Earth Science

Exam 1

Kepler’s __third__ law of planetary motion states that ________.

planets further from the Sun take longer to orbit the Sun.

Who first observed the phases of Venus, adding support for the heliocentric model of the Solar System?

Galileo

The geocentric model of the Solar System was developed by _________.

Ptolemy

The ______________ is the solid earth, comprised of rocks, minerals and soil.

Lithosphere

What is the single greatest cause of seasonality at a given location?

tilt of earth’s axis

Diamond and graphite are ________; minerals that have different properties but the same chemistry.

polymorphs

What is NOT a mineral, based on the definition given in class?

petroleum

The tendency for a mineral to break along planes of weak chemical bonds is called ___________.

cleavage

________ is generally considered the least reliable mineral property for identification purposes.

color

The first person to hypothesize a spherical earth was _______________.

Pythagoras

What is a mineral that is the most basic silicate, since it is composed of silicon and oxygen, alone?

quartz

Minerals within which of the groups react to dilute hydrochloric acid (HCl)?

carbonates

Silicon and __________ are the most abundant elements found in rocks within earth’s crust.

oxygen

What rocks forms by way of *lithification*?

limestone

What is an example of a __mafic__ rock?

basalt

The single most important factor in the texture of igneous rocks is _____________.

rate of cooling

What is true about sedimentary rocks?

formed by way of lithification, contains inorganic and/or organic matter, and account for the majority of the fossil fuel reserves.

What is an example of an intrusive igneous rock?

Granite

The concept of catastrophism was first proposed by ______.

James Ussher

What helps determine the *relative* age of rocks and geologic structures?

law of superposition, principle of cross-cutting relationships, and principle of original horizontality

What is an example of an exogenic process?

Wind Erosion

The Law of Superposition was formulated by ________.

Nicholas Steno

____________ metamorphism involves large volumes of rock subjected to heat and pressure during mountain-building.

Regional

________ _________ is known as the “Father of Modern Geology” for his work in developing the principle of gradualism.

James Hutton

The core is believed to be composed primarily of ______ and _________.

Iron; Nickel

The _________ is the most extensive region of the Earth’s interior, comprising over 80% of Earths’ volume.

mantle

The __________ Era is known as the “age of reptiles”, and this was the time of the dinosaurs.

Mesozoic

Most of Earth’s history occurred during the ________________ Eon.

Precambrian

The length of time for one-half of the parent isotope to decay and become stable is known as ______ ______.

half-life

What pieces of evidence did Wegener use to explain his continental drift theory?

1. The continents seem to fit together like pieces of a puzzle
2. Patterns from glaciers (striations) found on different continents
3. Mountains and rock layers matching on opposite sides of the ocean
4. Similar plant and animal fossils on several different continents

The continental crust of the Earth is characterized by ______.

silicon-rich rocks

The “Moho” is the transition between the mantle and crust and is defined by sharp changes in rock __________.

density

The “plastic” region of the upper mantle, where solid rock undergoes slow motion, is the ___________________.

asthenosphere

The driving force behind plate tectonics is ____________.

convection within the earth

What provided evidence for seafloor spreading?

mapped patterns in rock age on the seafloor

Subduction of the earth’s crust occurs along which type of plate boundary?

oceanic-continental convergent & oceanic-oceanic convergent

What structures are associated with subduction?

oceanic trench, shallow and deep earthquakes, volcanic mountains/islands

Even though the flow of heat within the earth is not entirely understood, it is widely accepted that the lithospheric plates are in motion due to movement of the ________ beneath.

asthenosphere

Anticlines are caused by __________ stress within the earth.

compressional

The San Andreas Fault, which runs through much of western California, is an example of a _________ fault.

strike-slip

What is true of primary waves?

fastest of all seismic waves, move through the interior of the earth, compressional waves

What is likely to be found in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern U.S.?

Syncline

Which structure/feature is often found in association with transform plate boundaries?

Offset Drainage

What type of seismic waves are compression waves that move through solid and liquid rock?

Primary

The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was most noted for the _________ that caused the majority of fatalities.

fire

The classification scale which rates earthquakes according to the amount of energy released during the earthquake is called the ________ scale.

Richter

What is true about tsunamis?

As a tsunami approaches shore, its velocity decreases, As a tsunami approaches shore, its height increases, tsunamis go virtually unnoticed by ships on the open ocean.

What is generally associated with an “effusive” volcanic eruption?

Shield volcano: low viscosity (it is runny), gas can escape easily, so when the magma erupts at the surface it forms lava flows.

What is an example of a “pyroclastic”?

ash

High-viscosity lava is characterized by ________.

high silica content

Much of the damage in the area around Mount St. Helens (1980) was attributed to ________.

lateral blast

What characterizes a typical composite cone volcano?

steep slope, high-viscosity lava, & pyroclastic

The theory that rocks at the bottom of a sedimentary sequence are older than the rocks at the \n top refers to the _________.

Law of Superposition

Igneous rocks that are rich in iron and magnesium are classified as _________.

mafic

__________ __________ used the statement "the present is the key to the past" to describe \n the concept of uniformitarianism.

Charles Lyell

\n The __________ model of the Solar System showed Earth at the center with the other planets \n orbiting around it.

geocentric

Name any three forms of metamorphism (metamorphic environments).

Regional, Contact, & Burial

__________ rock forms when cooling magma solidifies.

Igneous

Precipitation of mineral cements between the shells and other particles results in the formation of \n sedimentary rock called __________.

LIMESTONE

__________ is a common, very finely crystalline volcanic rock.

BASALT

A field geologist often uses __________ to name a volcanic rock.

COLOR

The rock that already exists in an area and that is crosscut by younger intrusive igneous rocks or \n minerals deposits is called __________ rock.

COUNTRY

Many __________ consist predominantly of rounded quartz grains, because this hard mineral \n resists physical and chemical breakdown and therefore is concentrated by long periods of \n weathering and transport.

SANDSTONES

__________-__________ forms in many environments where wind or water transports and deposits \n sediment.

CROSS-BEDDING

Because temperature increases with depth in Earth, a general relationship exists between depth and __________ __________.

METAMORPHIC GRADE

Sometimes, when a __________ rock contains only one mineral, metamorphism transforms the rock into one composed of the same mineral but with a coarser texture.

PARENT

A __________ __________around a pluton can range in width from less than a meter to hundreds of \n meters, depending on the size and temperature of the intrusion and the effects of water or other \n fluids

METAMORPHIC HALO

Sedimentary Rock

*Rocks formed from deposits of pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organism that accumulate on the Earth's surface*.

Igneous Rock

Rocks formed when hot, molten rock crystallizes and solidifies.

Metamorphic Rock

Rocks that start out as some other type of rock, but have been substantially changed from their original igneous, sedimentary, or earlier metamorphic form.

Father of Modern Astronomy; Proposed the Heliocentric Theory

Nicolaus Copernicus

Lithosphere

the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the __crust__ and upper __mantle__.

Asthenosphere

layer of solid rock beneath the lithosphere where the extreme pressure and heat cause the rocks to flow like a liquid.

Hydrosphere

the total amount of water on a planet including water that is on the surface of the planet, underground, and in the air.

The envelope of __gases__ surrounding the earth or another planet.

Atmosphere

the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and __hydrosphere__ of the earth occupied by living organisms.

Biosphere

What kind of rock forms when magma is trapped deep inside the Earth.

intrusive, or plutonic, igneous rock

Extrusive Igneous Rocks

rocks that form at erupting volcanoes and oozing fissures.

Rocks that form from transported solid material.

Detrital Sedimentary Rocks

Foliated Metamorphic Rock

forms when pressure squeezes the flat or elongate minerals within a rock so they become aligned.

Seismograph

records the motion of the ground during an earthquake.

intensity and magnitude scales

*describes the severity of an earthquake's effects on the Earth's surface, humans, and buildings*