its abundance in Earth’s Crust, most rocks contain minerals composed of the elements Oxygen and..
silicon
A sedimentary rock can be changed into an igneous rock by..
completely melting and allowing it to cool slowly
The reordering of crystals under heat or pressure, forming layers is…
foliation
Which mineral identification test most accurately reveals the internal arrangement of atoms in crystalline material?
- streak
- luster
- cleavage
cleavage
Solidified lava with an abundance of gas, giving the rock a very bubbly appearance
plutons
The identity of a mineral is usually determined from..
physical properties like color and hardness
The process of cementation and compaction is called..
lithification
Flood basalts, batholiths, Laccoliths, and dikes are good places to find..
- metamorphic rocks
- sedimentary rocks
- igneous rocks
igneous rocks
The Hawaiian Islands, located on a convergent (oceanic-oceanic) plate boundary, were formed by andestic volcanos.
- true
- false
false
An extrusive igneous rock will most likely have ____ than an intrusive igneous rock.
- larger crystal sizes
- crystals the same size
- smaller crystal sizes
smaller crystal sizes
Earth’s atmosphere is similar to the panes of glass in a greenhouse, it allows the sun’s..
short-wavelength radiation to enter, but blocks long-wavelength terrestrial radiation from leaving.
Earth’s original atmosphere was..
- rich in both O2 and O3
- a mixture of N2, CO2, and O3
- obliterated after the birth of the Sun
- very similar to the atmosphere we have today
obliterated after the birth of the sun
Which two factors will determine the viscosity of magma and lava?
- temp. and hardness
- sugar content and temp.
- cleavage and specific gravity
- temp. and silica content
temp and silica content
Earth’s earliest atmosphere was lacking in..
free oxygen
Plate tectonics states that..
tectonic plates are in slow, but constant motion
The process of photosynthesis is important because it..
contributed to the development of an ozone layer
Rocks altered by heat and pressure beneath the Earth’s surface are..
Metamorphic rocks
Magma that cools very quickly develops a..
- coarse-grained texture
- fragmented texture
- bubbly texture
- fine-grained texture
fine-grained texture
As a rock is heated, the first minerals to melt are those..
- with the highest melting point
- with the lowest melting point
- with random arrangement of crystal grains
- with layered arrangement of crystal grains
the lowest melting point
The basic building block of silicate structures is a..
- sheet of SiO4 tetrahedra
- chain of SiO4 tetrahedra
- single tetrahedron of SiO4
single tetrahedron of SiO4
Minerals are composed of..
basic, elemental or molecular compounds
If more terrestrial radiation were able to leave Earth’s atmosphere than at present, we would experience..
- global warming
- no change in temp
- global cooling
global cooling
The Aleutian Islands, being near a convergent ocean-continental crust boundary, are composed primarily of..
- sedimentary rock
- igneous rock
- metamorphic rock
igneous rock
Which of the following terms do not apply to a diverging boundary..
- subduction
- Rift Valley
- linear sea
- sea floor spreading
subduction
