What is earth science?
The scientific study of all aspects of the earth
What is the scientific method ?
A way of investigating natural phenomena by making observations and repeatedly testing conclusions
What must a substance have to be considered a mineral?
have a specific chemical composition, be formed by organic processes, naturally formed solid and have a characteristic crystal structure
Why is volcanic glass not considered a mineral?
it lacks crystal structure (amorphous)
Out of muscovite, feldspar, quartz and calcite, which is the hardest?
quartz
Which property is the least useful in identifying a mineral?
color
What are the three major rock families?
Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary
Which are plutonic igneous rocks paired with their compositionally equivelant volcanic igneous rocks?
Granite/Rhyolite, Diorite/Andesite, Gabbro/Basalt
What type of sediment forms from loose rock and mineral debris by weathering and erosion?
Clastic
Which sedimentary tock is typically composed entirely of calcite?
limestone
Metamorphism will occur under what types of conditions?
High temp and pressure, high temp and low pressure, or low temp and high pressure.
Foliated metamorphic rocks derived from shales in order of increasing metamorphic grade are what?
slate, phyllite, and schist or gneiss
Why is limestone not the most desirable stone for buildings?
it slowly dissolves in rain water (acid rain)
What is it called when rock breaks down into solid fragments by physical processes that do not change the rock's chemical composition?
Mechanical Weathering
Sediments found on Earth's surface are the result of what?
Combination of mechanical and chemical weathering processes.
In the illustration of the hydrologic cycle, which reservoir holds most of the fresh-water resources of the planet?
Ice Sheets
When does an oxbow lake form?
Meanders form cut-offs
What is the total area from which water flows into a stream?
Drainage Basin
What is the work of Wegener that the current continental masses were assembled into a single supercontinent called?
Pangaea
What evidence supports continental drift was not used by Wegener when he first proposed his hypothesis?
The apparent polar wandering of the north magnetic pole
What is the process by which oceanic crust splits and moves apart along a midocean ridge and new oceanic crust forms?
Seafloor spreading
What type of technology has allowed scientists to measure the movement of continental crust?
GPS (Global Positioning System)
What is it called when two lithospheric plates slide past one another horizontally?
Transform fault boundary
Where is an oceanic crust consumed back into the asthenosphere?
Subduction Zone Boundary
Where does a new oceanic crust form along midocean ridges?
Divergent boundary
Where is a convergent margin along which subduction is no longer active and high mountain ranges are formed?
Continental Collision boundary
At which types of plate boundary have the largest recorded earthquakes?
Subduction Zone Boundary
According to the elastic rebound model, earthquakes are caused by what?
The sudden release of energy stored in rocks through continuing stress
What are the most significant primary hazards to cause damage during an earthquake that may cause collapsing of buildings?
Ground shaking
What are explosive eruptions characterized y pyroclastic flows and ash plumes that extend into the stratosphere?
Vulcanian
What type of eruptions consist of low-viscosity lava that flows easily from a volcanic vent?
Hawaiin
Which volcano has the greatest potential for an explosive eruption?
Mt Fuji (composite volcano)
What forms when the chamber of magma underlying a volcano empties due to eruption and the unsupported roof of the chamber collapses under its own weight?
Caldreas
What are the three most common kinds of magma?
Rhyolite, Andesite, and Basalt
How will the plutonic features become exposed at Earth's surface?
Through uplift and erosion
What is the age of one rock unit or geologic feature compared to another?
Relative Age
What type of dating provides an actual number for the age of a rock?
Absolute Age
What is the principal of cross-cutting state?
Rock unit is older than a feature that disrupts it, such as a fault or igneous intrusion.
What does the principal of Original Horizontally state?
waterborne sediments are deposited in nearly horizontal layers
What does an unconformity represent?
a gap in stratigraphic record and a period of erosion or no deposition
How old is much of the oceanic crust, while the continental crust is how old?
oceanic less than 60 million years, while continental is over 1 billion years.
Some continental margins are ________ and accumulate thick deposits of sediment, while other continental margins are ________ and have trenches,
Passive, Active
What is the most common type of coast?
Rocky Coast
Broad expanses of isolated shallow waters that are common features immediately adjacent to barrier-island coastlines are what?
Lagoons
What is a large ridge of sand or gravel that joins a barrier island to the mainland?
Tombolo
What are coral-reef coasts built up of?
Calcium carbonate secreted by organisms as their skeletal material.
What type of an event could not trigger a tsunami?
hurricane
What is the transportation of sediment along a coast at an angle to the shoreline?
Long shore drift
Gases are well mixed in what region of the atmosphere?
Homosphere
What represents the actual quantity of water vapor held by the air?
Specific Humidity
What type of temperature change occurs solely as a result of air expansion or compression?
Adiabatic
A rise of air mass expands and _______, while a sinking air mass contracts and _________.
Cools, Heats
The proportion of shortwave radiant energy scattered upward by a surface is what?
Albedo
What type of cloud is fluffy?
Cumulus
What type of cloud is found in sheets?
Stratus
What type of cloud is whispy?
Cirrus
What type of cloud holds water and is gray?
Nimbus
Air moves from ______ pressure to ______ pressure. (from Witchita to Columbus)
From high to low