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68 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
rock cycle
A model that illustrates the origin of the three basic rock types and the interrelatedness of earth's materials and processes.
crust
The very thin, outermost layer of Earth.
mantle
The 2885-Kilometer (1789-mile) thick layer of Earth located below the crust.
core
Located beneath the mantle, it is Earth's innermost layer.
asthenosphere
A subdivision of the mantle situated below the lithosphere.
lithosphere
The ridged outer layer of Earth, including the crust and upper mantle.
lithospheric plate
A coherent unit of Earth's rigid outer layer that includes the crust and upper mantle.
plate tectonics theory
The theory that proposes Earth's outer shell consists of individual plates, which interact in various ways and thereby produce earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, and the crust itself.
divergent boundary
A boundary in which two plates move apart, resulting in upwelling of material from the mantle to create new seafloor.
convergent boundary
A boundary in which two plates move together.
transform-fault boundary
A boundary in which two plates slide past one another without creating or destroying lithosphere.
mineral
A naturally occurring, inorganic crystalline material with a unique chemical structure.
valence electron
The electron involved in the bonding process; the electrons occupying the highest principle energy level of an atom.
atomic number
The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.
mass number
The sum of the numbers of neutrons and protons in the nucleus of an atom.
isotopes
Varieties of the same element that have different mass numbers; their nuclei contain the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
ionic bond
A chemical bond between two oppositely charged ions formed by the transfer of valence electrons from one atom to another.
covalent bond
A chemical bond produced by the sharing of electrons.
luster
The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral. metallic or nonmetallic
streak
The color of a mineral in powdered form.
hardness
A mineral's resistance to scratching and abrasion.
cleavage
The tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding.
density
The weight per unit volume of a particular material.
specific gravity
The ratio of a substance's weight to the weight of an equal volume of water.
silicon-oxygen tetrahedron
A structure composed of four oxygen atoms surrounding a silicon atom that constitutes the basic building block of silicate minerals.
ferromagnesian silicates
Silicate minerals containing ions of iron and/or magnesium in their structure.
magma
A body of molten rock found at depth, including any dissolved gasses and crystals.
extrusive
Igneous activity that occurs at Earth's surface.
intrusive
igneous rock that formed below Earth's surface.
aphanitic texture
A texture of igneous rocks in which the crystals are too small for individual minerals to be distinguished with the unaided eye.
vesicular texture
A term applied to aphanitic igneous rocks that contain many small cavities.
porphyritic texture
An igneous rock texture characterized by two distinctively different crystal sizes.
phenocryst
Conspicuously large crystals in a porphyry that are imbedded in a matrix of finer-grained crystals.
phaneritic texture
An igneous rock texture in which the crystals are roughly equal in size and large enough so that individual minerals can be identified with the unaided eye.
glassy texture
A term used to describe the texture of certain igneous rocks, such as obsidian, that contains no crystals.
pyroclastic texture
An igneous rock texture resulting from the consolidation of individual rock fragments that are ejected during a violent eruption.
felsic
It is a term used to describe granitic igneous rocks.
mafic
Because basaltic rocks contain a high percentage of ferromagnesian minerals, they are called?
ultramafic
Category for igneous rocks made up almost entirely of ferromagnesian minerals.
partial melting
The process by which most igneous rocks melt.
decompression melting
Melting that occurs as rock ascends due to a drop in confining pressure.
geothermal gradient
The gradual increase in temperature with depth in the crust. the average is 30 degrees Celsius per kilometer in the upper crust.
Bowen's reaction series
illustrates the relationship between magma and the minerals crystallizing from it during the formation of igneous rock.
crystal settling
This process occurs when the earlier-formed minerals are denser than the liquid portion and sink toward the bottom of the magma chamber.
magmatic differentiation
The formation of one or more secondary magmas from a single parent magma.
assimilation
As magma migrates upward, it may incorporate some of the surrounding host rock.
magma mixing
This process occurs whenever one magma body intrudes another.
viscosity
A measure of a fluid's resistance to flow.
shield volcanoes
A broad, gently sloping volcano built from fluid basaltic lavas.
cinder cones
A rather small volcano built primarily of pyroclastics ejected from a single vent.
composite cones
A volcano composed of both lava flow and proclastic material.
pyroclastic flows
A highly heated mixture, largely of ash and pumice fragments, traveling down the flanks of a volcano or along the surface of the ground.
lahars
Mudflows on the slopes of volcanoes that result when unstable layers of ash and debris become saturated and flow downslope.
calderas
A large depression typically caused by collapse of the summit area of a volcano following a violent eruption.
fissure eruptions
An eruption in which lava is extruded from narrow fractures or cracks in the crust.
flood basalts
Flows of basaltic lava that issues from numerous cracks or fissures and commonly cover extensive area to thickness of hundreds of meters.
lava domes
A bulbous mass associated with an old-age volcano, produced when thick lava is slowly squeezed from the vent.
volcanic necks
An isolated, steep-sided, erosional remnant consisting of lava that once occupied the vent of a valcano.
plutons
A structure that results from the emplacement and crystallization of magma beneath Earth's surface.
discordant
A term used to describe plutons that cut across existing rock structures, such as bedding planes.
concordant
A term used to describe intrusive igneous masses that form parallel to the bedding of the surrounding rock.
dikes
A tabular-shaped intrusive igneous feature that cuts through the surrounding rock.
sills
A tabular igneous body that was intruded parallel to the layering of preexisting rock.
laccoliths
A massive, concordant igneous body intruded between preexisting strata.
batholiths
A large mass of igneous rock that formed when magma was emplaced at depth, crystallized, and was subsequently exposed to erosion.
island arcs
A chain of volcanic islands generally located a few hundred Kilometers from a trench where there is active subduction of one oceanic plate beneath another.
mantle plume
A mass of hotter-than-normal mantle material that ascends toward the surface, where it may lead to igneous activity.
hot spot
A proposed concentration of heat in the mantle capable of introducing magma that in turn extrudes onto Earth's surface.