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This consists of info from the past quizzes
Compositional layers(top→ bottom)
Crust, Mantle, Core
The age of the Earth
4.5 Billion Years before present
Physical Layers (top→ bottom)
Lithosphere, Asthenosphere, Mesosphere, Liquid core, Solid core
liquid core
convecting
solid core
nonconvecting
4 most abundant elements in the Earth’s Crust
Oxygen (O), Aluminum (Al), Silicon (Si), Iron (Fe)
Older tectonic plate
sinks because it is denser than the newer, less dense plate.
During an oceanic-continental
the oceanic plate subducts while the continental plate floats over
divergent boundaries
create a ridge when they pull apart
oceanic plates are
denser
Polar Wander Curve
the movement of the pole in relation of the pole in relation to a continent.
Lithosphere
its physical properties are brittle and cool
asthenosphere
its physical properties weak, hot, plastic and convecting
Earth’s PHYSICAL layers that DO NOT have convection Currents
inner(solid) core, lithosphere
Why is oceanic crust young and continental crust old?
Oceanic crust is young because during divergence magma is coming up and creating the new plate at the Mid Atlantic ridge. The continental crust is less dense
core
felsic
continental crust
metalic
mantle
mafic
mineral
solid, inorganic, natural, definite but not fixed(this means some elements can be in different percentages), 3D arrangement(because of Silica tetrahedral)
uniformitarianism
the theory that states that a lot of processes have been occurring that same way forever. Example: a stream that erodes that bank of a river will continue to do so
The theory that combines Uniformitarianism and Catastrophism
the theory is that they are synergistic which means they work together to cause repeated great events that have the same effect each time. Ex: major flood to the Grand Canyon eroding the same spot
ways to estimate the Earth’s age (after bible, before radioactivity)
stratigraphy: a method of estimating the Earth’s age by using the layers of sedimentary rock layers(not accurate because rocks change overtime), salt in the ocean, cooling of the earth
how many half lives for 2g of K^40 and 6g of Ar^40 if Ar started as 8g
half lives=1.2 billion years, the answer is 2 half lives(2.4 billion years)
Cation
positive charge
Anion
negative charge
Isotope
same # of protons, different # of neutrons
Ion
unequal protons and electrons
Silicates
formed from Silicon and oxygen. Its shape is a silica tetrahedral. The chemical formula is SiO4^-4
sulfides
MS or MS2, metal and sulfar
sulfate
MSO4, metal, sulfar and oxygen
oxide
M2O3, 2 metals and 3 oxygen
carbonate
MCO3, metal, carbon, and 3 oxygen
clay (how it acts)
they have layers (TOT,TO), they expand, absorb H2O, cause pressure when it expands
Clay is used for
Well liners; they make good liners because that can prevent stuff from getting into the ground water
Clay mineral formation
form as secondary minerals mostly from the feldspar minerals (NaAlSi3O8) by the process of weathering
feldspar formula
NaAlSi3O8
Cation Exchange
many clays absorb metals. during this process, some metals are more attracted to clay so they can kick off one of the other metals that are originally attached to the clay
Igneous rocks
they are formed within the Earth(INTRUSIVE). They have large grains because they cool slowly. some of them for ores called PEGMATIC
Formation of Clastic Sedimentary rock
Weathering, Erosion, deposition, burial, compaction, cementation
Weathering
this is the process of weakening the material, can include chemicals
why does sandstone lasts long?
it is made of quartz sand and silica cement which makes it hard/strong
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)
this is associated with sulfides. this leads to water problems: dissolved metals, acidic water
testing for Asbestos in the air
pump/fan air out through a pipe to the outside, have a filter on the pipe to collect the asbestos, count the particles
porosity
volume of voids/total volume
reserve
what we can get right now
Criteria for inclusion in a mineral reserve
economically worth it, legally available, quantitative, technically available, found or known
Calcite
dissolves from LIMESTONE in Finger Lakes bedrock. this protects the Finger lakes from acid rain.
CLACITE mineral dissolving formula
CaCO3→←- Ca^(+2) + CO3^(-2)
CALCITE protection equation
CO3^(-2) + H^+ → HCO3^-
Chemical and Physical properties that make Asbestos a good building material
Fireproof, flexible, high tensile strength, insulator, chemically resistant
Halite
dissolves from ROCK SALT. Its formula is NaCl. It is used to dissolve snow and ice on roads and walkways.
HALITE: 3 negative environmental effects
soil salinization, can runoff into rivers or sink into ground water, frog and amphibians lay eggs in spring(AKA when it rains and runoff occurs.
HALITE: negative Civil Engineering effect
the steel in building can rust/weaken for the halite
HALITE: mineral dissolving equation
NaCl→ Na^+ + Cl^-
Original Horizontality
the idea that originally when all of the sediments were laid out it was horizontally and they were then flattened to make horizontal layers
Syncline
they are downfolds formed from sediment that piles and as it gets heavier it sinks.
Unconformity
a gap in time in a sequence of sedimentary rocks. They usually form after erosion
Sedimentary Rock layers in WNY
they dip towards the south at an angle of 1.5 degrees so rocks outcropping in the north are older than in the south.
outcropping
sedimentary rock that is exposed at the surface
Physical weathering
the process in which rocks, minerals, etc, break down without changing their chemical composition
chemical weathering
when rocks/minerals react with something(like chemicals/water) that changes their composition
Physical and Chemical weathering are…
synergistic because when added together they create more destruction. It acts like a Positive feedback loop.
clay
small grains which have a lot of surface area to hold water and nutrients
sand
large grains which allow for drainage
silt
holds nutrients
glacial till
glacier melts and everything is dropped into one location, it is not sorted
glacial outwash
the glacier melts and water moves the sediments which sorts them
erosion
the downslope movement of sediment through a flowing medium(air, water, ice, etc)
hyrdroseeding
a method of minimizing erosion that plants grass. it is a spray
components of hydroseeding mix
seeds, fertilizer/nutrients, mulch/paper, water, green dye, tackifier
factors that determine the rate of erosion on a slope
incline of slope, length of slope, vegetation, rainfall intensity, what the slope is made of, wind speed
particle sizes and erosion
Silt is easiest to erode
it is more erodible than clay because silt is easily detachable while clay sticks together.
it is more erodible than sand because silt is easier to more by wind or water. Also sand is heavier and larger.
Vegitation lessens erosion by
protecting against kinetic energy and the roots hold the soil in place
2nd law of thermodynamics
heat is diminished with every transfer (energy is lost when it is converted). This relates to thermal power plants because a low percentage of useful energy comes out of them.
AMD is associated with coal mines because…
living plants and coal contain the element sulfur which combines with metals brought in by ground water
Coal with the lowest carbon content
lignite
Coal with the Highest carbon content
Antracite
characteristics associated with high carbon coal
heat content, harder to light, hardness, darkness
steps for forming a petroleum deposit
thick layers of sediment rich in marine plant, animal, and microbial remains that are deposited in an isolated ocean basin
it is buried rapidly in ANEROBIC conditions so it doesn’t decay
it has to be about 7,500’-15,000’
overtime the organic material transforms into a liquid in the reservoir rock
it moves up into the source rock and is stopped by the cap rock
cap rock
shale
source rock and reservoir rock
sandstone or limestone
Petroleum is converted into usable products by…
the process of fractional dissolution followed by cracking. In addition SULFAR is removed so that burning of fuels made from petroleum does not cause acid rain.
Usable products made from petroleum
gasoline, lubricant, diesel, kerosine, heavy oil
lots of gasoline and diesel, not much sulfur
light sweet
mostly lubricants and tar, not much sulfur
heavy sweet
high sulfur tar sands
heavy sour
Brine
water with a higher SALT content that comes from nutrients/sediment/minerals in sediment for years. In a fold trap it is everywhere in the layers.
Methane hydrates
methane molecules trapped in a cage of ice. They can be found in the ocean floor and permafrost environments.
Fracking steps
drill vertically down to about 100’ above the target layer
turn the pipe horizontally
set the pipe and make sure the ejection holes are in place
inject the hydrofracking fluid
In the US, Hydrofracking is…
good for the environment because it has led to an increase in natural gas usage and a decrease in coal usage for electricity production.
Tar sands
this is made of sand, clay, and crude oil. they have double the carbon foot print because it takes a lot of production to separate the crude oil.
2 isotopes of uranium
U^235 and U^238
To make nuclear fuel…
we enrich U^235 from .7% to 4%. The uranium fuel is replaced at 3.5%
The US planned to store high level radioactive waste near…
Yucca mountains in Nevada. We could not put them there because hydrothermal deposits would bring uranium to the surface. Also, they found faults and water.
three main uses for dams
produce power, irrigation/reservoir, flood control
dam uses that require high water
power production, irrigation, water supply
dam uses that required low water
flood control
components of a hydraulic head
total mechanical energy= Kinetic energy, potential energy, pressure
For wind power, rare earth elements are…
used in the generator. They make the magnets more powerful, and allows the wind turbine to be lighter.
