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Earth Resources
University of Wyoming - Final Exam
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What are the two basic assumptions on which science is based? | Natural processes and events occur because of natural causes, not due to supernatural design or interference. With observation, experimentation and testing, the natural causes for these processes/events can be determined and verified |
| What are two factors that produce an ever-increasing demand for Earth resources? | 1) Increasing population. 2) Increasing technology and standard of living. |
| What time scale(s) is used to define renewable and nonreweable resources. | Human time scale |
| What are the three basic requirements of all human societies? What are the additional resources that must be acquired by all industrialized societies? | 1) Water; Land/soil; Energy. 2) Building materials, Industrial Minerals, Fertilizers, Chemical minerals, Metals, More and mobile energy. |
| DEFINE: mineral deposit | Volume of rock enriched in one or more minerals |
| DEFINE: Ore deposit | A mineral deposit in which one or more minerals can be extracted at a profit. |
| DEFINE: Enrichment factor | The ratio of an element in an ore, to the average crustal abundance of that element |
| What are the four main classes of factors that determine the economic viability of a mineral deposit? | 1) Geologic 2)Economic 3) Environmental 4) Engineering |
| What distinguishes a steady-state from a non-steady state? What is the relationship between the input and output to a reservoir in the steady state? | 1) Steady-state system does not appear to change with time whereas a non steady-state system does 2) In a non-steady state system, the input and output are not equal |
| Name the systems important at the Earth’s surface. Briefly describe the nature of each system. | 1) Lithosphere: rocks 2) Pedosphere: weathered and broken rock fragments and soil 3) Hydrosphere: water bodies and ice caps 4) biosphere: plant and animal life 5) atmosphere: air |
| Define steady and non-steady state systems. | 1)Steady state: No observable change with time 2) Non-steady state: state of system changes with time. |
| What are the two types of steady-state systems? Define each. | 1) Equilibrium; no work is done to maintain the system. 2) Metastable: work is done to maintain the system in a constant state. |
| What is the residence time of an element in a reservoir? | The amount of time an element spends in a given reservoir. MATHEMATICALLY: Residence Time = (Mass of element in reservoir)/(Outflow - Inflow) |
| 1) What criteria are used to define different types of systems? 2)Name and define the three basic types of systems? | 1) If they exchange energy and/or matter with their surroundings. 2) Open: Exchanges energy and matter. Closed: exchanges energy but not matter. Isolated: Exchanges neither energy nor matter. |
| Define Urbanization | The processes of population concentration |
| How does urbanization occur? | Increase in the NUMBER and SIZE of population centers. |
| What are the two mechanisms by which urban populations grow? | Natural increase, net migration. |
| DEFINE: Grade | Concentration below which minerals cannot be extracted at a profit |
| DEFINE: Measured/proven resource | Volumes and tonnage are well established |
| DEFINE: indicated or probable resource | volume and tonnage estimates based on less established data |
| DEFINE: inferred or possible resource | deposits assumed to extend beyond or between limits of known resources |
| DEFINE: reserves or ores | part of a resource that can economically and legally be extracted at a given time. |
| What are the two types of cycles used to trace an element or compound through the Earth System? What is the difference between the two? | 1) Biogeochemical moves through all 5 systems 2) Geochemical does not significantly impact the biosphere. |
| DEFINE: stock | material in a reservoir - matter or energy |
| DEFINE: reservoir | a container in which a store or supply of material resides |
| DEFINE: flux | movement of energy or matter from one reservoir to another. |
| Define renewable and nonreweable. | Renewable: Replenished on a short time scale. Non-Renewable: FINITE resource that is not replenished on human scale. |
| Which water reservoir holds the largest amount of water? Which holds the largest amount of freshwater? | 1) Oceans 2) Groundwater |
| What are the fluxes of the water cycle? | evaporation, precipitation, transpiration, runoff, infiltration |
| Name Earth's two energy sources: | Solar energy: Drives hydrologic cycle, which produces erosion and material transport through the movement of air, water, and ice. INTERNAL ENERGY: slow horizontal and vertical movements of crust and mantle. |
| DEFINE: Capacity | the concentration that can be sustained in the system before the reservoir is saturated and precipitates |
| DEFINE: Withdrawal (of water) | Water physically removed from its source |
| DEFINE: Consumption (of water) | Water no longer available for use after it has been withdrawn; evaporated, transpired, incorporated into livestock/crops, consumed by humans, contaminated |
| List the four main categories of Water use and define each | PUBLIC SUPPLY: Water supplied by municipal governments. RURAL SUPPLY: Domestic/livestock supplied by wells/surface flow. IRRIGATION: Watering crops. SELF-SUPPORT INDUSTRY: Industries with their own water supply |
| Population growth is described by what type of curve? | Exponential |
| What is doubling time? | Time required for a population to double |
| List 4 types of energy, and describe: | KINETIC: energy associated with bodies in motion; E=1/2 mv^2 POTENTIAL: Energy of an object due to its position in a force field E=mgh NUCLEAR: Energy stored in matter, E=mc^2 CHEMICAL: Energy liberated during chemical reactions |
| What is the basic law of nature that determines all energy production? | Law of conservation of Energy: Energy is neither created nor destroyed. |
| What two issues does the management of water revolve around? | Quality and Quantity |
| List four things water is used for. | Examples: Supports wildlife and fish, dilute and disperse pollutants, maintain soil moisture, generate electricity, transport goods, industry, irrigation, recreation |
| What are the three major environmental problems with fossil fuel use? | 1) Acid deposition, 2) Urban smog 3) Increased levels of greenhouse gases |
| List the three most used forms of fossil fuels. (3) Name the other four types of fossil fuels. Why are they not widely used? | 1)Coal, petroleum, natural gas 2) oil shales, tar sands, heavy oils, peat 3) Low energy content |
| Name the characteristics of fossil fuels that have lead to their use as the primary energy source of the 20th century? | 1) Excellent transportation fuels 2) Can readily convert between forms 3) Globally accessable 4)Techniques for exploitation are efficient and relatively clean |
| DEFINE: Primary recovery , and how much is recovered (petroleum) | Primary recovery is the use of natural conditions to drive oil/gas to well, and part way to the surface (20-30%) |
| List and describe the types of primary recovery (Petroleum) | WATER DRIVE: water moves upward and drives oil into well GAS CAP DRIVE: expanding gas layer above oil drives oil to well COMBINED DRIVE: combination of water and gas cap drives SOLUTION GAS DRIVE: gas dissolved in oil exsolves and forces oil to well |
| List the 6 stages in the completion of a petroleum well. | 1) Logging the well, 2)conducting a drill stem test,3) run and cement production casing,4) perforating the production string;5) stimulating or treating the production zone, 6)and installing the production equipment |
| What does distillation of petroleum do? | breaks oil into series of fractions based on temperature |
| Why does petroleum distillation work? | Because oil is not a single chemical compound but a mixture |
| What is the first stage of the refining process? | Distillation |
| List the order of distillation from lowest Temp to highest Temp (petroleum) | 1) Butanes and lighter, 2) Gasoline 3) Naptha 4) Kerosene 5)gas-oil 6)residue |
| What three requirements must a large concentration of material satisfy to be classified as an ore body? | 1) Must have a use for it 2) Know where it's located 3) can be exploited profitably. |
| What are the three sedimentary types of iron deposits? | Bog iron, ironstones, banded iron formations |
| List the 3 properties that make iron the most widely used metal | 1) Abundance and accessibility or rich iron ores, 2) relative ease of the smelting process, 3) special properties of iron which allow it to be tempered, shaped, sharpened, and welded |
| What are the abundant metals? | Abundant metals have crustal abundances greater than .1% . |
| List the abundant metals: | Silicon, Aluminum, iron, magnesium, manganese, titanium |
| What type of deposits are mined to produce aluminum? | Bauxite |
| Describe how a placer deposit is formed | Mineral must be hard, chemically stable, and heavy. They are formed by weathering of local rock. They are transported, sorted, and concentrated by water; lighter minerals are carried away by the water; concentrated in areas where water current is low |
| DEFINE: Concentration factor | Minimum mineable grade relative to average crustal grade |
| What 2 factors affect minimum concentration factors? | Market price of metal; mining and metallurgical developments. |
| In the last two hundred years, what has been the general trend for concentration factors for all metals? | General overall decline |
| Name the four Geochemical classes of SCARCE METALS | Ferrous/ferro alloys; Nonferrous/base; precious/noble; Special metals |
| List the desirable characteristics of lead, and what is it's major drawback? | 1) Soft and easily worked, 2) very dense 3) low melting temp 4) desirable alloying properties 5) resists corrosion, 6) excellent radiation shield..... highly toxic |
| List 2 alloys that are tin bearing | 1) Bronze: tin & copper 2) Pewter: tin and lead |
| DEFINE: Pegmatite | Unusually course grained igneous intrustion. |
| DEFINE: Primary production (metals) | Production from new ore, excluding production from recycling or partially processing imported ore. |
| What common characteristics do platinum metals share? | Resistant to corrosion, high melting Temp, Catalytic Agent |
| What are three non-metallurgical uses of silicon? | 1) Silicon chips, 2) photovoltaic cells 3) Silicon Carbide (SIC) |
| Name the 5 most important characteristics of metals | Ductile, malleable, fusible, good heat conducter, good electrical conducter |
| What are the two minerals mined for iron? | Magnetite and hematite |
| What characteristics of aluminum make it valuable? | Weight (1/3 of copper or iron); malleable; ductile; easily machined or cast; corrosion resistant; excellent conductor of electricity |
| List the four most important agents of physical weathering | Wind, rain, frost action, thermal expansion/contraction |
| List the 5 major classes of industrial minerals | Asbestos, refractories, fluxes, fillers/bulking agents; pigments/coloring agents |
| DEFINE: Reservoir Rock | Rocks where petroleum migrates to, and accumulates |
| DEFINE: Source Rock | Rocks where petroleum is generated in small dispersed amounts |
| DEFINE: Trap | Geologic structure where moving hydrocarbons are trapped by an impermeable seal or cap rock. |
| What 2 types of structures do geologists look for, when looking for petroleum? | STRUCTURAL: Formed by folding or faulting; STRATIGRAPHIC: Layers of pourous, permeable rock sealed off by overlying impermeable rock. |
| DEFINE: Benefication | The mechanical enrichment of ores before they are shipped from the mine to the smelter, in order to reduce shipping costs by reducing volume. |
| DEFINE: Direct Shipping Ore | Ore that has enough metal that it can be processed at the smelter with only crushing, directly shipped from mine to mill with processing (rare) |
| Name two classes of Gold deposits | Hydrothermal and Placer |
| List two types of Hydrothermal deposits. | Epithermal (from solutions <250 degrees); Mesothermal (solution >250 degrees) |
| List the five major requirements for a coal-producing wetland? | 1) Freshwater wetland, 2) swamp 3) stagnant water 4) consistently high water levels 5) long periods of constant conditions |
| What are the 5 types of surface mines? | Auger, contour, mountain top removal, strip, open-pit |
| What are the three ranks of coal? | Subbituminous, Bituminous, Anthracite |
| Name 2 procedures for underground coal mining | Room and pillar; Longwall mining |
| DEFINE: Room and Pillar mining | Traditional underground mining technique of leaving pillars of coal to support the mine roof. The areas where coal is removed is the "room"; left behind are the "pillars" |
| DEFINE: Longwall mining | Used when the coal seam is uniform thickness and horizontal. This mining technique extracts a panel or block of coal by a continuous miner. 80-90% of coal can be removed by longwall mining. |
| Name the three types of underground mines (coal) | Drift, slope, shaft |
| 6 steps for reclamation of a surface coal mine? | 1) Place overburden in coal mine where coal has been removed 2) cover overburden with topsoil 3) restore watershed 4) replant with native plants, w/out water or fertilizer 5) After 3+ years, grazing can occur 6) after 10 yrs, land can be opened to public |
| DEFINE: Energy | The ability to do something |
| Describe two types of nuclear reaction | Fission, Fusion |
| DEFINE: Moderator | Moderator slows down neutrons |
| DEFINE: Control rods | Modify the rate of a chain reaction |
| DEFINE: Auger mine | Salvage operation often carried out after countour mining is no longer economic. Extracts add'l coal by boring beneath final highwall of contour mine |
| DEFINE: Contour mine | Follow outcrop along mountainside contours. |
| DEFINE: Mountain top removal | Horizontal coal seems in mountains, too small to be mined by underground methods. If overburden is not too great, coal seams are extracted by removing the top of the mountain |
| DEFINE: strip mine | used where flatlands and gentle rolling topography overly horizontal seams. |
| DEFINE: Open pit mine | used when coal seam is over 100 feet thick, covers a large area, and is close to the surface. |
| DEFINE: Work | Work = force x distance |
| DEFINE: Power | Power = Energy used/time |
| List 4 main environmental problems associated with coal use as an energy source | Acid mine drainage; acid rain; increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, surface mine reclamation |
| Name the three active elements of fertilizer, and their function | NITROGEN ( component of proteins, over 100 amino acids, and chlorophyll) PHOSPHORUS: Important to DNA, RNA, ADP, and ATP; POTASSIUM (catalytic agent) |
| Name the different types of petroleum wells | Wildcat, exploratory, discovery, step-out/deliniation, development, infill well, stripper well, dry well |
| How do Uranium Roll front deposits form | 1)Leaching of U+6 by oxidized water, which continues until it hits reducing zone, then U+4 is deposited as Uranium minerals; shape is due to flow velocity |
| Name the three types of radioactive decay | Alpha, Beta, Electron capture |
| Describe Neutron Induced fission | Neutron strikes nucleus; nucleus begins to distort; forms dumbbell shape where electric forces strong but nuclear forces weak; nucleus splits into two unequal nuclei |
| Isotope | Atoms of the same element with different number of neutrons; atomic number is the same, different atomic weight/mass |
| What are three types of nuclear reactions ? | Subcritical, critical, supercritical |
| Name the types of nuclear reactors | Light water; Heavy water, graphite, breeder |
| Name and describe the 4 main systems of rotary drill rig | 1) Prime mover: engines/motors that supply the power to drive everything 2) Hoisting equipment: means to raise and lower drill stem 3)rotating equipment: mechanism that rotates the drill stem and any tools attached to it 4) Circulating equipment |
| What type of reactors don't need moderators? | Fast reactors |
| What change in the reactor design and set-up allows the elimination of the moderator? | The fuel is highly enriched, thereby increasing the density of 235 U and hence the likelihood of neutron capture followed by fission. |
| What are the properties of a good flux? | Low melting and formation temps; fluid at smelting temps; lower specific gravity than the metal it is a flux for; does not dissolve significant quantities of the metal being smelted |
| List three ways to crack (petroleum) | Heat (thermal cracking); Flashing (lowering pressure); and Catalytic (uses catalyst to break it down) |
| 5 steps in conventional underground coal mining | 1) cut into seam 2) drill 3) blast 4) removal of coal 5) Bolting |
| What are the two types of gas produced during coalification | 1) biogenic: produced early in process by bacterial action 2) thermogenic: produced at late stages by increase in temperatures |
| List 4 mechanisms by which coalbed methane is retained in a coal seam | 1) free gas in micropores and fractures (cleats) , 2) absorbed ON maceral surface 3)gas dissolved in groundwater in coal seam 4) Gas absorbed IN molecular structure of macerals |
| How are coalbed methane reservoirs different from those of natural gas? | Source rock = reservoir rock |
| List the coal combustion products: | Fly ash, bottom ash and boiler slag, sludge, waste water, gases |
| What is the major concern about coalbed methane production? | Produced water |
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Angie676
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