Planet Earth - Professor Browning - Midterm #1 - 21% of Final Grade - Rutgers New Brunswick

How does red shift affect light:

Light sources that are moving away from the observer are shifted to red side of the electromagnetic spectrum

Which of these is evidence the solar system was created in one process:

Planets are isolated

Planet orbits are circular and in - the same place

Planets (and moons) travel along orbits in same direction... same direction the Sun rotates

All of the above

All of the above

What is a molecular cloud:

It is formed from the inward collapse of a molecular cloud

What is the probable origin of the Sun:

It formed from the inward collapse of a molecular cloud

What are the two most common elements in the Whole Earth compared to Earth's Crust:

WE: Iron and Oxygen; EC: Oxygen and Silicon

What name is given to the boundary between the core and mantle:

Gutenberg discontinuity

Which layer in the Earth is completely molten:

Outer core

What is the depth to the bottom of the mantle

2900 km

What is the lithosphere

The crust and the upper mantle

Which of these is produced in Earth's outer core

The magnetic field

What is the Ring of Fire?

A region around the Pacific where many volcanic eruptions occur

What is Pangea?

A supercontinent that assembled at the end of the Paleozoic

Why is it unlikely Mesosaurus would have swum across the Atlantic Ocean?

It was a fresh water reptile that lived near the coast but did not swim far

Earth's magnetic field...

Creates line of force that protect Earth from cosmic rays

What do apparent polar wander curves tell us?

Moving continents make the magnetic field appear to change position

Why do geologists use echo sounding?

To determine water depth

The first accurate map of the sea floor was drawn by...

Bruce Heezen and Marie Tharp

Why did Hess conclude that oceans were young features (i.e., much younger than continents)?

Because the maximum sediment thickness of 1.3km indicated an age of 260 Ma

When was the last reversal of Earth's magnetic field?

780,000 years ago

Why are magnetic anomalies arranged symmetrically on either side of a mid-ocean ridge?

New ocean crust is magnetized with the polarity of Earth's field at the time and is pushed out equally on both sides of the ridge

What is atomic number?

The number of protons

Isotopes are...

Two or more atoms with the same atomic number but with different atomic mass

Why do atoms bond?

To make their outer electron shells more stable

Atomic bonding involving electron transfer is called?

Ionic

Which of the following is NOT true of a mineral?

They have a random chemical composition

Who notes that an x-ray beam passing through a crystal creates a regular pattern on a screen

Max von Laue

Water turning into ice is like lava turning into...

Rock

Which is a way that crystals form?

Crystallization from a magma

What is the difference between a mineral and a glass

A mineral has an ordered arrangement to the atoms

Diamonds and graphite, two minerals with the same chemical formula but different crystal structures are known as?

Polymorphs

What causes mineral cleavage?

Planes of weakness in the crystal structure

Which of the following lists places the minerals in the correct order from softest to hardest

Talc, calcite, fluorite, corundum

Hardness is...

Resistance to scratching

Why is talc soft?

Van der Waals bonds hold the structure together

Which of these minerals fizzes when it comes in contact with hydrochloric acid (HCI)

Calcite

What makes up a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron?

One silicon and 4 oxygen atoms

Which is an important mineral in ocean crust?

Pyroxene

Amphibole is an example of a(n)

Double chain silicate

What is the chemical formula of quartz

SiO2

Ferromagnesian minerals are ____ than nonferromagnesian minerals

Darker in color

What is a Mineral?

A naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a regular internal atomic structure and a specific chemical composition.

What is a rock?

A consolidated aggregate of minerals

What is the difference between the three types of rocks?

The mode of formation

Sills are...

Intrusive sheet-like bodies that are parallel to existing layering

Phaneritic rocks have crystals that are

Large enough to be seen by the unaided eye

What does a porphyritic texture indicate about cooling?

There were two different cooling rates

An igneous rock with abundant quartz and orthoclase feldspar is...

Granite

Which rock is typically found in oceanic crust?

Basalt

Why don't komatiites form anymore?

The Earth is not hot enugh

How does increased volatile content of a rock affect its melting temperature?

The melting temperature decreases

How does pressure affect melting temperature?

Decreased pressure decreases melting temperature

Walking across campus, you find this mineral. It is white. It has an irregular surface with some corners and rounded areas but no smooth faces.

Quartz

A friend shows you this mineral and wants to know what it is. It is white. It has several smooth parallel faces and reacts with acid.

Calcite

Your child/younger sibling/niece/nephew shows you this mineral. It is greenish black. It seems rather bland, but you notice it's pretty angular.

C. Amphibole

What does a porphyritic texture indicate about cooling:

There were two different cooling rates

According to Bowen's reaction series what is the correct order that minerals will crystallize from a cooling melt

Olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, biotite mica

Which mineral is involved in the continuous reaction series?

Plagioclase feldspar

5-10% partial melting of a peridotite will result in a magma with a composition that is the same as...

Basalt

Where does pressure release melting take place?

Mid-ocean ridge

Sediments that are buried more than 5 km and less than 35 km will probably turn into...

Metamorphic rocks

What happens to clays when they are subjected to heat and pressure?

They are converted into micas

Dynamic metamorphism takes place when...

Rocks are squeezed along a fault

What is foliation?

A fabric showing minerals arranged in parallel planes

What is the difference between marble and quartzite?

Marble is made of calcite, quartzite is made of quartz

How does phyllite differ from slate?

Phyllite has micas large enough to reflect light and is shiny

Age of Earth

4.5 Billion Years Old

Big Bang Theory occured

13.8 billion years ago