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53 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What must be true of a hypothesis for it to be useful?
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It must be testable
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True/False: If 2 different minerals have the same mineral composition, one can correctly predict that they will have the same physical properties.
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False
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Which kind of mineral makes up the greatest volume of rock (the so-called rock forming minerals)?
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Silicate minerals
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From which kind(s) of rocks can metamorphic rocks form?
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All 3 rock types
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Where in Earth is periodotite, the most common rock type, found?
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Mantle
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Where in Earth is the most likely place to find grantite?
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Continental Crust
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What kind of magma wil typically form from the particle melting of a mafic rock?
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Intermediate magma
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The wet melting curve is most appropriate to magma generation at what tectonic level?
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Subduction zones
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Whoch of the following conditions maximize viscosity?
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High silica, low temperature, many crystals
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Which volcanic hazard is most likely to be associated with the shield volcano?
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Fast-flowing fluid lavas
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How does subjectivity enter into the process of scientific inquiry?
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Scientific knowledge is subject to change and involves inference.
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What is the difference betweena scientific theory and law?
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A theory is supported by abundance of evidence and a law is based on observation (free from subjectivity of inference).
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How do you test a hypothesis and why is this necessary in science?
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By running an experiment. They are important because they display data and can lead to theories or laws.
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What are the 4 spheres of the Earh system?
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Hydrosphere (water), Atmosphere (gaseous layer above earth's surface), Biosphere (realm of organisms), and Geosphere (solid earth).
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Why is the temperature on Venus hotter than that of Mercury, even though Venus is farther from the Sun?
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Greenhouse effect and timing.
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Give one example of how one of those subsystems affects/interacts with another.
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The hydrosphere is strongly coupled to the atmosphere. They both are needed to regulate climate, sustain life, and shape the earth's surface.
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How does the evolution of Earths atmosphere illustrate interaction between the 4 Earth spheres?
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The atmosphere originated from outgassing of he geosphere, changed 80% CO2, 10% N, and 10% H20 to 78% N, 21% O, and 1% of other gases.
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What is the nebular hypothesis?
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The solar system formed from a single rotating cloud of gas and dust (nebula.)
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How old is the universe?
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4.6 billions year old.
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How does the basic nature of the Earth as a rocky inner planet relate to its distance from the sun?
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It is one of the terrestrial planets.
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If iron (Fe) is so abundant in the Earth system, why is there not more of it found in the Earth’s crust?
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The core is made entirely of iron.
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What are the different parts of the geosphere as defined by their physical properties (rather than composition).
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Crust, mantle, and core.
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How does the cycling of CO2 in the Earth system illustrate interaction between the different parts of the Earth system?
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Atmospheric chemistry is a great example of interaction among the different components of the Earth's system. Evolution of the biosphere and photosynthesis slowly changes atmospheric chemistry and leads to a build up of free oxygen.
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What is the difference between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere?
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Lithosphere: all of the crust and a bit of the mantle, it is elastic, and made of rock. Asthenosphere: is a weak sphere, acts plasticly, changes shape permanently to alleviate stress. The biggest difference is temperature, about 1200 degrees.
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Why are silicate minerals so abundant?
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There is a lot of silicon and oxygen on earth forming silicate.
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What is hardness? Is a 2 on Mohs scale twice as hard as a 1?
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No, it is simply in relation to the one before it.
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If ice is a mineral (and it is), is water a mineral? Why/Why not.
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Water is not a mineral because it does not have a defined structure.
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What are the three kinds of chemical bonds discussed in class? Briefly describe each.
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Covalent, Ionic and Metallic...
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Which mineral is likely to be harder, an ionically bonded one or a covalently bonded one?
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Covalent bonds are stronger because they share valence electrons.
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Which is likely to be more soluble?
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An ionic bond is more soluble.
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What is cleavage and how is it different from crystal form.
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Cleavage is how it breaks and crystal form is about how it grows.
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How might one distinguish whether one was observing a cleavage surface of a crystal face?
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With crystal form there is a pattern.
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What are the main minerals one would expect to find in a granite?
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Granite contains mostly feldspar and quartz.
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What is a phaneritic texture and how does a basalt differ from a gabbro?
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Phaneritic textured rocks are comprised of large crystals. A basalt and gabbro are differrent in the way they cool, one is extrusive and the other intrusive.
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What does the fact that a rock has aphanitic texture infer about its origin?
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Aphanitic: fine-grained texture, rapid cooling, microscopic crystals, may contain vesicles (holes from gas bubbles).
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What is the name for an intermediate composition rock showing aphanitic texture? And what is its course-grained equivalent?
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Andesite, is common in volcanic arcs above subduction zones, and its coarse-grained equivalent, diorite, is found in plutons along these same convergent plate tectonic margins.
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What are two ways that the normally solid asthenosphere (upper mantle) can be caused to melt to form magmas? Associate each with a sense of relative motion between two lithospheric plates (a kind of plate tectonic boundary).
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Increase temperature, decrease pressure, or add water to decrease the melting point.
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Why are most magmas formed by the partial melting of rocks rather than the complete melting of rocks?
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A rock is a mixture of several minerals and thay all melt at a different temperatures.
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What is fractional crystallization? Generally, how would the composition (chemistry) of a mafic magma change in response to this process?
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In fractional crystallization the solids are removed or isolated from the liquid, resulting in the remaining or residual liquid having a new composition.
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What two factors control the composition of a magma produced by partial melting?
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If pressure decreases slowly and or if water is added slowly, the minerals with the lowest melting tempratures melt first.
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What kind (composition) of magmas are normally produced during partial melting of the mantle?
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High magnesium and iron content, low silica.
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Why/how can a magma change after it is formed?
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Once it forms it rises towards the Earth's surface because it is less dense than surrounding rock. As it rises 2 changes occur, magma cools as it enters shallower and cooler levels of the Earth, and pressure drops because the weight of overlying rock decreases.
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How is a felsic magma different from a mafic magma? Be sure to make reference to SiO2 (silica) content, Na/K content, Mg, Fe and Ca content, gas content, density and viscosity.
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Felsic magma is light colored, has low specific gravity, silica/oxygen>65%, high in potassium, aluminum, and sodium, high volatile content, low temp, high viscosity. Mafic magma is dark colored, relatively high specific gravity, silica/oxygen: 45-52%, high in iron, magnesium, and calcium, low volatile content, high temp, and has a low viscosity.
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What are the factors that affect the viscosity of a magma?
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Temp. relative to solidus/liquidus temp, the composition of the magma (viscosity increases w/ increasing silica, dissolved gases (help reduce viscosity).
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What is an example of mafic rock?
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Basalt and gabbro.
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Which kind of magmas are most likely to erupt explosively, mafic or felsic lavas. Why?
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Felsic (BAM!) Mafic (flow) Mafic has low silica while felsic has high silica.
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What is a shield volcano? What kind of magmas erupt from a shield volcano?
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A shield volcano is a formed when a fluid basaltic magma builds a gently sloping mountain. Erupts basalt magma.
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What is a composite (or strato) volcano? How does it differ from a shield volcano?
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Forms over a long period of time from alternating lava flows and pyroclastic eruptions. Erupts a variety of types of magma and ash.
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Give at least one example each of a shield volcano and a composite volcano that occur on Earth.
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Shield volcano: Mauna Loa
composite volcano: Mt. Vesuvius |
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Where is the Mt. St. Helens? When did it last erupt? What mountain range is it a part of? Why does this volcanic mountain range exist?
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It is located in Washington, it last erupted 1980, it is a part of the Cascade Mountain Range, exists because of plate tectonics.
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Which has bigger explosions subduction zones or midocean ridges?
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Subduction zone explosions are bigger than midocean eidges.
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What is a batholith?
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A pluton exposed over more than 100 square kilometers of the Earth's surface.
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How is risk different from a hazard?
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A hazard is something that can cause harm, while risk is the chance high or low that any hazard will actually cause someone harm.
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