Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Geology > Test 1 Material > Flashcards

Test 1 Material Flashcards

1
Q

Geologic time

A

the span of time since earth’s formation, the earth is 4.6 billion years old

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

Relative time

A

age of features are described in relation to one another. Principal of uniformitarianism, superposition, original horizontality, original continuity, cross-cutting relations, inclusions, and baked contacts

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

principal of uniformitarianism

A

physical processes that occur today also happed in the past. “the present is the key to the past”

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

principal of superposition

A

in an undeformed sequence of rocks, oldest are on the bottom and the youngest are on top

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

principal of original horizontality

A

sediments settle and accumulate on fairly horizontal surfaces. flat geologic layers have not been disturbed

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

principal of original continuity

A

sediments accumulate in continuous layers or sheets. layers that end abruptly have been disturbed after formation

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

principal of cross-cutting relationships

A

if one geologic feature cuts across another, the feature that has been cut is older

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

principal of inclusions

A

inclusions are a piece of rock within another rock. the inclusion must be older than the surrounding rock

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

principal of baked contacts

A

molten rock can heat or bake the surrounding rock, the baked rock must be older than

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

importance of fossils

A

aid in the interpretation of past events, and are important time indicators

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

unconformities

A

a break in the rock record resulting from erosion and or non deposition of rock

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

angular unconformity

A

tilted or folded rocks overlain by flat lying rocks

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

nonconformity

A

when rocks that form in very different environments are found next to each other

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

disconformity

A

a break in the rock record between rock units of similar type

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

absolute time scale

A

age of features is reported by a numerical value

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

radioactivity

A

spontaneous decay in atomic structure

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

parent

A

unstable radioactive isotope

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

daughter

A

isotope resulting from decay of parent

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

half-life

A

(decay rate) time required for one half of radioactive material to decay

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

carbon 14 dating

A

half life is 5730 years and is the ratio of carbon 14 to carbon 12. used to date material less than 50k yrs

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

geologic time scale

A

calendar of earths history, created by assigning absolute dates to relative features

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

Periods and dates

A

4.6 - Precambrian - 540 mill - Paleozoic - 248 mill - Mesozoic - 65 mill - Cenozoic - now

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

big bang theory

A

occurred about 14 billion years ago, all mater and energy packed into one point that violently exploded.

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

nebular hypothesis

A

dust collides and sticks together to form mini planets. mini planets collide to build up proto-earth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
age of the earth
4.6 billion years ago
26
compositional earth layers
crust, mantle, inner core, and outer core
27
Precambrian history
simple life (cyanobacteria), supercontinent Rhodena, formation of most continents, oxygen and water fairly abundant,
28
Paleozoic history
Taconic, Acadian, and Alleghenian Orogeny formed the Appalachian mountains, supercontinent Pangea, diversification of life, largest extinction in history
29
Mesozoic history
age of the dinosaurs, breakup of Pangea, few mammals, Laminide Orogeny formed the Rocky mountains and the K-T extinction (meteor)
30
Cenozoic history
current continent formation, age of the mammels, ice age, evolution of humans
31
defining characteristics of minerals
naturally occurring, homogeneous, definite chemical composition, inorganic crystalline solid
32
atomic structure
protons, neutrons, and electrons
33
isotope
different number of neutrons
34
ion
different number of electrons cation - positive charge anion - negative charge
35
types of chemical bods
ionic, covalent, metallic, and van der Waals
36
ionic bond
atoms gain or lose outermost electrons creating ions, opposites attract and they become electronically stable
37
covalent bond
stronger than ionic bonds, atoms share electrons to achieve electrical neutrality
38
metallic bond
electrons migrate among atoms, good conductivity
39
van der Walls bond
weak attractive force between electrically neutral atoms
40
polymorphs
minerals with the same composition but different crystalline structures
41
mineral diagnostic properties
crystal form and shape, luster, color, streak, hardness, cleavage, fracture, specific gravity and others
42
crystal form
external expression of mineral's internal structure
43
luster
appearance in reflected light, metallic or non metallic
44
color
generally unreliable because of mineral impurities
45
streak
color of a mineral in powdered form
46
hardness
resistance of a mineral to abrasion or scratching
47
cleavage
tendency to break along planes of weak bonding, produces flat, shiny surfaces
48
fracture
absence of cleavage when broken
49
specific gravity
weight of a mineral divided by the weight o equal volume water
50
other mineral diagnostic properties of
magnetism, reaction to HCl, double refraction, taste, smell
51
silicate minerals
most important mineral group, very abundant, tetrahedron,
52
mafic
simple silicate structure, dark colored, dense, contains iron and magnesium
53
felsic
more complex silicate structure, light colored, less dense
54
non silicate minerals
have important economic value and only make up 8% of the earths crust
55
magma
partially melted rock at a depth of
56
lava
magma on the surface of
57
components of magma
liquid portion, solids(silicate minerals), and volatiles
58
how magma forms
heat (temperature increases with depth), pressure (decrease pressure decreases the melting point), volatiles (causes rocks to melt at a lower temperature),
59
Bowen's reaction series
mafic minerals crystallize first, felsic minerals crystalize last
60
Partial melting
felsic minerals melt first, mafic minerals melt last
61
Other ways to change magma composition
crystallization and settling, assimilation of inclusions, magma mixing
62
viscosity
resistance to flow
63
low viscosity
runny and flows easily, mafic magma
64
high viscosity
thick and flows slowly, felsic magma
65
intrusive cooling
magma cools and solidifies underground, can form a variety of plutons
66
dike
vertical pluton
67
sill
horizontal pluton
68
laccolith
lens or mushroom shaped pluton
69
batholith
largest pluton
70
extrusive setting
magma erupted onto the surface of the earth freezes in contact with the atmosphere and ocean
71
Igneous Textures
aphanitic, phaneritic, porphyritic, glassy
72
Aphanitic texture
rapid cooling, extrusive, very small crystals
73
Phaneritic texture
slow cooling, intrusive, large visible crystals
74
porphyritic texture
both big and little crystals, indicates 2 stages of cooling
75
glassy texture
very rapid cooling of lava, extrusive
76
Felsic, intrusive (phaneritic texture)
Granite
77
Felsic, extrusive (aphanitic texture)
Rhyolite
78
Intermediate, intrusive (phaneritic texture)
Diorite
79
Intermediate, extrusive (aphanitic texture)
Andesite
80
Mafic, intrusive (phaneritic texture)
Gabbro
81
Mafic, extrusive (aphanitic texture)
Basalt
82
extrusive (glassy texture)
Obsidian
83
extrusive (frothy appearance)
Pumice
84
Pyroclastic Rocks
fragmented, ejected during volcanic eruption, contain broken pieces of rock inside
85
the rock cycle
any type of rock can turn into any other type of rock
86
weathering
the physical breakdown and chemical alteration of rock at the earth's surface
87
parent material
rock being weathered
88
types of weathering
physical and chemical (both can happen simultaneously)
89
physical weathering
breaking of rocks into smaller pieces
90
frost wedging
water gets in a crack and freezes and makes the crack even bigger
91
unloading
pressure released off of a pluton and it expands
92
biologic activity in weathering
animals make homes in rocks
93
thermal expansion
heating causes expansion, cooling causes contraction,
94
chemical weathering
chemical reactions alter or destroy minerals
95
dissolution
minerals dissolved into water
96
oxidation
chemical reaction with water
97
hydrolysis
ions from water attack and replace mineral ions
98
Rates of weathering factors
Surface area, rock composition, climate
99
Surface area
greater surface area = faster weathering
100
rock composition
less complex SiO4 structure = faster weathering
101
climate in weathering
chemical processes increase at higher temperatures and in the presence of liquids
102
differential weathering
different rocks weather at different rates, this causes unusual and spectacular rock formations
103
Soil
combination of sediment, organic matter, water, and air
104
factors controlling soil formation
parent material, time, plants and animals, topography,climate
105
time in soil formation
younger soil is thinner/less evolved than older soil
106
climate in soil formation
most influential factor, deep soil in the tropics and thinner soil in arctic and desert
107
Plants and animals in soil formation
humus, influence soil's physical and chemical properties
108
Topography
steep slopes = poorly developed soils, optimum terrain is flat surfaces
109
Soil profile
Vertical layers called horizons
110
zone of leaching
rainwater carries ions from above downward into soil
111
zone of accumulation
new minerals precipitate here
112
Steps to make a sedimentary rock
weathering, transport, diagenesis
113
transportation: erosion and deposition
moving sediment from is source location to another location (wind, rivers, glaciers, ocean currents)
114
Degree of rounding and transport
the farther that a rock travels the rounder its edges get. traveled short distance = harsh/jagged edges. traveled long distance = rounded edges
115
Sedimentary environments
Continental, transitional, marine
116
continental environment
dominated by river/stream deposition, also have glacial and wind deposition
117
transitional environment
tidal flats, lagoons, deltas
118
marine environment
shallow, deep
119
Diagenesis
chemical, physical, and biological changes after sediments are deposited
120
Lithification
transform loose sediment into rock
121
types of sedimentary rocks
Detrital, Chemical
122
Detrital
sedimentary rocks made of pieces of other rocks, sediments transported as solid particles
123
Shale
clay or silt sized sediment, most common
124
Sandstone
sand sized sediment
125
Conglomerate and Breccia
pebble, cobble, or boulder sized sediment Conglomerate = rounded sediment Breccia = angular sediment
126
Chemical sedimentary rocks
once in solution, precipitation occurs by inorganic or organic processes
127
common sedimentary rocks
limestone, agate, and chert
128
Evaporates
evaporation triggers deposition of precipitates
129
coal
organic material buried and turned into sedimentary rock
130
sedimentary structures
bedding planes, cross-bedding, ripple marks, mud cracks
131
bedding planes
a layer of sedimentary rock with a distinctive top and bottom
132
cross bedding
pattern created by moving sand dunes
133
ripple marks
as water moves back and forth it moves sand underneath to create ripples
134
mud cracks
a wet muddy environment that drys up and cracks
135
136

Geology (5 decks)

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