Geology and Earth's Formation: Key Principles and Processes

What principle states the present is the key to the past?

Uniformitarianism

Which rock type forms from molten rock?

Igneous

Which rock type forms from compressed sediments?

Sedimentary

Which rock type forms from heat and pressure?

Metamorphic

What controls Earth's internal layering?

Density

What are layers of sedimentary rock called?

Strata

What is the study of rock layers called?

Stratigraphy

What elements dominate continental crust?

Silicon aluminum oxygen

What elements dominate oceanic crust?

Iron magnesium

What is the mantle primarily composed of?

Ultramafic material

What is the outer core state?

Liquid

What is the inner core state?

Solid

What is the core mainly made of?

Iron nickel

Which boundary forms new crust?

Divergent

Which boundary involves subduction?

Convergent

Which boundary involves lateral movement?

Transform

What drives plate tectonics?

Internal heat and convection

What major feature is formed by convergent boundaries?

Mountains

What forms at divergent boundaries in oceans?

Mid ocean ridges

What hypothesis explains solar system formation?

Solar nebula hypothesis

What causes the nebula to flatten?

Rotation

What pushed light gases outward?

Solar wind

Why are outer planets gas giants?

They retained light gases

What process separates materials by density?

Differentiation

What happened to iron during differentiation?

It sank to the core

What formed from lighter materials?

The crust

What is a major heat source from collisions?

Accretion

What heat source comes from compression?

Gravitational compression

What heat source comes from unstable atoms?

Radioactive decay

What hypothesis explains the Moon's formation?

Giant impact hypothesis

What object hit early Earth?

Theia

What did the collision debris form?

The Moon

What event caused heavy early impacts?

Late Heavy Bombardment

What is the oldest known rock?

Acasta gneiss

What are the oldest minerals found?

Zircons

How did early atmosphere form?

Volcanic outgassing

What gases were released early?

Water carbon dioxide nitrogen

How did oceans form?

Condensation of water vapor

What acid forms from CO2 and water?

Carbonic acid

What does weathering release into oceans?

Ions

What major cycle began with oceans?

Carbon cycle

What type of tectonics occurred in the Archean?

Drip tectonics

What are greenstone belts?

Oceanic volcanic rocks

What are gneiss belts?

Continental crust rocks

What are cratons?

Stable continental cores

How could amino acids form on early Earth?

Lightning reactions

What experiment showed amino acid formation?

Miller Urey

What hypothesis suggests RNA came first?

RNA world hypothesis

What can RNA do?

Store information and catalyze reactions

What was the first type of life?

Prokaryotes

Where did early life likely form?

Hydrothermal vents

What process did early life use?

Chemosynthesis

What structures did cyanobacteria form?

Stromatolites

What is the oldest fossil evidence?

Stromatolites

What caused the Great Oxidation Event?

Photosynthesis

What organisms produced oxygen?

Cyanobacteria

What do banded iron formations show?

Iron reacting with oxygen

What happened before oxygen accumulated?

Oxygen bonded with iron

What event caused global freezing?

Snowball Earth

What gas reduction led to cooling?

Methane

What effect increases Earth's reflectivity?

Albedo

What ended Snowball Earth?

Volcanic CO2 buildup

What type of cells have a nucleus?

Eukaryotes

Where did eukaryotes evolve?

Shallow oxygenated water

What remained oxygen poor for long periods?

Deep ocean

What were Ediacaran organisms like?

Soft bodied

When did Ediacaran fauna go extinct?

Before Cambrian

What is a supercontinent?

Large landmass of continents

Name an early supercontinent

Columbia

Name another early supercontinent

Rodinia

What forms when continents break apart?

Passive margins

Why are shallow seas important?

They support life

What event marks rapid animal evolution?

Cambrian explosion

What is biomineralization?

Formation of shells

What innovation increased movement?

Mobility

What drove evolutionary competition?

Predation

Name a Cambrian fossil site

Burgess Shale

What does GOBE stand for?

Great Ordovician biodiversification event

What increased during the GOBE?

Marine diversity

What caused Ordovician extinction?

Glaciation

What happened to sea level during that extinction?

It dropped

What is the Devonian known as?

Age of fishes

What fish evolved jaws?

Jawed fish

What type of plants appeared first on land?

Non vascular plants

What major plant innovation evolved?

Vascular tissue

What structures helped plants survive on land?

Roots and seeds

What were the first land animals?

Arthropods

What fish led to tetrapods?

Lobe finned fish

Name an early tetrapod

Ichthyostega

What caused Devonian extinction?

Cooling and anoxia

What formed from Carboniferous forests?

Coal

Why were insects large?

High oxygen levels

What allowed reproduction on land?

Amniotic egg

What did amniotes split into?

Synapsids and sauropsids

Which group leads to mammals?

Synapsids

Which group leads to reptiles?

Sauropsids

What supercontinent formed in the Permian?

Pangea

What are mountain building events called?

Orogenies

Name the Appalachian orogenies

Taconic Acadian Alleghenian

Which group dominated the Permian?

Synapsids