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Geology 101 > Terms > Flashcards

Terms Flashcards

1
Q

portion of mantle below the lithosphere

A

asthenosphere

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2
Q

the varied weather produced by weather cycles

A

climate

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3
Q

all the earth system components that determine global climate along with its changes

A

climate system

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4
Q

the process of hotter material rising and cooler material sinking

A

convection

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5
Q

the dense center of the earth

A

core

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6
Q

part of the earth’s makeup directly under our feet composed of Lowe density silicates

A

crust

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7
Q

all parts of our planet and their interactions

A

earth system

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8
Q

traces of organisms preserved in the geologic record

A

fossil

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9
Q

a very old earth science that studies earth’s shape and surface

A

geodesy

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10
Q

an electromagnet in the outer core

A

geodynamo

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11
Q

formation preserved in rocks over time

A

geologic record

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12
Q

the study of all aspects of the planet

A

geology

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13
Q

specialized subsystems that produce specific types of activity such as climate change or mountain building

A

geosystem

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14
Q

a strong outer shell under the surface of the earth

A

lithosphere

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15
Q

caused by the geodynamo inside the earth’s liquid outer core and reaches far into outerspace

A

magnetic field

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16
Q

the convecting mantle and its lithospheric plates

A

plate tectonic system

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17
Q

the idea that earth’s processes today have worked the same way throughout the geologic past

A

uniformitarianism

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18
Q

the general procedure for discovering how everything works

A

scientific method

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19
Q

allow geologists to locate earthquakes and learn about earth’s inner workings

A

seismic wave

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20
Q

the smooth curvature of earth’s surface broken by mountains and valleys

A

topography

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21
Q

large scale movement of continents

A

continental drift

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22
Q

convection in the mantle that pushes and pulls continents apart, creating new oceanic crust

A

seafloor spreading

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23
Q

a supercontinent that broke into today’s continents

A

Pangaea

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24
Q

plates move apart to form new lithosphere

A

divergent boundaries

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25
Q

plates come together and one plate is recycled into the mantle

A

convergent boundaries

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26
Q

plates slide horizontally past each other

A

transform fault boundaries

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27
Q

rifting and spreading along a mid-ocean ridge creating new oceanic lithosphere

A

spreading center

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28
Q

where one plate descends beneath the other

A

subduction

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29
Q

the result of magma producing a chain of volcanoes

A

island arc

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30
Q

the intensity of the magnetic field alternated between high and low values

A

magnetic anomaly

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31
Q

hundreds of measurements around the world

A

magnetic time scale

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32
Q

the combination of the spreading rate and the spreading direction

A

relative plate velocity

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33
Q

the boundaries between bands or contours of equal seafloor age

A

isochrons

34
Q

evidence from rock types, fossils, and magnetization that helped reconstruct a supercontinent older than Pangaea

A

Rodinia

35
Q

a type of narrow upwelling

A

mantle plume

36
Q

the branch of geology that studies the composition, structure, stability, associations, etc. of minerals

A

mineralogy

37
Q

a naturally occurring solid crystalline substance with a specific chemical composition

A

mineral

38
Q

number of protons in the nucleus of an atom

A

atomic number

39
Q

the sum of the masses of its protons and neutrons

A

atomic mass

40
Q

atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons

A

isotopes

41
Q

sharing electrons between reacting atoms

A

electron sharing

42
Q

a positively charged ion

A

cation

43
Q

a negatively charged ion

A

anion

44
Q

the simplest form of chemical bond

A

ionic bond

45
Q

the process in which atoms of a gas or liquid come together in the proper chemical portions and arrangement to form a solid substance

A

crystallization

46
Q

orderly three dimensional arrays of atoms in which basic arrangement is repeated in all directions

A

crystals

47
Q

minerals with alternative structures formed from the same chemical element or compound

A

polymorphs

48
Q

mass per unit volume expressed in grams per cubic centimeter

A

density

49
Q

the scale based on the ability of one mineral to scratch another

A

Mohs scale of hardness

50
Q

the weight of a mineral divided by the weight of equal volume of pure water at 4 degrees Celsius

A

specific gravity

51
Q

the shape in which individual crystals or aggregates of crystals grow

A

crystal habit

52
Q

the formation of parallel layers of sediment as particles are deposited

A

bedding

53
Q

where high pressures and temperatures extend over large regions as happens where plates collide

A

regional metamorphism

54
Q

where high temperatures are restricted to smaller areas as in the rocks are transformed

A

contact metamorphism

55
Q

how each rock is transformed into one of the others

A

rock cycle

56
Q

rich deposits of minerals from which valuable metals can be recovered profitably

A

ores

57
Q

formed around bodies of molten rock

A

hydrothermal solutions

58
Q

deposits of precipitated minerals in the fractures

A

veins

59
Q

deposits of ore minerals that are scattered through volumes of rock larger than veins

A

disseminated deposits

60
Q

magma flowing onto the earth’s surface

A

lava

61
Q

an igneous rock that forced its way into the surrounding rock and solidified without reaching earth’s surface

A

intrusive igneous rock

62
Q

formed from fragments of lava thrown into the air

A

pyroclasts

63
Q

made of extremely small fragments that form when escaping gases fore a fine spray of magma

A

volcanic ash

64
Q

larger particles hurled from a volcano

A

bombs

65
Q

frothy mass of volcanic glass

A

pumice

66
Q

igneous rock with mixed texture in which large crystals float

A

porphyry

67
Q

poor in iron and magnesium and rich in Celtic minerals that are high in silica

A

Celtic rocks

68
Q

not rich in silica as Celtic rocks or as poor in it as magic rocks

A

intermediate igneous rocks

69
Q

rocks that contain large proportions of pyroxenes and olivines

A

mafic rocks

70
Q

consist primarily of magic minerals with a small percentage of feldspar

A

ultramafic rocks

71
Q

the measure of a liquid’s resistance to flow

A

viscosity

72
Q

large pools of molten rock

A

magma chambers

73
Q

a process by which rocks of varying composition can arise from a uniform parent magma

A

magmatic differentiation

74
Q

the process by which the crystals formed in a cooling magma are segregated from the remaining liquid rock

A

fractional crystallization

75
Q

large igneous bodies formed deep in earth’s crust

A

plutons

76
Q

the largest plutons

A

batholiths

77
Q

smaller plutons

A

stocks

78
Q

how plutons cut across the layers of the country rock that they intrude

A

discordant intrusions

79
Q

a sheetlike body formed by the injection of magma between parallel layers of bedded country rock

A

sill

80
Q

boundaries that lie parallel to the country rock layers whether or not those layers are horizontal

A

concordant intrusions

81
Q

major route of magma transport in the crust

A

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Geology 101 (5 decks)

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