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22 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
Earth's 4 Spheres |
Atmosphere - clouds, weather patterns Lithosphere - mountains, volcanoes, fault lines Hydrosphere - bodies of water Biosphere - vegetation |
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Terrestrial planets v. Gaseous planets |
Rocky planets - closer to sun, made up of Fe, Si, O, and Mg Gas planets - further from sun, made up of H, He, CH4, and NH3 |
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How do we know the age of our solar system? |
Radiometric dating of the Allende meteorite |
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How much of our solar system's mass is from the Sun? |
99.9% |
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Planets mostly revolve and rotate in the same direction T/F |
True |
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Which plane are most planets found on? |
Plane of elliptic |
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Nebula Hypothesis |
1. Cloud of gas and dust compressed by shockwave from a nearby supernova
2. Compression accelerates by gravity as cloud gets denser
3. Temperature variations cause heavy elements to condense the nebula nearer to the proto-Sun forcing the lighter elements further out. Small solid chunks begin to form.
4. proto-Sun gets dense enough for nuclear fusion. Sun turns on and sweeps remaining gas and light into solar system.
5. Planets form through accretion - collision off proto-planets with planetismals |
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Consequences for Earth formation |
Composition - elements of Earth (see Rocky planets) Chemical differentiation - difference in crust vs. rest of Earth Early atmosphere - volcanic outgassing CO2, CH4, etc Orbital characteristics - irregular tilt, wobble, elliptical |
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What shape is the Earth? |
Oblate spheroid |
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Endogenous energy v. Exogenous energy |
Endogenous - from within the Earth Exogenous - from the sun |
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Igneous Rocks |
Volcanic
Small crystals - quickly cools, extrusive Large crystals - cools slowly, intrusive
Felsic - contains feldspar + silica, lighter in weight and color
Mafic - contains magnesium + iron, heavier and darker |
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Sedimentary Rocks |
Layers Clastic - composed of fragments (clasts) of pre-existing rocks broken by erosion Chemical - formed by precipitation of minerals from water |
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Metamorphic Rocks |
Heat/pressure Foliated - repetitive layering No foliated - without layers |
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What are plate tectonics? |
The science of the bending and breaking of the Earth's crust |
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Continental Drift |
Alfred Wegener Fossil evidence |
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Ocean floor |
Mid-ocean ridges, volcanic and earthquake activity, seafloor spreading |
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Earth's interior |
Seismic waves identified crust + mantle |
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The location of earthquake activity in particular places on Earth correspond to plate boundaries T/F |
True |
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Divergent plate boundaries |
Plates move apart. Mafic rock, effusive volcanic activity Mid-Atlantic ridge, East African rift valley |
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Convergent plate boundaries |
Oceanic crust meeting continental crust results in subduction and volcanic island arcs. Felsic and metamorphic rocks Himalayas |
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Transform plate boundaries |
Plates slide past each other resulting in earthquakes and right angles in valleys Mid-ocean ridges, San Andreas fault |
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Felsic magma is less sticky/runny than mafic magma T/F |
False |
Silica is what makes it sticky! |