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63 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
4 spheres |
Geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere |
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The geosphere consists of three major layers. |
Crust, mantle, core |
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Crust |
Composed of granite and basalt |
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Core |
Contains a solid inner sphere and an outer liquid layer |
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Asthensophere |
In the upper mantle is 250 km thick. The rocks are hot, soft, and partially melted. |
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Lithosphere |
Includes all of the crusts and the uppermost part of the mantle. 100 km in thickness. It also contains tectonic lithospheric plates. |
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Oceans |
Cover 71% of the earth's surface and contain 97.5% of its water |
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What percent of earth's total water is underground? |
.63% |
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What percent of earth's total water is is surface water? |
.01% |
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The four major components of earth's atmosphere |
Atmosphere .001% of earth's water N²-78% O²-21% Ar-.09% CO²-.04% |
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Father of Modern Geology |
James Hutton |
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Uniformitarianism |
Principle stating that the geologic processes active in the past are the same processes active today. |
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Threshold effect |
Initial environment changes occur slowly in response to small disturbances until a threshold is crossed, after which additional small disturbances can cause rapid and dramatic changes. |
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Feedback mechanism |
Occurs when a small initial disturbance affects another component of the system, which amplifies the original effect disturbing the system more, and on and on. |
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5 characteristics all minerals must possess. |
Solid, definite chemical composition, naturally occurring, inorganic, crystalline structure |
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Fundamental components of matter that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical processes. |
Elements |
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Most minerals are composed of how many elements? |
2-5 |
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How many minerals are known? |
5200 |
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Specific gravity |
The density of a mineral relative to an equal volume of water. |
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Commercially important non metallic minerals, like barite, ate called? |
Industrial minerals |
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Ore minerals |
Source of valuable metallic element |
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92% of the earth's crust is composed of? |
Silicate minerals |
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The 2 most abundant minerals in earth's crust are? |
Feldspars and quartz |
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The basic building block of all silicate minerals is the?..? Which every silicon atom surrounds itself with ?...? Oxygen atoms. |
Silicate tetrahedron.... 4 |
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Limestone and dolostone are formed from 2 different ?...? minerals, calcite and dolomite. |
Carbonate |
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Both?...? and oxides are common ore minerals. |
Sulfides |
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Texture |
Defines the size shape and arrangement of igneous mineral grains in a rock. |
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Composition |
Refers to what minerals a rock is composed of. |
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Igneous rock form by? |
Cooling and crystallization of magma |
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Igneous rocks that form from magma that cools slowly within the earth's crust are...? |
Intrusive |
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Common intrusive igneous rocks. |
Granite, diorite, gabbro, paradite |
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Igneous rocks that form from magma that cools quickly above the earth's surface are called...? |
Extrusive |
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Common extrusive igneous rocks? |
Basalt and ryholite |
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What volcanic rock is a natural glass? |
Obsidian |
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Sedimentary rocks form by the??? And the??? Of sediments. |
Accumulation and lithification |
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2 processes by which lithification occur are? |
Compaction and cementation |
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2 main types of sedimentary rocks, depending on origin. |
Clastic and non-clastic |
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Clastic sedimentary rocks are classified on the basis of? |
Grain size |
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What percent of all sedimentary rocks are clastic? |
80% |
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Classic sedimentary rocks |
Conglomerates, breccia, sandstone, and siltstone. |
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2 most common carbonate rocks |
Limestone and dolostone |
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Different types of limestone |
Micrite, sparite, coquina, fossiliferous, oolitic |
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Explain how carbonate rocks are related to climate. |
Carbon is precipitated from calcium and the formation of carbonated rocks causes cooling climate. |
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2 types of metamorphism |
Contact and regional |
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How does contact metamorphism occur? |
High temps and chemical action of fluids associated with intrusion. |
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4 foliated metamorphic rocks |
Chlorite, Acasta gneiss, Morton gneiss |
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2 common non-foliated metamorphic rocks. |
Quartzite, marble, metaconglomerate |
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The all time worst mass extinction in which 90% of all species became extinct. |
Permian |
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Dinosaurs became extinct at the end of what period? |
Cretaccous/ paleocene |
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Relative age dating |
The order in which the rocks formed or geologic events occurred |
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Actual age dating |
Age of rocks or geological events measured in years. |
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Original horizontality |
Sedimentary rocks form in flat layers |
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Fossil succession |
Rocks with the same fossils are the same age |
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An unconformity |
A surface of erosion within a sequence of rocks that indicates an interruption of deposition of the rock record. |
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3 kinds of unconformities |
Nonconformity, Angular, disconformity |
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Correlation |
Matching rocks of similar type or age from different locations |
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Index fossils |
Fossils used to accurately determine the relative age of a rock. |
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Radiometric age dating |
Actual age dating technique which the age formation of a rock or mineral can be determined by using the radioactive decay of naturally occurring isotopes. |
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Isotopes |
Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. |
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The rate of decay for any radioactive isotope is always? |
Constant |
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Half life |
Time required for one half of the atoms of a given amount of a radioactive isotope to decay |
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The first 4 billion years of earth's history. |
Precambrian |
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Which eon did fossils first become common? |
Phanerozoic |