Geo 200 (Final Exam)

Front 1

What is photosynthesis and what is its role in the food chain

Back 1

Production of hydrocarbons by plants, combining carbon dioxide and water in sunlight; it is how solar energy is converted into a form that other living things can metabolize as food.

Front 2

What is biomass?
Relate biomass to the food chain and energy flows in the environment.

Back 2

Biomass is living tissue, collectively and individually. Most biomass is plants, then primary consumers (grazers), then secondary consumers (predators). After life, decomposers convert biomass into forms that living things can use, like humus in soil

Front 3

Give examples of common chemicals that cycle through living things
Which of these cycles has been disrupted the most by human activity?

Back 3

Oxygen, water, carbon, nitrogen.
The carbon cycle now includes the burning of hydrocarbons by people

Front 4

Why is there not a perfect correspondence between the biomes and the climate types of the Koppen System?

Back 4

The climates existed before life on land existed; both plants and animals can adapt to variations of temperature and climate. Some animals spend part of their life in different biomes, for example, migratory birds.

Front 5

What are the major influences on soil development?

Back 5

Parent material, climate, topography (slope, drainage, aspect)

Front 6

Why would soils that predominate in either sand or clay tend to be infertile?

Back 6

Sandy: too porous, dries out, supplies less nutrients;
clayey: too stiff, becomes compacted and waterlogged, plant roots cannot take up nutrients.

Front 7

What are the various structural elements of a complete or mature soil profile?

Back 7

O = Organic Horizon;
A = True Soil Balanced Blend;
E = Light Colored, Gritty, Little Humus;
B = Clay, Little Humus or Sand, Orange;
C = Weathered Bedrock;
R = Unweathered Bedrock

Front 8

What are the relationships between climate and the pedogenic regimes discussed in class?

Back 8

Laterization: tropical wet climates, extensive leaching and development of B horizon. Podzolization: mid- to high latitudes, cool and moist, some leaching and development of B horizon.
Gleization: cool, moist mid- to high latitudes, waterlogged, high organic content, very acidic.
Calcification and
Salinization: dry climates, upward movement of soluble minerals that form hard crust at surface, opposite of leaching.

Front 9

What is meant by “mineral”?

Back 9

A mineral has a very specific chemical identity, is usually crystalline, always an inorganic solid;

Front 10

What is meant by “rock”?

Back 10

rocks are composites of minerals, may be organic in origin, always solid, characterized by minerals that make them up, but proportions of minerals may vary

Front 11

Can something be a rock and a mineral?

Back 11

Yes, example is quartz.

Front 12

What are the three basic kinds of rocks?

Back 12

Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic.

Front 13

How does igneous rock form?

Back 13

From molten rock (magma) that has solidified either at the surface (extrusive) or inside the Earth (intrusive).

Front 14

What are some important differences between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks?

Back 14

Extrusive cools instantly, has very fine grains;
intrusive may take millions of years to completely cool, forms large crystal grains.

Front 15

How does sedimentary rock form?
examples

Back 15

From an existing rock that is decomposed into particles or as ions in a solution.
Sandstone, shale, limestone, coal, petrified wood.

Front 16

What were some of the kinds of information used as evidence for tectonic plate movement?

Back 16

Present day continents fit together like a puzzle;
fossils of same species found on separate landmasses;
rocks containing these fossils also identical;
geologic formations appeared separated by oceans; paleoclimatology,
study of ancient climates; explanation for plate movement not adequate; sea floor spreading, based on paleomagnetism; off-shore structure of the continents; global patterns of earthquakes and volcanoes; satellite mapping of earth’s surface over time

Front 17

What are mantle plumes or hot spots?
How do they relate to the general theory of plate tectonics

Back 17

A mantle plume or hot spot is a large mass of molten rock that moves up toward the crust, sending magma and gases to the surface to perhaps form a volcano or island; this movement may be part of the convection of the mantle that causes the plates to move.

Front 18

At what kinds of plate boundaries would you typically find volcanoes?

Back 18

Subduction zones (addition of water) and spreading centers (relief of pressure)

Front 19

What are the three kinds of volcano cones?

Back 19

Cinder cones (smallest, heap of pyroclastics),
shield cones (largest, basaltic), composite cones (andesitic to granitic).

Front 20

What are some geologic structures formed from magma below the surface

Back 20

Massive: laccolith, batholith, pluton; tabular: dikes and sills

Front 21

What is the difference between folding and faulting?

Back 21

Folding represents movement in rock due to stress but without significant breaks in the rock. Faulting represents both breaks in the rock and movement along the breaks.

Front 22

Are magma formation and volcanism always involved in folding and faulting?

Back 22

Deformation (folding and faulting) may also be due to the weight (and removal of the weight) of glaciers or sediments.

Front 23

How is the location of earthquakes determined?

Back 23

The arrival times of primary waves and secondary waves, as recorded at a seismograph.

Front 24

How is the intensity of earthquakes described?

Back 24

The wave height or amplitude of surface waves is described with a logarithmic scale, the Richter Scale.

Front 25

What is a tsunami?

Back 25

Tsunami are tidal waves created by off-shore or near-shore earthquakes.
Subduction zones are more likely to generate the waves than transform plate movement.
The waves gain height but slow in speed as they approach shore. They can break on the coast with waves 30 feet high. Both the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean are prone to tsunami and the related destruction.

Front 26

What is the difference between weathering and erosion?

Back 26

Weathering is the reduction in size of the existing rock;
erosion is the removal of the products of weathering.

Front 27

What is the difference between mechanical weathering and chemical weathering?

Back 27

: Mechanical weathering does not change the chemical composition of the rock being acted upon, only its size;
chemical weathering is a complete decomposition and disintegration down to the ionic level.

Front 28

What are some ways that mechanical weathering occurs?

Back 28

frost wedging, salt cracking, exfoliation, biological activity, thermal.

Front 29

What are some ways that chemical weathering occurs

Back 29

oxidation, carbonation, hydrolysis, life process of marine organisms

Front 30

What are some differences between flow and slide?

Back 30

Flow: movement is not uniform in speed, direction, or origin.
Slide: the material moves en masse, in unison.

Front 31

What causes a flood?

Back 31

The amount of water available to a stream suddenly increases over what the stream channel can accommodate in the short term.

Front 32

Why are streams not at flood stage all the time?

Back 32

In the long term, streams will create larger channels to hold the extra water.

Front 33

Along the length of a meandering stream, where is the water flowing fastest and where slowest?

Back 33

Fastest on the outside of the meander, slowest on the inside

Front 34

What does this imply for stream deposition?

Back 34

Erosion increasing on the outside, deposition increasing on the inside.

Front 35

What are annual streams? Where would you typically find annual streams?

Back 35

Streams that do not contain water continuously; in deserts.

Front 36

What is base level, for a typical stream? Do all rivers ultimately flow into the world ocean?

Back 36

Where a stream ceases to exist, usually sea level; some streams flow into mountain lakes or into depressions below sea level.

Front 37

When the discharge of a stream increases, what happens to the stream's velocity?
Why does stream deposition occur? What are the three forms of stream sediment?

Back 37

The velocity increases; the stream loses energy; bed load, suspended load, dissolved load.

Front 38

What is the main chemical involved in karst topography?

Back 38

Calcium carbonate or calcite, the mineral making up any limestone, which is reduced by the dissolving effect of carbon dioxide in water (carbonic acid).
In solution as calcium bicarbonate, the minerals are transported by groundwater until drainage permits oxygen to react with the ions in solution, and the calcite precipitates out of solution as a solid.

Front 39

Compare wind erosion with stream erosion and glacial erosion, in terms of material moved and sorting

Back 39

The wind is very weak and can only carry sand and silt; as a result it is a good sorter;
streams are also good sorters, dropping large pieces first, glaciers do not sort at all and merely drop sediment where it occurred in the ice as the glacier melts away.

Front 40

Why does mechanical weathering predominate in dry climates, while chemical weathering is nearly absent?

Back 40

The lack of water limits chemical weathering.
Mechanical weathering is slower and produces larger and more angular pieces that have not been further reduced and rounded by water-related processes.

Front 41

How does a mesa and scarp landscape compare to a basin and range landscape?

Back 41

Mesa and scarp is due to erosion cutting into sedimentary layers, forming pinnacles and broad tableland.
Basin and range is due to stream deposition in valleys between low mountain ranges.

Front 42

Describe and contrast alpine (mountain) glaciers and continental (ice-sheet) glaciers

Back 42

Alpine glaciers are small, numerous, and are found almost everywhere the temperature is cold enough to maintain ice

Front 43

Where are the two major continental glaciers on Earth?

Back 43

Greenland and Antarctica.

Front 44

What are the two basic differences between till and stratified drift?

Back 44

Till is dropped directly by the glacier as it melts away and is unsorted; stratified drift is carried from the glacier by meltwater and is well sorted.

Front 45

What are the three zones in the beach environment?

Back 45

Off-shore: always under water; foreshore: between high tide and low tide lines;
backshore: never reached by waves except during storms, usually dry and unvegetated.

Front 46

What are waves of oscillation and waves of translation?

Back 46

Waves of oscillation are far enough from shallow water near shore that they do not experience friction from the bottom, they shift motion back and forth with the wind.

Waves of translation are moving toward shore and experiencing friction from the bottom; this shortens their wavelength and increases their wave height until they break as surf on the shore.

Front 47

What is “submerged” or “emerging” at submergent or emergent coastlines?

Back 47

Off-shore sediments, like sand, silt, and clay particles.

Front 48

ablation zone

Back 48

where a glacier is losing ice

Front 49

accumulation zone

Back 49

where a glacier is adding ice

Front 50

alluvial fan

Back 50

an accumulation of stream-transported sediment at the base of mountains in dry climates

Front 51

andisol

Back 51

a soil order that derives from volcanic ash and cinder

Front 52

anion

Back 52

negatively charged atoms, typical of non-metals

Front 53

aridosol

Back 53

a soil order typical of deserts and steppes

Front 54

asthenosphere

Back 54

hot, plastic, deformable, its convective currents cause plate movement

Front 55

B horizon

Back 55

the result of leaching, a subsurface layer of mostly clay minerals

Front 56

backshore zone

Back 56

beyond waves and surf, where dunes form along beaches

Front 57

basalt

Back 57

an extrusive igneous rock, 50% metal, making up the ocean crust

Front 58

basin and range

Back 58

a depositional landscape in dry climates

Front 59

C horizon

Back 59

weathered bedrock, with little or no organic matter or mineral grains

Front 60

cation

Back 60

positively charged atoms, typical of metals

Front 61

colloid

Back 61

a gummy, sticky mass, typical of humus and clay

Front 62

coral island

Back 62

the result of formation of a colony of primitive polyps around the summit of a submerged volcano

Front 63

crust

Back 63

the relatively light and brittle surface layer of Earth's internal structure, mostly silicate

Front 64

cultural eutrophication

Back 64

artificial enrichment of still or slow-moving water with key chemical nutrients, usually refers to the effects of anthropogenic nitrates and phosphates on fresh water and marine ecosystems

Front 65

drumlin

Back 65

a glacially produced, tear drop shaped, landform, due to glaciers passing over their previously deposited material

Front 66

dune

Back 66

ramp-like shape of sand or silt, formed by the wind

Front 67

ecosystem

Back 67

all of the possible interactions and interrelationships among living things and of living things with their environment

Front 68

entisol

Back 68

an incompletely developed soil order (won’t appear in matching with inceptisol)

Front 69

erosion

Back 69

the removal of the products of weathering by water, glaciers, wind, or gravity

Front 70

esker

Back 70

a ridge of water-transported glacial sediment, usually well-sorted

Front 71

fjord

Back 71

a drowned or submerged glacial valley

Front 72

friable

Back 72

a soil property of moisture retentiveness and softness, yet not becoming compacted or waterlogged

Front 73

frost wedging

Back 73

weathering due to the fact that water increases in volume about 9% in freezing

Front 74

gelisol

Back 74

a soil order that forms over permafrost because of cryoturbation

Front 75

glacial erosion

Back 75

erosive agent, its maximum influence was about 18,000 to 20,000 years ago

Front 76

granite

Back 76

an intrusive igneous rock making up the continents

Front 77

headland

Back 77

rocky promontories, cliffs that waves break upon

Front 78

histosol

Back 78

a soil order that is mostly partially decomposed organic matter, because of a water-logged condition

Front 79

horizon

Back 79

the surface soil layer, mostly organic matter in the process of decomposition

Front 80

hot spot

Back 80

an upwelling of mantle rock toward the crust

Front 81

humus

Back 81

organic matter in soil that has been decomposed by microbes to the extent that its origin cannot be determined

Front 82

hydrolysis

Back 82

the reaction of acidified water with metal rich minerals, decomposing them chemically

Front 83

inceptisol

Back 83

an incompletely developed soil order (won’t appear in matching with entisol)

Front 84

inner core

Back 84

very hot and rich in iron and nickel, solid because it is under so much pressure

Front 85

limestone

Back 85

the most abundant chemically produced sedimentary rock

Front 86

lithosphere

Back 86

cool, rigid, brittle, floating on the softer rock underneath

Front 87

loam

Back 87

equal proportions of sand, silt, and clay

Front 88

longshore current

Back 88

a relatively persistent movement of water parallel to the shore

Front 89

mantle

Back 89

makes up most of Earth's internal structure and material

Front 90

mass wasting

Back 90

erosion under the influence of gravity

Front 91

mechanical weathering

Back 91

reduction of existing rock to particles without changing the chemical composition of the rock

Front 92

mesa and scarp

Back 92

an erosional landscape in dry climates

Front 93

mollisol

Back 93

a soil order characteristic of the mid-latitude steppes, relatively fertile and dark in color

Front 94

moraine

Back 94

ridge or mound of unsorted glacial sediments

Front 95

normal fault

Back 95

the footwall has moved up, relative to the hanging wall

Front 96

outer core

Back 96

very hot and rich in iron and nickel, liquid because it has expanded, the source of Earth's magnetic field

Front 97

oxisol

Back 97

a soil order characteristic of the tropical rain forest, heavily weathered and altered

Front 98

photosynthesis

Back 98

the combining of carbon dioxide with water to form hydrocarbons

Front 99

primary consumer

Back 99

herbivores or plant eaters

Front 100

primary production

Back 100

photosynthesis

Front 101

producer

Back 101

able to perform photosynthesis

Front 102

R horizon

Back 102

unweathered bedrock, the lowest layer in a soil profile

Front 103

Richter Scale

Back 103

used to characterize the relative strength of earthquakes

Front 104

secondary consumer

Back 104

a carnivore, a meat-eater

Front 105

sorting

Back 105

separation by size of sediment by an erosive agent

Front 106

spondosol

Back 106

essentially, the same kind of soil as a podzol, a forest soil of the high latitudes, one of the soil orders

Front 107

spreading center

Back 107

a divergent plate boundary

Front 108

stacks

Back 108

off shore rocky promontories, caused by wave erosion

Front 109

stratified drift

Back 109

glacial sediment that has been transported from the glacier by liquid water

Front 110

steam erosion

Back 110

the main form of erosion on Earth today

Front 111

subduction zone

Back 111

where ocean crust is being pushed or dragged into the mantle by plate movement

Front 112

suspended load

Back 112

most of what a stream is carrying, mostly silt, clay, and sand

Front 113

till

Back 113

unsorted sediment dropped directly from a glacier as it melts

Front 114

transform plate boundary

Back 114

a large scale strike slip fault

Front 115

ultisol

Back 115

a heavily weathered and extensively leached mid-latitude forest soil, characteristic of the American South

Front 116

unloading

Back 116

the disintegration of rock with the relief of pressure

Front 117

u-shaped

Back 117

valley typical of glaciers

Front 118

vertisol

Back 118

a soil order characterized by a high percentage of swelling clays, which dry and crack, turning over and mixing the soil components

Front 119

V-shaped

Back 119

valley typical of streams

Front 120

wind erosion

Back 120

not very influential on Earth, more important on Mars because of the lack of surface moisture

Front 121

xerophyte

Back 121

plants adapted to extreme dryness, characteristic of deserts, no leaves, no stems, may contain most of the water in its ecosystem