Geology Final

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