SOL Flashcards
What does DMV mean?
Density = Mass/Volume
How do you find the volume of irregular objects?
Through water displacement
Why do warm liquids and gasses rise?
They are less dense.
What do cold liquids and gasses do?
They sink
As _____________ increases so does density.
Pressure
What is a hypothesis?
A testable prediction that attempts to explain a problem/unexplained phenomenon
What is a variable?
A factor in an experimental design which is different for each trial
What are constants?
Factors in a n experimental design which remain the same across all trials.
What is a scientific theory?
Something that has passes experimental tests of its accuracy and validity.
How many explanations can there be for any phenomenon.
More than 1.
What are latitude lines?
Lines that extend East-West but measure North and South of the equator.
What are longitude lines?
Lines that extend North-South but measure East and West of the Prime Meridian.
How do you know if a slope is steep?
By how close the contour lines are to each other.
What does a V contour line mean?
It means there is a river/creek.
What does the lithosphere contain?
Crust and upper mantle.
What is the difference between oceanic crust and a continental crust?
The oceanic crust is thinner, younger, and denser than the continental crust.
What are convergent boundaries?
Locations where tectonic plates collide, causing folded or thrust faulted mountains, subduction zones, and reverse faults.
What are divergent boundaries?
Locations where tectonic plates move apart causing Sea-Floor Spreading, Mid-Ocean Ridges, Rift Valleys, and Volcanoes.
What are Transform boundaries?
Plates slide past each other
Are hot spots related to plate movement?
No
What is a fault?
A break or crack in the Earth’s crust where plate movement has occured
Are the App Mts. folded?
Yes
Where does volcanic activity occur?
Zones of subduction, rifting, and sea floor spreading
Why will a oceanic plate always sink under a continental plate?
The oceanic plate is more dense.
What are P-Waves?
Primary waves travel the fastest & reach the seismic station first - they travel through solids, gases, and liquids, but they slow & bend as they move through the earth’s liquid outer core
What are S-Waves?
Surfaces waves do not travel through liquids.
What is weathering?
The process in which rocks are broken down by water, air, and organisms.
When does chemical weathering occur?
It occurs fastest in warm, humid climates.
When does mechanical weathering occur?
It occurs fastest in cold climates due to Ice Wedging.
What is Erosion?
It is the process by which materials are transported by moving water, ice, or wind. Gravity is the force behind all of these agents of erosion.
What are the major agents of erosion?
Streams and moving water.
What is deposition
The dropping or settling out of sediments from water on the air.
What does soil evolution start with?
The weathering of bedrock.
Karst Topography -
An area that has limestone bedrock, dissolved by acidic groundwater to form caves and sinkholes.
What is an aquifier?
A layer of highly permeable rock through which groundwater flows, sometimes over great distances.
What is a spring?
An area where the water table reach’s the land’s surface
What does the water cycle include the process of?
1) Evaporation
2) Condensation
3) Precipitaiton
4) Run-off
What is a mineral?
A naturally occuring, inorganic solid, with a definite chemical composition and structure.
What do VA’s natural resources include?
Limestone, Coal, & Gravel
What is a fossil?
The remains (bone or tooth) impression (footprint) or other evidence of a dead life form preserved in rock.
What does the Law of Superposition state?
That the obvious assumption that older rock layers are found underneath younger layers
What does the Law of Cross-cutting relationships state?
That an igneous intrusion is younger that the layers it cuts across.
What are ‘Superposition’ & ‘Cross-Cutting’ used for?
To find the relative ages of rocks & fossils.
What are relative ages?
Rough estimates of how old a rock or fossil is, based on comparisons to the known ages of rocks and fossils located near to it.
What is radioactive decay rates and half-life used to determine?
The absolute age of rocks
What does Uranium dating do?
Used to find the ages of the oldest rocks
What is Carbon-14 dating used for?
To find the ages of human artifacts and fossils of living things that have died in the last 50,000 years..
How old is the earth?
About 4.6 billion years old
What are unconformities?
Missing rock layers, usually a result of erosion.
What are tides caused by?
The gravitational pull of the Earth and Moon on the oceans.
What are currents resulted in?
The cold movement of the ocean water in warm areas.
What does upwelling bring?
Cold, nutrient-rich water from the bottom of the ocean to the surface.
What are estruaries? List at least one.
Where salt water mixes with fresh water. The Chesapeke Bay is an example.
When does the sea level rise?
When ice caps and glaciers melt from land areas.
