Earth Sciences Exam 1

True/False: There are 4 Earth Systems

True

True/False: The majority of the Earth's freshwater is trapped in glaciers and ice

False

True/False: The Earth is 4.5 billion years old

True

True/False: The Geosphere is made up of all living things on Earth

True

True/False: Oxygen makes up about 21% of gases in the atmosphere

True

True/False: Alfred Wegener postulated the hypothesis of Continental Drift and Seafloor Spreading.

False

True/False:The Fit of the Continents is one of the pieces of evidence presented by Alfred Wegener for a drifting continent

True

True/False:There are 5 major plates in the Plate Tectonics Theory

False

True/False: Palaeomagnetism is one of the pieces of evidence that came to light in the 1950s and 1960s supporting the Continental Drift Theory

True

True/False: The One Giant Super-continent called Pangaea was proposed by Alfred Wegener

True

True/False: The lithosphere is made up of the crust and upper mantle

True

True/False: A trench is formed right above the subduction zone

True

True/False: A mid-oceanic ridge (MOR) is an example of a convergent boundary

False

True/False: The Himalayas Mountain is formed in a convergent boundary

True

True/False: A transform boundary the plates slide-past each other

True

True/False: A mineral must be inorganic in nature

True

True/False: Sulfides are minerals in which sulfur is attached to a metal, e.g., Galena (PbS)

True

True/False: Silicates minerals are composed of Silicon and hydrogen ONLY

False

True/False: Gold is a mineral

True

True/False:Coal is a mineral

False

True/False:Igneous rocks are formed from the cooling and crystallization of magma

True

True/False:Metamorphic rocks are formed from heat and pressure

True

True/False:Sedimentary rocks are formed through processes of weathering, erosion, deposition, and lithification (compaction and cementation)

True

True/False:Igneous rocks can be formed directly from sedimentary rocks

False

True/False:Magma is the red-hot molten fluid found within the earth

True

True/False: Fine-grained minerals are an indication of cooling and crystallization in an intrusive environment

False

True/False: Mafic magma produces mostly light-colored igneous rocks

False

True/False: Pegmatites (pegmatitic texture) have crystals that are larger than 10mm in diameter

False

True/False: The red-hot molten fluid within the earth is called lava

False

True/False:Porphyritic texture represents two crystallization history

True

True/False: The lithification of angular gravels will form a Conglomerate.

False

True/False: Sandstone is an example of a clastic sedimentary rock.

True

True/False:NaCl (Halite) is an example of a Chemical (Bio-Chemical) sedimentary rock.

True

True/False:Clay is larger in size than gravel.

False

True/False: Lithification is a combined process of weathering and erosion

False

What happens to the sediment over time?

They become rounded and corners progressively break off.

What Is the term for when the Sea level rises relative to land?

Transgression

What is the term for when the Sea level lowers relative to land?

Regression

How do we know the age of the Earth?

Radioactive decay rates; Age of the oldest minerals in the sedimentary rocks of Australia (4.4 By); Age of Moon rocks (4.6 By); Age of meteorites (4.6 By)

In what way can we see evolution at work in our lifetime?

Disease-causing microbes in a lab

Who proposed the Continental drift hypothesis?

Alfred Wegener in 1915

Which type of rocks are found in the oceanic crust?

Dense Rocks and Basallt

What defines igneous processes?

Rock has to melt to form magma, the formation of igneous rocks from the cooling and solidification of molten material (magma or lava)

What is magma made of?

Gas–Magma contain abundant dissolved volatile gas.

How are igneous rocks classified? 

By their mineral composition and texture

Why are there different magma compositions?

Result from variations in their source rocks, the degree of partial melting, magma differentiation (like crystal settling and assimilation), and magma mixing

How does loose sediment become sedimentary rock?

Lithification-the conversion of sediment into rock via two main steps

How are sedimentary rocks classified? 

Clastic, chemical, and biochemical (or organic).

How do sedimentary rocks reveal ancient environments?

Depositional environments

What are Depositional environments?

The characteristics used to name sedimentary rocks can also be used to interpret the history of an area

What type of sediment is the Rio Grande River in Texas likely to deposit?

Deposits a mixture of sand, gravel, silt, and clay, with the exact composition depending on the location and the river's flow history, which has included periods as a braided stream and periods with more fine-grained floodplain deposition.

How are plate tectonics and sedimentary rocks connected?

Plate tectonics creates and destroys sedimentary rock by shaping the land, which is then eroded by the hydrologic cycle to form sediments. (Paleographic Reconstruction)

In what direction was there likely a shallow sea when these rocks were deposited?

East

The lithification of angular gravels will form a Conglomerate

No, the lithification of angular gravels forms a breccia,

Sandstone is an example of a clastic sedimentary rock.

True

NaCl (Halite) is an example of a Chemical (Bio-Chemical) sedimentary rock.

True

Clay is larger in size to gravel

No, gravel is larger

Lithification is a combined processed of weathering and erosion.

No it is the conversion of sediment into rock via two main steps.

What is Graded Bedding?

Sedimentary structure within a rock layer that shows a systematic decrease in grain size from the base to the top, where coarser material at the bottom gradually transitions to finer material at the top. 

What are Turbidity Currents?

Fast-moving underwater avalanches of sediment and water that are denser than the surrounding water, driven by gravity

What helps determine the depositional environment of rocks? 

Grain Size, Sorting, and Rounding