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GEO 103 Exam 1
Geology 103 Exam 1 - Chapter 1-5
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is Historical Geology? | The science concerned with the study of Earth; includes study of Earth materials, internal and surface processes, and Earth and life history. |
| What is the scientific method? | A logical, orderly approach involving data gathering, formulating and testing hypotheses, and proposing theories. |
| How does a hypothesis become a theory? | They are tested to see if what they predicted actually occurs then if one of the hypotheses is found to explain the phenomena, it is proposed as a theory. |
| What is uniformitarianism? | Based on premise that present-day processes remain present throughout geologic-time. |
| What are the three main layers of the Earth? (core, mantle crust) | Inner core (solid), Outer core (liquid), Mantle, Crust |
| What is the observable evidence for the big bang theory? | 2.7K background radiation as the "afterglow" or "echo" of the Big Bang |
| What is the most widely accepted theory for the formation of the Earth’s moon? | Giant Impact Hypothesis: the Moon was formed out of the debris left over from a collision between the Earth and a body the size of Mars, approximately 4.5 Gya (four and a half billion years ago). |
| What are the most abundant minerals in the Earth? | The silicate group of minerals comprise the largest percentage of the Earth's crust. Silicate minerals include quartz, feldspars, and micas. |
| Know the three rock types and how they are distinguished from each other and how they are related through the rock cycle. | Igneous Rocks: rock formed when magma cools and crystallizes Sedimentary Rocks: any rock made up of pieces of other rocks that disintegrated over time Metamorphic Rocks: Rocks that can be changed or affected by temperature, pressure, and fluid activity |
| Know how rocks are classified. (composition and texture) | Composition and Texture. |
| What are the two main types of sedimentary rocks? | Detrital and Chemical. |
| How do metamorphic rocks get their textures? | By differential pressure. |
| What is the difference between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks? | Intrusive: Formed below surface as plutonic rocks. Extrusive: Formed at the surface as volcanic rocks. |
| Why is plate tectonics a unifying theory? | Because it describes how the earth's plates move around. |
| What are some of the early lines of evidence, even before plate tectonics was postulated that indicated the continents had moved through time? | How the edges of the continents fit like a jigsaw puzzle. |
| What is paleomagnetism? | Permanent magnetism in ancient rocks. |
| What is the Curie point? | The temperature at which iron-bearing minerals in a cooling magma attain their magnetism. |
| What is polar wandering? | Magnetic poles wandering due to continents moving. |
| What are magnetic reversals? | When a magnetic field completely changes orientation. |
| What are mid ocean ridges? | An underwater mountain system that consists of various mountain ranges (chains), typically having a valley known as a rift running along its spine, formed by plate tectonics. |
| What are trenches? | Where convection cells descend back into Earth’s interior. |
| What produces volcanic arcs? | The subduction of an oceanic tectonic plate under another tectonic plate, and often parallel an oceanic trench. |
| What is a transform fault? | The change of one type of motion between plates into another type of motion. Most commonly, they connect two oceanic ridge segments. |
| What are the three types of plate margins (boundaries)? | Divergent, Convergent, and Transform (boundaries). |
| What is a plate? | A segment of Earth's crust and upper mantle (lithosphere) varying from 5 to 250 km thick. |
| What is the lithosphere? | The outer rigid part of Earth, consisting of the upper mantle, oceanic crust, and continental crust; lies above the asthenosphere. |
| What is the asthenosphere? | Part of the upper mantle over which the lithosphere movies; it behaves as a plastic and flows. |
| What is a convection cell? | The result of density differences in a body of liquid or gas. They often result in rising and/or falling currents. |
| What drives plate tectonics? | A convective heat system. |
| What is the oldest crust in the ocean basins? What is the oldest known continental crust? | Oldest crust occurs near subduction zones & is less than 180 million years old. Oldest continental crust is 4.01 billion years old. |
| Why does continental crust not subduct? | The density is too low (although one continent may partly “slide” under the other). |
| What is subduction? | When sedimentary & volcanic rocks fold & fault along plate margin. |
| What is an ophiolite? What is a mélange? How does the presence of these rocks indicate an ancient suture zone? | Ophiolite: Slices of oceanic lithosphere may be accreted to continent edge Mélange: Sediments and submarine rocks folded, faulted and metamorphosed making chaotic mixture of rocks |
| What is a hot spot? What is the Hawiaan Emperor chain? Why does it show that the Pacific Plate changed directions? | Hot Spot: locations of stationary magma columns originating deep within mantle Hawaiian Emperor Chain: mostly undersea mountain range in the Pacific that reaches above sea level in Hawaii |
| What is an orogeny? How do we recognize ancient orogenic events? | |
| What are microplates? | |
| What is relative dating? | |
| What is absolute dating? | |
| What are the timescale units? (eon, era, period, epoch) | |
| What is radiometric dating? Who do you know that does this? | |
| Principle of superposition? | |
| Principle of original horizontality? | |
| Principle of lateral continuity? | |
| Principle of Cross Cutting Relationships? | |
| What is a half-life? Be able to take calculate ages based on this concept. | |
| What are the most widely used radiometric dating techniques? (Ar-Ar and U-Pb) | |
| What is radiocarbon dating? Why is it only relevant for the most recent part of the geologic column? | |
| What is stratigraphy? | |
| What is bedding, and what is a bedding plane? | |
| What is the principle of inclusions? Be able to use this with hypothetical dates. | |
| What are the three types of unconformities? | |
| How to nonconformities form? | |
| How to angular unconformities form? | |
| How does a disconformity form? | |
| What is a sedimentary facies? | |
| What are marine transgressions and regressions? How do we recognize them in the rock record? | |
| What is Walthers Law? | |
| Know the potential causes of transgressions and regressions (glaciations; rates of seafloor spreading) and what direction they cause sea level to change. | |
| What are fossils? What are trace fossils? | |
| What are the various ways fossils are preserved in the sedimentary rock record? | |
| Lithostratigraphic Hierarchy | |
| Chronostratigraphic Hierarchy | |
| Geochronologic Hierarchy. | |
| What is a guide fossil? | |
| What is a range zone, and a concurrent range zone? |
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