A scientific hypothesis that stands repeated testing can be elevated to a scientific ___.
Theory
The Earth's mantle is found in the __.
Geosphere
Oceans contain __ percent of Earth's water.
97%
The Earth's lithosphere is approximately:
100 km
Which part of the Earth is molten (liquid)?
Outer core
Continental crust is ___ oceanic crust.
less dense than
What element is the most abundant on Earth's crust?
Oxygen
How old are the oldest rocks on the ocean floor?
About 200 million years old.
The oldest continental rocks are ___ than the oldest oceanic rocks.
Much older
The Hawaiian volcanoes are ___.
Not located at a plate boundary
Which of the following is not part of the definition of a mineral?
Isotropic
Which of the following substances is not considered a mineral?
Coal
What is the dominant or most prevalent type of bonding in minerals?
Ionic bonding.
Most common rock-forming minerals are ___.
Silicates
Which of the following minerals readily fizzes when it comes in contact with hydrochloric acid?
Calcite
Which of the following minerals has the greatest hardness?
Quartz
Brittle and malleable are examples of:
Tenacity
Cleavage is:
Ability of a mineral to break along smooth parallel planes
What are examples of framework silicates?
Quartz, orthoclase feldspar, & plagioclase feldspar.
The concept that identifies that the three basic groups of rocks are all related is called ___.
The rock cycle
Which of the following igneous rocks crystallizes at the Earth's surface?
Rhyolite
Which of the following pairs of intrusive and extrusive rocks have the same chemical composition?
Granite and rhyolite.
Large igneous bodies that form at depth in the Earth's crust are called ___.
Plutons
Which of the following igneous bodies is a vertical or near vertical tabular discordant intrusive rock?
Dike
What is molten rock beneath the Earth's surface called?
Magma
Basaltic lava that cools under water forms distinct ___ features.
Pillow lava
Magma generated in the Earth's interior rises because it is ___ than the surrounding rocks.
Less dense.
Eruptions of rhyolite lava tend to be more explosive than basaltic and andesitic lavas because _____.
Rhyolite lavas contain more gases.
Volcanic rocks derived from the Yellowstone hot spot get progressively older to the southwest; based on this information, in which direction is the North American plate moving?
Southwest.
One hypothesis proposes that large igneous provinces form at hot spots by mantle plumes that originate at what boundary within the Earth?
Mantle-outer core boundary.
What is the name for a basaltic lava flow that has a ropy, folded surface?
Pahoehoe.
What type of sediments are accumulations of solid fragments produced by weathering?
Clastic sediments
Which of the following statements about transportation of sediment is false?
Smaller particles settle faster than larger particles.
What processes occur during lithification?
Recrystallization of unstable minerals, compaction, & cementation.
A clastic sedimentary rock composed of medium-grained particles is called a ___.
Sandstone.
Which of the following types of sandstones is composed mostly of feldspar grains?
Arkose.
Abrasion of sediment particles results in which of the following?
They become smaller and more rounded.
Conglomerate and breccia differ in and can be readily distinguished by:
Grain roundness.
Where do atolls form?
On subsiding volcanic islands.
Flexural basins form at what type of plate boundary?
Convergent.
Marble is a metamorphic rock that forms from _____?
Limestone
What type of metamorphism is caused by high temperature and high pressure imposed over a large volume of crust, for example, by collision of plates?
Regional.
What type of metamorphism is caused by igneous intrusions?
Contact metamorphism.
The parallel alignment of mica in a metamorphic rock is an example of ___.
Foliation.
What is the correct metamorphic sequence of increasingly coarser grain size?
Slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss.
What type of metamorphic rock was once used to make blackboards?
Slate
Light-colored rocks with coarse bands of segregated light and dark minerals are called ___.
Gneisses.
The prograde part of a metamorphic P-T path occurs during ____.
Burial and heating.
The parent rock of quartzite is ___.
Sandstone
Foliation in a metamorphic rock is oriented _____.
At right angles to the direction of greatest compression.