Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Geology 101 > Test 1 > Flashcards

Test 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Geocentric

A

Earth sits motionless at the center of the universe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Heliocentric

A

sun lies act the center of the universe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

star

A

immense ball of plasma

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Planet

A

object that orbits a star, is roughly spherical, and has “cleared its neighborhood of other objects”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

terrestrial planets

A

consists of a shell of rock surrounding a ball of metal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

moon

A

sizable body locked in orbit around a planet

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Big bang theory

A

all matter and energy was initially packed into an infinitesimally small point

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

nebulae

A

patchy clouds of hydrogen and helium gas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

accretionary disk

A

bulbous plate-like shape

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

protostar

A

when the ball of gasses becomes hot enough to glow

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

supernova

A

when stars run out of fuel, collapse, and explode

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Planetesimals

A

bodies whose diameter exceeds 1 km

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

protoplanets

A

almost full sized planets

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

differentiation

A

In bodies whose temp rose sufficiently to cause internal melting, denser iron alloy separated out and sank to the center of the body, whereas the lighter rocky materials remade in a shell.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

atmosphere

A

the envelope of gas that surrounds the planet

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

sections of the atmosphere by increasing altitude

A

Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Hydrosphere

A

oceans, surface water, and groundwater

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Cyrosphere

A

ice

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

geosphere

A

solid Earth, from the surface to the center

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Bathymetery

A

variations in depth of the seafloor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

organic chemicals

A

carbon-containing compound the either occurs in living organisms or has characteristics that resemble compounds in living organisms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Minerals

A

a solid, natural substance, in which atoms are arranged in an orderly pattern

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Glasses

A

a solid in which atoms are not arranged in an orderly pettern

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Rocks

A

an aggregate of mineral crystals or grains, or a mass of natural glass

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Greatest to least proportion of silica

A

Felsic, intermediate, mafic, and ultramafic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Biosphere

A

the aggregate of all living organisms, as well as the portion of Earth in which living organisms exist

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

When did differentiation of the Earth occur?

A

about 4.5 billion years ago

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Till

A

sediment left behind by melting glaciers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

paleomagnetism

A

a record of Earth’s magnetic field in the past

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

magnetic declination

A

the angle between the direction that a compass needle points and a line of longitude at a given location

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

magnetic inclination

A

the angle between a magnetic field line and the surface of the Earth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Mid ocean ridge fracture zones

A

narrow bands of vertical cracks and broken up rock

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Seamounts

A

isolated submarine mountains, which were once volcanoes but no longer erupt

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Magnetic anomaly

A

the difference between the expected strength of Earth’s main dipole field and the actual measured strength of the magnetic field

35
Q

Asthenosphere

A

warmer mantle that can flow very slowly when acted on by a force

36
Q

Continental lithosphere thickness

37
Q

oceanic lithosphere thickness

38
Q

Continental crust thickness

39
Q

oceanic crust thickness

40
Q

Wadati-Benioff zone

A

the band of earthquakes in a downing plate

41
Q

Accretionary prism

A

sediment from the downing plate piles up at the boundary

42
Q

Mantle plume

A

a column of very hot rock rising up through the mantle to the base of the lithosphere

43
Q

rifting

A

when a continent splits apart

44
Q

Suture

A

the boundary between once two separate continents after a collision

45
Q

Polymorphs

A

two different minerals that have the same composition but different crystal structures

46
Q

Biomineralization

A

when minerals grow at the interface between the physical and biological components of the Earth system

47
Q

How does a crystal grow?

A

from the inside out so the outer most layer is the youngest part of the crystal

48
Q

Color

A

results from the way a mineral interacts with light

49
Q

Streak

A

the color of a powder produced by pulverizing the mineral

50
Q

Luster

A

the way a mineral surface scatters light

51
Q

Hardness

A

a measure of the relative ability of a mineral to resist scratching

52
Q

Specific gravity

A

represents the density of a mineral

53
Q

crystal habit

A

the shape of a single crystal with well formed crystal faces

54
Q

Special properties

A

such as the whether a mineral reacts with a certain chemical

55
Q

Cleavage

A

If a mineral breaks to form distinct planar surfaces that have a specific orientation in relation to the crystal structure

56
Q

Conchoidal fractures

A

smoothly curving, clamshell-shaped surfaces

57
Q

Independent tetrahedra

A

on oxygen shared

58
Q

single chain

A

tetrahedra linked to form a chain by sharing two oxygen atoms

59
Q

Double chains

A

share 2 or 3 oxygen atoms

60
Q

sheet silicates

A

tetrahedra share 3 oxygen atoms and therefore form 2-D sheets

61
Q

Framework silicates

A

each tetrahedra shares all 4 oxygen atoms forming a 3-D structure

62
Q

Igneous rock

A

any rock formed by the solidifying of a melt

63
Q

Extrusive igneous rock

A

rock that forms by the freezing of lava above ground, in contact with air or water, after it erupts

64
Q

Pyroclastic debris

A

a rock made from cemented together fragments

65
Q

Intrusive igneous rock

A

rock formed by the solidification of melt underground, after it has intruded into preexisting wall rock

66
Q

Melting due to decompression

A

occurs when the mantle rock moves slowly for as the rock moves up its pressure lessens while the rocks temp remains the same

67
Q

Assimilation

A

As magma sits underground before solidifying completely, it may incorporate chemicals dissolved from the wall rocks.

68
Q

The two reasons that magma rises

A

buoyancy and pressure from the weight of overlying rock

69
Q

Fractional crystallization

A

different minerals grow in sequence so the melt composition changes progressively as cooling takes place

70
Q

Mafic lava characteristics

A

low viscosity

broad, thin flows

71
Q

Volatile-rich celtic lavas

A

tend to erupt explosively and from thick ash and debris

72
Q

Dike

A

a tabular intrusion that cuts across a pre-existing layering

73
Q

Sill

A

a tabular incursion that injects between layers

74
Q

Plutons

A

blob-shaped intrusions that range from tens of meters across to tens of km across

75
Q

xenolith

A

a body of rock within an intrusion

76
Q

Crystalline texture

A

size and visibility of individual crystals

77
Q

Fragmental texture

A

from from pyroclastic debris and consist of chunks and/or shards that are packed together

78
Q

Prophyritic rocks

A
  1. the melt cools slowly at depth forming larger crystals

2. the melt rises and erupts so that the remainder cools quickly forming smaller crystals

79
Q

mafic rock color

A

tend to be black or dark gray

80
Q

intermediate rock color

A

lighter gray or greenish gray

81
Q

felsic rock color

A

light tan to pink or maroon

82
Q

Pumice

A

a felsic volcanic rock that consists tiny air bubbles

83
Q

Scoria

A

mafic volcanic rock with many air bubbles

84
Q

Tuff

A

composed mostly of volcanic ash

Geology 101 (4 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions