Geology 101 Final Exam

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The study of Earth; focuses on describing our planet's composition, behavior, and history; also called "geoscience"

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Geology

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the assumption that the natural processes operating in the past are the same as those that can be observed operating in the present;

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uniformitarianism

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the idea that Earth has been affected by sudden, short-lived, violent events that were sometimes worldwide in scope

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catastrophism

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a scale that describes the intervals of geologic time.

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geologic time scale

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the last 542 million years

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Phanerozoic

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the time >542 million years ago

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Precambrian

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the span of time since the formation of the earth

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geologic time

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an envelope of gas consisting overall of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen with minor amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, neon, methane, ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide, that surrounds the Earth.

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Atmosphere

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the surface water of Earth, along with groundwater and water vapor in the atmosphere

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hydrosphere

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the relatively rigid, nonflowable, outer 100- to 150-km-thick layer of the earth; constitutin ghte crust and the top part of the mantle

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Lithosphere

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the layer of the mantle that lies between 100-150 km and 350 km deep; is relatively soft and can flow when acted on by force

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Asthenosphere

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variations in elevation

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topography

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carbon-containg compounds that either occur in living organisms, or have characteristics that resemble compounds in living organisms, are called organic chemicals

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Organic chemicals

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a solid substance in which atoms are arranged in an orderly pattern

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mineral

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a solid in which atoms are not arranged in an orderly pattern

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glass

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aggregates of mineral crystals or grains, and masses of natural glass

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rocks

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an accumulation of loose mineral grains

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sediment

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solids composed of metal atoms

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metals

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form when solid materials become hot and transform into a liquid

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melts

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materials that easily transform into gases at the relatively low temperatures found at the Earth's surface

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volatiles

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ground shaking due to the sudden breaking of rocks in the earth

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earthquake

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a fracture on which sliding occurs

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fault

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the rate of change in temperature with depth

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geothermal gradient

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supercontinent

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pangea

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the idea that continents have moved and are still moving slowly across the Earth's surface.

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continental drift

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the gradual widening of an ovean basin as new oceanic crust forms at a mid-ovean ride axis and then moves away from the axis

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sea-floor spreading

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the process by which one oveanic plate bends and sinks down into the asthenosphere eneath another plate

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subduction

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the region along a convergent boundary where one plate sinks beneath another.

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subduction zone

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the theory that the outer layer of the earth consists of separate plates that move with respect to one another

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plate tectonics

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the record of ancient magnetism preserved in rock

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paleomagnetism

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the supposed position of the earth's magnetic pole in the past, with respect to a particular continent.

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paleopole

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a path on the globe along which a magnetic pole appears to have wandered over time; in fact, the continecnts drift, while the magnetic pole stays fairly fixed.

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apparent polar-wander path

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a broad, relatively flat region of the ocean that lies at least 4.5 km below sea level.

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abyssal plain

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a 2-km-high submarine mountain belt that forms along a divergent oceanic plate boundary

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mid-ocean ridge

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a deep elongate trough bordering a volcanic arch; a trench defines the trace of a convergent plate boundary

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trench

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a curving chain of active volcanoes formed adjacent to a convergent plate boundary

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volcanic arc

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the difference between the expected strength of the earth's magnetic field at a certain location and the actual measured strenth of the field at that location.

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magnetic anomaly

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a boundary at which two lithosphere plates move apart from each other; they are marked by mid-ocean ridges

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divergent plate boundary

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a boundary at which two plates move toward each other so that one plate sinks beneath the other; only oceanic lithosphere can subduct

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convergent plate boundary

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a boundary at which one lithosphere plate slips laterally past another

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transform plate boundary

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the cloud of suspended minerals formed where hot water spews out of a vent along a mid-ocean ridge; the dissolved sulfide components of the hot water instantly precipitate when the water mixes with seawater and cools

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black smokers

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a point where three lithosphere plate boundaries intersect

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triple junction

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a location at the base of the lithosphere, at the tope of a mantle plume, where temperatures can cause meltine

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hot spot

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a column of very hot rock rising up through the mantle

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mantle plume

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a linear belt in which continental lithosphere undergoes rifting, or pulls apart

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continental rift

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the study of minerals, fascinates professionals and amateurs alike

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mineralogy

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homogeneous, naturally occuring, solid substance with a definable chemical composition and an internal structure characterized by an orderly arrangement of atoms in a crystalline structure.

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mineral

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the same through and through; cannot be physically broken into simpler components

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homogeneous

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true minerals form by geological processe, not by the activity of humans

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naturally occuring

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a form of matter that can amintain its shape indefinitely

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solid

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a single, continuous piece of a crystalline solid, typically bounded by flat surfaces called crystal faces that grow naturally as the mineral forms

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crystal

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the way in which atoms are packed

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crystal structure

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two different minerals that have the same composition buy different crystals structures

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polymorphs

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the pattern of atoms or ions in a mineral

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symmetry

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the color of a powder produced by pulverizing the mineral

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streak

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the way a mineral surface scatters light

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luster

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measure of the relative ability of a mineral to resist scratching

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hardness

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the density of a mineral

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specific gravity

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a vent at which melt rom inside the earth spews onto the planet's surface

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volcano

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molten rocks beneath the earth's surface

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magma

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rock that forms when hot molten rock cools and freezes solid

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igneous rock

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rock that forms at or near the surgace of the earth by the cementing together of loose grains nbroken off prexisting rock

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sedimentary rock

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the processes that break up and corrode solid rock

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weathering

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a rock that forms from a preexisting rock

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metamorphic rock

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a preexisting rock

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protolith

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the process of forming metamorphic rock

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metamorphism

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the place within the earth where rock ruptures and slips. or the place where the exposion occurs

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hypocenter (focus0

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the point on the surface of the earth that lies directly above the focus

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epicenter

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compressional body waves

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P-waves

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shear body waves

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S-waves

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surface waves that cause the ground to ripple up and down

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R-waves

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surface waves that cause the gournd to ripple back and forth, creating a snake-like pattern

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L-waves

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defines the intensity of an earthquake by the amount of damage it causes

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Mercalli intensity scale

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Question 1 of 3: Physicists have concluded which of the following concerning element formation?

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Hydrogen and helium formed during the big bang, but heavier elements formed later, by fusion reactions in stars.

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Question 2 of 3: The carbon atoms that now form your body . . .

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formed by stellar nucleosynthesis.

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Question 3 of 3: Which statement represents the favored geological theory describing the formation of the Earth?

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. The Earth formed by the coalescence of planetesimals that occurred in a ring orbiting the Sun

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Elements with more mass pulled toward the center of the planet- a mechanical process

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Gravity

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Definition: chemical separation by partial melting and outgassing of volatiles

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Differentiation

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Crust-Mantle Boundary

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Moho