what is a rock?
any solid mass of mineral that occurs naturally
what makes up the universe?
helium and hydrogen
what does luster mean?
The appearance of light reflected from the surface of a mineral
How old is the earth
4.6 billion years old
What subdivisions make up the geologic time
Units are eon, era periods and epochs.
What is the Mohs scale?
a scale of hardness used in classifying minerals.
What does luminosity depend on
temperature and size
Is color usually a diagnostic property
sometimes
What is absolute dating?
Putting a date on the materials with radioactive substances
what is blue shift
the displacement of the spectrum with shorter wavelengths
What are diagnostic properties?
properties from a known mineral used to identify an unknown mineral
A stable main-sequence star is balanced between what two forces?
Gravity and gas pressure
What are ambiguous properties?
properties of certain minerals vary among different specimens of the same mineral.
What conditions are necessary to ensure fossilization?
Hard parts and rapid burial
what does redshift prove to us?
the Universe, including space itself, is expanding
what does it mean when a mineral streak is a light-colored
they are non metallic.
Stars that are composed of matter in which electrons have combined with protons are called what?
Neutrons stars
what is one of the common terms to describe various crystal habits?
bladed,fibrous,tabular,granular,blocky,banded
The largest expanse of time on the geologic time scale is....
eon
what does the principle of superposition help determine?
the relative ages of horizontal sedimentary strata.
What is one mineral is found on the Mohs scale
talc, gypsum,calcite,fluorite, apatite, feldspar, quartz, topaz, corundum, diamond
Sequence the steps in the evolution of a medium mass star such as the sun.
Protostar, Main sequence, Red Giant, Supernova, Neutron star or black hole
How can you describe a non-metallic luster?
glassy, dull, silky, greasy
Radiocarbon dating is used to date
geologic events up to 75,000 years ago
Radioactivity is produced when unstable nuclei
break apart