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55 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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The approximate temperature of the Earth's core is? |
4000-6000 degrees C |
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Which of the following statements is correct? a. oceanic crust is denser and thicker than continental crust b. oceanic crust is denser and thinner than continental crust c. oceanic crust is less dense but thicker than continental crust d. oceanic crust is less dense but thinner than continental crust |
b. oceanic crust is denser and thinner than continental crust |
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Oceanic crust is produced and destroyed at what types of plate boundaries, respectively? |
divergent, convergent |
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The approximate age of the Earth is? |
4.6 billion years |
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The largest tectonic plate is? |
the pacific plate |
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Most of the world's volcanoes occur? |
around the margin of the pacific ocean |
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A method of heat transfer in which material actually moves from one place to another, carrying thermal energy with it, is called: |
convection |
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An igneous rock's texture refers to? |
the sizes, shapes, and arrangement of the minerals in the rock |
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At what type of plate boundary are 'black smokers' found? |
divergent |
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Assume that magma cools below the Earth's surface to form an igneous rock. Which value is probably nearest the time it would take for the rock to have completely crystallized from magma? |
probably at least 100,000's of years |
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Igneous rocks formed below the Earth's surface are called? |
plutonic and intrusive |
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Do igneous rocks that form below the Earth's surface generally have larger or smaller crystals than those that form at the Earth's surface? |
larger |
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Where on Earth today is a continent beginning to 'rift' apart (namely forming a divergent plate boundary), but has not et been flooded by sea water and form a narrow ocean? |
African rift |
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Northern California has active volcanoes, but central and southern California do not. In a sentence, please explain why this is the case |
Because.. |
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At which of the following plate boundaries is the Hawaiian Islands located? |
none-not located at a plate boundary |
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At which of the following plate boundaries is the east coast of the US located? |
none-not located at a plate boundary |
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Halite is the mineral name given to ordinary salt. Its chemical formula is NaCl. Is it a silicate or non-silicate mineral? |
non-silicate |
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Briefly describe the general geological/environmental conditions under which Halite would form-and give an example of a location where it is forming today in the US. |
location: Great salt lake |
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Frost wedging is an example of what type of weather? |
physical |
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putting dilute HCL acid on calcite in the lab is similar to what general type of weathering process? |
chemical |
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Oil is most often associated with which class of rock? |
sedimentary |
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Which of the following magma types has the most dissolved gas content? |
felsic |
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Which of the following magma types has the highest viscosity? |
felsic |
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Which of the following magmas would be the most explosive upon erupting at the Earth's surface? |
felsic |
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Which of the following erupted magmas would tend to produce the most lava flows? |
mafic |
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If the aim of study is the focus of the origin of Earth and its development through time, it's said we are studying... |
physical geology |
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In a sentence, please explain why oceanic lithosphere will subduct but continental lithosphere does not: |
Ocean lithosphere is denser and thinner than continental |
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Please give a one sentence definition for the term rock: |
uhhhh |
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At which of the following tectonic settings would expect magma to form by 'decompression melting'? |
divergent |
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A tabular and discordant igneous intrusion is called a |
dike |
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An igneous intrusion that gets very shallow and pushes up the overlying rocks---forming an intrusion that looks like a 'lens' in cross section---is called a |
laccolith |
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Shiprock in New Mexico (and Devil's Tower in Wyoming) are examples of the following type of igneous intrusive feature: |
volcanic neck |
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Most of Earth's active volcanoes are located on the 'Ring of Fire' around what tectonic plate? |
pacific |
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A type of volcanic mudflow that develops when ash and pyroclastic debris become saturated with water is called a... |
pyroclastic flow |
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The formation of hematite (Fe2O3) at and near the Earth's surface is responsible for the reddish-brown earth-tone colors we often see in soils (dirt)... What chemical-weathering reaction results in the formation of hematite and other minerals that contain oxidized iron? |
oxidation |
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The formation of highly-acidic waste water that drains from sites where sulfide minerals are/were mined is called "acid-mine drainage." Which of the following chemical-weathering reactions initially takes place with the mine tailings (waste rock), which then can lead to the formation of sulfuric acid? |
oxidation |
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What are the plate boundaries for East Africa? |
Divergent |
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What are the plate boundaries for San Andreas Fault? |
Transform
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What are the plate boundaries for Mid-Atlantic Ridge? |
Divergent |
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What are the plate boundaries for Pacific NW US |
Convergent |
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What are the plate boundaries for the Himalayas? |
Convergent |
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What are the plate boundaries for Japan? |
convergent |
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Briefly explain the important geological concept of "uniformitarianism" |
"The present is key to the past"- If we can figure out what we have in front of us, we will be able to determine the past |
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Briefly but clearly explain why liquid water is not a mineral but ice is. |
Water does not pass the test of being a solid so it is not considered a mineral although ice; which is solid, is classified as a mineral as long as it is naturally occurring. Thus ice in a snow bank is a mineral, but ice in an ice cube from a refrigerator is not. Natural occurring ice is defined with a chemical formula and a crystal structure.
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List the characteristics of Silicates |
1. have silicon 2. |
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what are the five characteristics that define a mineral? |
1. solid 2. inorganic 3. naturally occurring 4. crystaline structure 5. usually fixed |
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Sediment is a mixture typically of ? |
rock fragments, mineral grains, and organic matter |
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Lithification refers to the combined processes of.. |
compaction, cementation |
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all crystals are too small to be seen with the naked eye |
Aphanitic, surface, fast |
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coarse-grained rock with visible crystals all roughly the same size (macroscopic) |
phaneritic, below surface, slow |
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Please explain how frost wedging works. Be sure to include a description of the types of materials that result from frost wedging. |
Frost wedging is caused by the repeated freeze-thaw cycle of water in extreme climates. Most rocks have small cracks in them, called joints (or, tectonic joints). When it rains, rainwater seeps into these joints. As the day cools and temperatures at night drop below freezing, the water inside the joints freezes. The freezing water expands 8% which pushes on the rocks causing it to break. |
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Define plate tectonics |
The theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle. The Earth's crust moves due to the heat from the core of the earth.
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What layers or parts of layers constitute the "plates" in plate tectonics |
The upper mantle the earths crust |
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Why do the plates move and how fast do they typically move in a year? |
Because of convection cells; seven inches a year |
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What major types of geologic activity are concentrated at each plate boundary type? |
gzdsfg |
