Origin & Systems of Earth - Vocabulary Flashcards

FORMATION OF THE UNIVERSE

BIG BANG THEORY

• The universe was once very small and very hot, it expanded over time and exploded.

• Provides the best explanation of the origin of the universe.

• Aggregated the fundamental particles seconds after the explosion.

• The universe is said to continue to expand.

• STEADY STATE THEORY

  • Universe is always expanding and matter is continuously created to form celestial bodies.

  • The universe has no beginning or end in time.

  • Was first proposed by Sir James Jeans in 1920.

  • Evidences implied that the universe is evolving and not steady.

• COSMIC INFLATION THEORY

  • Rapid expansion of space-time.

  • The early universe was a rapidly expanding bubble of pure vacuum energy.

  • Was proposed by physicists Alan Guth and Andrei Linde in the 1980s.

• FORMATION OF STAR SYSTEMS

• NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS

  • A star system was formed from a rotating gas cloud or nebula of extremely hot gas.

  • It cooled and began to shrink, rotated faster and forming disklike shape.

  • The rings condensed into various densities of planets and their satellites.

• PLANETESIMAL THEORY

  • A star passed close to the sun; the gravitational pull of the passing star raised tides on the surface of the sun.

  • This caused the star to erupt and plunged into elliptical orbits around the sun.

  • These debris cooled and became solid celestial bodies.

SOLAR SYSTEM

• TERRESTRIAL PLANETS

  • Also known as Telluric planets because they have solid surfaces and are mostly of silicate rocks and metals.

• JOVIAN PLANETS

  • Also known as Gas giants because they are made up of only primary materials (helium and hydrogen).

EARTH'S SUBSYSTEMS

• ATMO (Atmosphere)

• HYDRO (Hydrosphere)

• GEO (Geosphere)

• BIO (Biosphere)

• SALTWATER VS FRESHWATER

  • Saltwater: 97\%

  • Freshwater: 3\%

• HYDROGRAPHIC COMPONENTS

  • Ice & Glaciers

  • Groundwater

  • Rivers & Lakes

• IMPORTANCE OF WATER

  • Flows and travels to different places and reaches organisms.

  • Neutral pH.

  • Good conductor of heat and energy.

  • High specific heat.

  • Universal solvent.

• ATMOSPHERE LAYERS (ATMO)
  1) Troposphere

  • Densest layer.

  • Used by airplanes and hot air balloons.
    2) Stratosphere

  • Strong horizontal winds.

  • Contains the ozone layer.
    3) Mesosphere

  • Coldest layer.

  • Space rocks and rocket debris.
    4) Thermosphere

  • Hottest layer.

  • Aurora borealis observed here.
    5) Exosphere

  • Outermost layer leading to space.

• BIO (Living components)

  • All living components that allow energy to circulate.

• KEY ELEMENTS

  • WATER

  • ENERGY

  • TIME

  • CYCLE

  • Note: The slide shows a stylized listing of KEY ELEMENTS and their associations (e.g., WATER, ENERGY, TIME, CYCLE).

• PRIMORDIAL SOUP (BIO)

  • States that life began from nonliving matter such as simple organic compounds.

• DEEP-SEA VENT (BIO)

  • States that life began from deep down in the sea in areas known as marine hydrothermal vents.

• PANSpermia (BIO)

  • Proposes that life on Earth began somewhere in the universe carried by cosmic bodies.

• EARTH’S STRUCTURE (GEO)

  • Crust

  • Mantle

  • Core

  • Upper / Lower

  • Outer / Inner

• LITHOSPHERE (GEO)

  • Crust and solid parts of the upper mantle.

• ASTHENOSPHERE (GEO)

  • In between the crust and mantle.

• MOHOROVICIC BOUNDARY (GEO)

  • Boundary between the crust and the mantle.

  • Named after Andrija Mohorovicic (one of the founders of modern seismology).

• GUTENBERG BOUNDARY (GEO)

  • Transitional boundary between the lower mantle and the outer core.

  • Named after Beno Gutenberg in 1913.

• LEHMANN DISCONTINUITY (GEO)

  • Layer that separates the solid inner core from the liquid outer core.

  • Discovered by Inge Lehmann in 1929.

• ALEXANDER OPARIN (BIO)

  • Proposed the primordial soup theory in 1924 to explain the origin of life on Earth.

• STANLEY MILLER (BIO)

  • 1930–2007; with Harold Urey conducted an experiment in 1952 to test the primordial soup hypothesis.

  • They produced amino acids, basic precursors of life, after several attempts.

THEORIES ON GEOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

• CATASTROPHISM

  • Volcanoes, floods, and earthquakes were once believed to be responsible for mass extinctions and the formation of landforms.

• UNIFORMITARIANISM

  • Rock strata demonstrate that geologic processes, which are still occurring today, add up over long periods of time to cause great change.

• GRADUALISM

  • Canyons carved by rivers show gradual change; changes on Earth occurred by small steps over long periods of time.

EARTH'S HISTORY AND STRUCTURE (SUMMARY)

• Shape: oblate spheroid.

• Age: More than 4 imes 10^9 ext{ years} old.

• System: Closed system.

• Interdependence: Changes in one subsystem cause changes in others.

SCIENTISTS (KEY FIGURES)

• JAMES HUTTON (1726–1797)

  • Founder of modern geology.

  • Believed Earth is endlessly changing through erosion and sedimentation (Theory of Uniformitarianism).

• CHARLES DARWIN (1809–1882)

  • Developed revolutionary theory of species.

  • Joined a voyage around the world to study specimens and observe changes.

• ANDRIJA MOHOROVICIC (1857–1936)

  • One of the founders of modern seismology.

  • Suggested the boundary between crust and mantle (Moho discontinuity).

• BENO GUTENBERG (1889–1960)

  • Gutenberg boundary or Gutenberg discontinuity; observed seismic waves traveling from the lower mantle to the outer core.

• INGE LEHMANN (1888–1993)

  • Asserted Earth has a solid inner core and molten outer core; Lehmann discontinuity separates outer and inner cores.

• ALEXANDER OPARIN (1894–1980)

  • Proposed primordial soup theory (1924) for Earth’s origin.

• STANLEY MILLER (1930–2007)

  • With Harold Urey, conducted 1952 experiment to test Oparin’s theory; produced amino acids.

END STATEMENTS

• The material covers the origin of the universe, formation of star systems and the solar system, Earth’s subsystems, life’s origins, Earth’s structure, notable scientists, and geological theories.