GEO101
1) Science is best described as a…
A way to understand how natural phenomena work
2) Where do most scientists work?
University professors, the govt. (NASA, USGS, etc…), most work in the private sector (companies)
3) Universities can benefit from research funding by which of the following?
*By receiving money to pay for scholarships, direct scholarships (for grad. students)
4) Peer-review is the basis by which scientists…
Do virtually everything- when they want to publish something, they allow other trained (professional) scientists to verify their content/statements. To evaluate each other’s work, use it to get published, and funded.
5) What is true of a theory?
It’s a model of a segment of the universe; it’s very well tested before publication/research(?). MUST be disprovable (needs to be shown it’s wrong. Can never be proven). They underpin hypotheses. (framework within which you think about something…?)
6) Which of the following sources would be considered primary scientific literature?
If it’s peer-reviewed, it’s primary. If it’s anything else, it’s not. Podcasts are not. Journals are.
7) A theory is most similar to a(n)…
IT’S NOT a hunch or guess. IT IS a structured, well-tested, understood model for how the universe works or something (model of the universe).
8) Which of the following are potential sources of funding for university science research?
Receive money from the multiple branches of the fed. Govt, companies, and from not-for-profit organizations
9) Which of the following accurately defines differences between scientists who work in
universities vs those that work in corporations?
A lot of differences: university researchers are obligated to make their results public. Company researchers aren’t and their company might patent their work (for profit). Those who try to sell company researchers’ work could be sued (?)
10) Alabama produces which of the following geology-related resources?
Building materials, gravel, sand, tar, roofing materials, oil, natural gas, and coal (used in metallurgy). Everything except precious metals.
11) Scientists use jargon in an effort to avoid…
Being wrong, poor communication, and ambiguity.
12) What general type of rock would you expect to commonly form at a divergent boundary?
Igneous rocks (MAYBE a little bit of sedimentary).
13) Which of the following is NOT associated with subduction zones?
Subduction is the edge of a collided plate where 1 plate is denser than another plate. Makes earthquakes and mountains. Crumbles plate and pushes it up while distorting it. Creates magma, lava, and volcanoes, and igneous rocks. Forms volcanic arcs.
14) Which of the following phenomena is NOT explained by plate tectonics?
Can explain anything involving the crust of the earth and big things; not small things like mineral formation (non-planetary things)
15) Why does the Earth have a magnetic field?
Because of the core being metal (mostly iron). The middle of it is solid and dense because it’s compressed. It’s surrounded by liquid in which it moves, which creates magnetic field. Mvmt of magnetic core causes the mag. field.
***16) The figure shown here is a typical example of a ________ plate boundary.
Picture from reading quiz. Either divergent, convergent (with subduction zone), or transform boundary
17) What causes tectonic plates to move?
Gravity pushes the rocks down after they collide (think about mountains). Heat trying to escape the middle of the earth is mostly what causes it.
18) Why are earthquakes in Alabama uncommon and typically small?
We’re not near any subduction zones or boundaries. We’re in the middle/back of a plate where there’s little to no action.
19) How do the lithosphere and asthenosphere differ?
Asthenosphere = bottom part in the mantle upon which the L-sphere moves
Lithosphere = upper part that moves
(clue)The lithosphere contains tectonic plates that move over the asthenosphere.
20) Which of the following accurately describe the Earth’s magnetic field?
Mvmt in the core is sloppy, which causes the polarity in the core to (move). It weakens the strength, too.
21) Which tectonic regions would you expect to find large amounts metamorphic rocks forming?
*Biggest zones where there’s subduction or where continents collide (like the Himalayan mountains or Appalachian)
22) How does the composition of the core differ from the mantle and crust?
*The core is metal. The mantle isn’t truly liquid or solid. The crust is rocky with a bit of metal
23) The mantle acts like a…
Slowly moving heated peanut butter. (hot, viscous solid-ish material)
24-26) Match the mineral grain size to the correct term describing it.
*on ppt
27) Which of the following is not a type of plate boundary:
Divergent, convergent, transform (these ARE types)
28) The faster a rock cools, the ___________________ its mineral grain sizes will be.
Smaller
29) If two oceanic plates collide, what determines the plate that subducts?
Whichever one’s densest (the COLDEST and OLDEST one)
30) Which of the following is the least likely to subduct?
*Old ocean rock vs young ocean rock (the old one is going to subduct)
Ocean rock vs continental rock (the ocean rock will subduct)
31) Massive bodies of igneous rock that form at great depth under the Earth’s surface are called…
Plutons and …?
32) Where are volcanos least likely to occur?
A passive margin (like where we are in alabama), transform boundaries. You’l find them in subduction and convergent boundaries
33) When will plate tectonics stop operating on Earth?
When the middle of the earth loses heat to the point that the mantle can’t move
34) What can cause rocks to metamorphose?
Compressional pressure, near heat but not hot enough to melt it, and a combo of these two answers (a little bit of both most of the time)
35) Hawaii represents a…
Place where Islands made from hot spots (of volcanoes)
36) What is true about Plate Tectonics?
Will stop happening when the earth cools, explains where earthquakes and volcanoes happen, etc…
37) Where do the materials that form sedimentary rocks come from?
Any kind of preexisting rock (sedimentary rock that weathers and becomes another sedimentary rock, etc…)
38) What is the difference between lava and magma?
Magma is under the earth (within the mantle and crust), lava is on top (touches air). Compositional difference: when magma reaches air, it releases gas, which changes what it is/what’s in it.
39) The highest mountains in the world generally form via…
Subduction and the simultaneous (?) creation of volcano lines
40) Once an edge of a tectonic plate subducts, it…
Melts, pulls the rest of the plate with it, becomes fuel for the volcanoes, creates a line of islands and volcanoes, and earthquakes.
The last 10 questions will be true/false and cover these topics:
41) How is grant money most often used?
For bills, salaries, scholarships, and most of grad students’ full tuition, health insurance, and salaries. NOT used for personal money, parties, travel (?), etc…
42) What do geologists study?
ANYTHING involving the earth (rocks, water, atmosphere, etc…)
43) What are the properties of subduction trenches in oceans?
It bends down the lip of a plate, creating the deepest part of the ocean. (like where ocean plates collide- Marianna’s trench, for example.)
44) How do divergent boundaries produce new rock on the ocean floor?
45) Why does Birmingham have an iron industry?
Iron, limestone, and coal exist there
46) What causes the volcanism of Iceland?
It’s a hot spot, and it’s also on a divergent boundary
47) How is the Atlantic Ocean changing over time?
It’s getting bigger by the rate of a fingernail
48) What are the basic properties of the Earth’s core?
Hot, metal,
49) How does rifting progress?
Started as a crack in the crust
50) Compare and contrast hypothesis vs theory
Hypo. is NOT a baby theory, which is a framework of understanding. Hypo is a small understanding of something. (??)