Geol 126 midterm 1

studied byStudied by 16 people
5.0(1)
Get a hint
Hint

What is science?

1 / 101

flashcard set

Earn XP

Description and Tags

rocks rock?

102 Terms

1

What is science?

discovery, world is understandable through observations

New cards
2

belief knowledge

knowledge unique to each person

New cards
3

research knowledge

universal knowledge, observable and measurable

New cards
4

good science

doubt, recognize biases, several theories may be raised to explain one observation

New cards
5

observation

facts that should be repeatable from one person to the next

New cards
6

interpretation

hypotheses invented to explain observations

New cards
7

pseudoscience

reference to authority rather than observation, use science to promote a message even though its not based on science

New cards
8

plate tectonics theory

outer portion of the earth is broken into plates

New cards
9

What is a rock?

An aggregate of minerals and mineraloids

New cards
10

What is a mineral?

  • Naturally occurring

  • inorganic solid

  • orderly internal structure (crystal lattice)

  • definite chemical composition

New cards
11

whole earth composition

  • iron 32%

  • oxygen 30%

  • silicon 15%

  • magnesium 14%

  • sulfur 3%

New cards
12

most common silicate materials

quarts and feldspar

  • example: granite

New cards
13

earth’s core

solid inner iron core

less dense matter began to flow up from the core to make up the surface

deeper into the core, temps rise and pressure increases

accretion (solids form large objects-planets) , differentiation (melting, separates materials, heavier sink-core and lighter rise-crust), contraction (shrinkage from cooling)

New cards
14

crust composition

  • Oxygen 47% (O)

  • Silicon 28% (Si)

  • Aluminum 8% (Al)

  • Iron 5% (Fe)

  • Calcium 4% (Cl)

  • Sodium 3% (Na)

  • Potassium 2.5% (K)

  • Magnesium 2% (Mg)

New cards
15

common non-silicate minerals

carbonates, oxides, halides (salts), sulfates, sulfides, minerals composed of one element (gold, copper, sulfur)

New cards
16

coal

mineraloid NOT a mineral, made from plants- organic matter

New cards
17

3 types of rocks

igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic

New cards
18

igneous rocks

  • a melted rock that cools and hardens

New cards
19

What is the difference between magma and lava?

  • Magma: molten rock beneath the surface

    • pluton- glob of magma

    • sill- magma travelling horizontally

    • dike- magma traveling vertically

  • Lava: molten rock erupted onto the surface

New cards
20

two kinds of igneous rocks

  • intrusive - cool slowly beneath earth surface

  • extrusive, cool quickly on earth surface

New cards
21

sedimentary rocks

  • made of disaggregated bits of other rock

  • form at the earth’s surface

New cards
22

sedimentary rock process

  • weathering attacks preexisting rocks and produces sediment

  • sediment transported by either water, wind, or ice and pile up

  • deposited- delivered and stops moving

    • once in rest needs to be buried to become a rock

New cards
23

clastic sedimentary rocks

made from grains (pieces) that came from weathering

  • defined by grain size

    • sediment: gravel, sand, silt, clay

    • after burial: conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, shale

New cards
24

chemical sedimentary rocks

made from chemicals that came from weathering of rocks

  • chemicals from fluids, and if concentration is high enough, becomes minerals

    • ex: carbonates- limestone

New cards
25

metamorphic rocks

heat and pressure cause preexisting rocks to change

  • occurs in solid NOT melted state

  • protolith (og rock)>> heat and pressure>> metamorphic rock

New cards
26

rock processes

  • uplift and weathering

  • burial and cementation and compaction

  • heat and pressure

  • melting

  • cooling and crystallization

<ul><li><p>uplift and weathering</p></li><li><p>burial and cementation and compaction</p></li><li><p>heat and pressure</p></li><li><p>melting</p></li><li><p>cooling and crystallization</p></li></ul>
New cards
27

plate tectonics theory

outer portion of earth is broken into plates

  • plates move and interact

New cards
28

3 kinds of plate boundaries

divergent, convergent, transform

New cards
29

divergent boundary

plates pull apart resulting in the formation of new crust from magma

  • passive margin (no effects)

  • where?

    • ocean, rising magma is cooled by water

New cards
30

convergent boundaries

when plates collide, plates smash together

New cards
31

types of convergent boundaries

  • Ocean Crust vs. Continental Crust

    • Oceanic crust will always subduct because it is more dense(volcanos arise from subducting crust)

  • Continental Crust vs. Continental Crust

    • They collide resulting in the build up of mountains, produce earthquakes

  • Oceanic Crust vs. Oceanic Crust

    • older plate will give up and be subducted under the younger plate, formation of volcanic islands

New cards
32

transform boundary

plates slide past each other, earthquake!

New cards
33

plate tectonics evidence: divergent

mid ocean ridges, age of ocean crust

New cards
34

plate tectonics evidence: convergent

earthquakes, volcanoes

New cards
35

general plate tectonics evidence

hot spots and magnetic strips

New cards
36

importance of plate tectonics

control rock cycle

New cards
37

environment

set of conditions that exist today in a particular location

  • controls sorting of sediment

  • energy of env controls grain size

New cards
38

Sorting of sediment

  • Windblown sand: very well sorted

  • Beach sand: well sorted

  • River sand: moderately sorted

  • Glacial sediments: very poorly sorted

<ul><li><p>Windblown sand: very well sorted</p></li><li><p>Beach sand: well sorted</p></li><li><p>River sand: moderately sorted</p></li><li><p>Glacial sediments: very poorly sorted</p></li></ul>
New cards
39

terrestrial environment

on land NOT in the ocean

New cards
40

coastal environment

shallow marine environments, lots of fossils come from here

New cards
41

marine environment

deep sea

New cards
42

paleoenvironments

ancient environments

New cards
43

high energy environment

moves large sediment pieces

  • gravel>> conglomerate

New cards
44

intermediate energy environment

movement, but not too much, can move sediment

  • sand>> sandstone

New cards
45

low energy environment

can’t really move sediment pieces

  • fine grained sediment

    • silt-clay>> siltstone-shale

New cards
46

sedimentary structures

physical features formed during sediment transport/ deposition

  • flat laminations

  • ripples

  • dunes

  • mud cracks

  • raindrop impressions

New cards
47

Flat laminations

grains fall out of suspension

  • low energy/ quiet water

New cards
48

asymmetric ripples

flow in one direction

  • cross strata dip in direction of flow

  • sediment will be coarser

  • not flat or parallel

  • medium energy

<p>flow in one direction</p><ul><li><p>cross strata dip in direction of flow</p></li><li><p>sediment will be coarser</p></li><li><p>not flat or parallel</p></li><li><p>medium energy</p></li></ul>
New cards
49

symmetric ripples

back and forth flow

  • tuning fork

  • medium energy

<p>back and forth flow</p><ul><li><p>tuning fork</p></li><li><p>medium energy</p></li></ul>
New cards
50

dunes

  • asymmetrical

  • constrained by depth of flow (air), so can get huge!

  • subaerial (windblown)

  • high energy

New cards
51

mud cracks

environment dried out!

  • no flow and indicates water depth

New cards
52

raindrop impressions

environment dried out but it was also raining

New cards
53

eolian wind environments

  • well sorted

  • major rock types; sandstone

  • frosted grains bc sand is hitting against it

New cards
54

beaches

  • well sorted sandstones

  • symmetric ripples indicating oscillatory flow

New cards
55

braided river

  • major rock types: sandstone and conglomerates

  • high energy

  • moderately to poorly sorted

  • asymmetric cross bedding

  • murky water bc fine grain is carried by water

New cards
56

glacial environment

  • major rock type: tillite

    • poorly sorted

  • high energy

  • rocks are faceted instead of rounded

    • flattened instead of like in water where its rounded

New cards
57

nils stensen

fossils were remains of past organisms by using the shark tooth

  • 17th century

New cards
58

kinds of fossils

body, trace and chemical

New cards
59

body fossils

physical remains of an organism

  • ex: shells, bones, compressed plants, petrified wood

informs about morphology

  • what It could do when it was alive

New cards
60

trace fossils

evidence of activity

  • not the organism itself

  • ex: footprints, worm trails, coprolites (fossil poop)

informs about what the organism did and how it interacted with the environment

New cards
61

chemical fossils

chemical evidence of past life

  • ex: isotopic signatures, organic molecules attributed to life

  • only certain chemicals made by life or certain groups

    • ex: cholesterol or remains of cholesterol

  • informs metabolism

New cards
62

isotope

Element with same number of protons, different number of neutrons

  • life tends to prefer lighter isotopes

    • concentration of 12C in a rock could indicate the past presence of life, and would represent a chemical fossil

New cards
63

fossilization potential

  • bias towards hard parts rather than soft parts

  • bias towards low energy

  • bias towards ocean rather than land

New cards
64

taphonomy processes

  • occurs after the organism dies but before it becomes a fossil

  • organism must survive this process to become a fossil

New cards
65

types of taphonomy processes

  • Biologic attack

    • Ex. Borers, scavengers

  • Mechanical attack

    • Ex. High energy environments

  • Chemical attack

    • Ex. Weathering

New cards
66

Steno’s conclusion about geologic time

superposition and original horizontality

New cards
67

superposition

oldest layer at the bottom with successively younger layers above

New cards
68

original horizontality

Sedimentary rocks form horizontal layers \n Thus, inclined sedimentary rocks suffered subsequent disturbance (tectonics!)

New cards
69

crosscutting relationships

Something that cuts across or affects another layer must be younger than the material that’s being affected

New cards
70

stratigraphic columns

Environmental description of each layer

New cards
71

fossil succession

George Cuvier- 1800s

  • fossils occur in an order

  • some appeared in a layer and then never appeared again

    • extinction!

William Smith- 1800s

  • rock types change from place to place

  • young with young fossil and old with old fossil, always!

New cards
72

index fossils

widespread

short lived

can subdivide geologic time into smaller units

  • relative time, no date, just sequence of events

New cards
73

geologic time scale

a record of geologic events and life forms in Earth’s history

  • relative

New cards
74

Eon

Phanerozoic

New cards
75

era

in order from youngest to oldest

  • Cenozoic (age of mammals)

  • Mesozoic (age of dinosaurs)

  • Paleozoic (age of tribolites)

New cards
76

Paleozoic periods

in order from youngest to oldest

  • Permian

  • Carboniferous

  • Devonian

  • Silurian

  • Ordovician

  • Cambrian

New cards
77

Mesozoic periods

in order from youngest to oldest

  • Cretaceous

  • Jurassic

  • Triassic

New cards
78

Cenozoic periods

in order from youngest to oldest

  • Neogene

  • Paleogene

New cards
79

relative time

  • The sequence in which events took place

  • Chronostratigraphic

New cards
80

absolute time

  • the actual time (usually measured in years) as determined by radiometric age dating

  • Chronometric

New cards
81

What rocks can be radiometrically dated?

Igneous and Metamorphic

New cards
82

time vs rock

time is continuous but abstract and rock is discontinuous but tangible

New cards
83

meteorites

leftover bits from the formation of solar system

New cards
84

sedimentary record

  • sediment accumulation rate varies from place to place

  • gives snapshots versus continuous record

New cards
85

taxonomy

  • the science of classifying organisms

  • looks for differences

New cards
86

phylogeny

the study of the (evolutionary) relationships between groups of organisms

  • looks for similarities

New cards
87

species

  • Basic unit of taxonomy and phylogeny

  • Biologic definition

    • A population of organism capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring

  • Genetic definition (better)

    • Based on the similarity of DNA in a population

      • % of similarity

New cards
88

morphological species concept

based on similarity of appearance

  • morphology = shape

  • DNA encodes for shape

  • Genes control shape, genes control morphology, so both concepts linked

New cards
89

cladistics

based on parsimony

  • simplest is the best

  • branching, things don’t directly change, different branches to create more diversity

New cards
90

cladistics vs parsimony

min steps are the best, fewer assumptions

step 1: define characters of taxa

  • find characteristic that is either exclusive or common

step 2: construct character matrix

  • quantitively assign characteristics to the taxa

step 3: construct tree using parsimony

  • how closely taxa are related to each other based on how many characteristics they share

New cards
91

parsimony tree

clade- include the common ancestor and ALL its descendants

<p>clade- include the common ancestor and ALL its descendants</p>
New cards
92

paraphyletic

does not include all descedants

<p>does not include all descedants</p>
New cards
93

poyphyletic

does not contain the most recent common ancestor

<p>does not contain the most recent common ancestor</p>
New cards
94

DNA

  • deoxyribonucleic acid

  • the blueprint for life

  • polymer of nucleotides

New cards
95

central dogma of biology

DNA>> RNA>> Protein

New cards
96

who discovered dna?

Rosalind Franklin, James Watson and Francis Crick

New cards
97

code of DNA

pairs of 4 nucleotides

  • Sequence of dna catalogs the order of adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine (nucleotides)

  • A+t and g+c, only!

New cards
98

Replication of DNA

DNA Polymerase copies DNA very accurately

New cards
99

Transcription of DNA

  • RNA Polymerase converts DNA to mRNA

  • Genes are transcribed into mRNA

New cards
100

Translation of DNA

  • Ribosomes translate mRNA into proteins

New cards

Explore top notes

note Note
studied byStudied by 11 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 9 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 2701 people
... ago
4.8(12)
note Note
studied byStudied by 3 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 14 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 32 people
... ago
4.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 23 people
... ago
4.7(3)
note Note
studied byStudied by 37186 people
... ago
4.9(69)

Explore top flashcards

flashcards Flashcard (78)
studied byStudied by 10 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (200)
studied byStudied by 4 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (98)
studied byStudied by 2 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (32)
studied byStudied by 31 people
... ago
5.0(3)
flashcards Flashcard (25)
studied byStudied by 1 person
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (69)
studied byStudied by 61 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (71)
studied byStudied by 4 people
... ago
4.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (29)
studied byStudied by 10 people
... ago
5.0(1)
robot