Sciemce Test 2 Flashcards
What is the two types of geology
Physical and historical geology
What is the difference between physical and historical geology
Physical geology is the study of the materials that make up the earth like rocks and minerals, while historical geology is the study of the history of the earth
What is the hypothesis called of how the earth began
The nebular hypothesis
Describe the nebular hypothesis
The nebular hypothesis states that the bodies of our solar system evolved from a huge cloud called the solar nebular
Describe the steps of how the earth was formed
Solar system begins as a cloud of dust in the Milky Way, then the cloud that is called the nebula collars and the heated center creates the sun, next the cooling creates solid particles, collisions create asteroid size bodies, and finally asteroids form the inner parts of the inner planets while other materials and gases make the outer planets.
Why does the earth have layers
The earth has layers because as the earth was forming, density differences caused dense materials to sink while less dense materials escape to the atmosphere, density continues to form the earth today
What are the four major spheres
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Biosphere
Geosphere
Describe the atmosphere
It contains the earths weather, it protects us from the earths heat, it provides the air we breath, it the earths outermost layer that is a thin mixture of gases
Describe the hydrosphere
It contains all of earths water, it covers 3/4s of the earth, only 3% of all of it is freshwater, it is made of liquid, water vapor, and ice
Describe the biosphere
It is the parts of the earth that contains living organisms
Describe the geosphere
It makes up the mountains, valleys, and lands. All of earths mass is found on earths rocks and minerals. It consists of three parts, a metal core, a solid middle layer(mantel), a rocky outer layer(crust)
What is the lithosphere
Is contains the crust, upper mantle, and tectonic plates. It is 50-200km deep
What is the asthenosphere
It is a molten layer that sits on the lithosphere.
What are the three things that make up the mantle
Lithosphere
Mesosphere
And the asthenosphere
What is the crust
It is a thin layer rocky outer layer so the earth
What are the two types of crust
Continental crust which form the continents,
Oceanic crust which forms the ocean floor
What is the international date line and why is it needed
The international date line is a imaginary line that separates 2 calendar days, it is needed because travelers going westward would discover that when they return one or more days would have passed
Who was the father of continental drift and did he live to see his theory gain acceptance.
Alfred Wegener was the father of continental drift and he did not love to see his theory be accepted
What was the theory of plate tectonics and define plate
The theory of plate tectonics is that the mantle along with the crust behaves like a strong ridge layer which is known as the lithosphere. Tectonic plates are large pieces of the lithosphere broken up and are constantly shifting
What was Pangea and how long did it take for it to break apart
Pangea was a supercontinent made up of all of the continents we know today, it broke apart 200 million years ago
What are the four pieces of evidence for continental drift
Fossil, some continents seam to fit together, matching rock types, ancient climates
Are the plates still moving and if so by how much
The plates are still moving by 5 centimeters a year
What are the three types of plate boundaries
Divergent
Convergent
Transform fault
What is a divergent boundary give an example
It is when two plates move away from each other and it adds lithosphere and an example is like the mid-Atlantic ridge
What is convergent boundaries and give an example
It is when two plates come together and either go up and creat mountains like the Himalayas or one plate goes under another in a subduction zone which creates trenches
What is a transform fault and give an example
It is when two plates slide past each other creating nothing and a example would be like the San Andrés fault
What is convection currents
This occurs in the mantle, It is when hot material from the inner core of our planet rises then cools and dense slabs of the lithosphere sink and the cycle keeps going, it’s like a lava lamp
What is GPS and explain how it is used
GPS is a global position system based off of 24 satellite s that orbit the earth and can pinpoint any given location. It was designed for military use at first but it then opened to the public in ways like google earth. It is used for mainly directions
What fields of science are included in the study of earth science
Geology
Oceanography
Meteorology
And astronomy
