Cosmology
What is the difference between a comet and asteroid?
Comet- icy planetesimal with gas and dust tail that orbits the sun
Asteroid- small body of solid rock that orbits the sun
What is Paleomagnetism?
Rocks retain a record of the Earth's magnetic field at the time they were formed.
What is the definition of a mineral?
A naturally occurring inorganic solid with a crystalline structure and a definite chemical composition.
How does Magma form? (3)
Pressure release, addition of volatiles, heat transfer
What is the hypocenter and what is the epicenter of an Earthquake?
Hypocenter is the place where the rocks broke and energy is released from. The epicenter is the closest location to the hypocenter on the Earth's surface.
What is the difference between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere?
lithosphere is the rigid, outermost layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the upper mantle, while the asthenosphere is a softer, partially molten layer of the upper mantle below the lithosphere
Why did the other scientist's not accept Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift?
He did not provide a mechanism for the continents moving.
How do minerals form? (5)
Solidification from melt, precipitation from solution, precipitation from gas, solid-state diffusion, and biomineralization.
What are the two tabular igneous intrusions?
Dikes- vertical intrusions
Sills- horizontal intrusions
Building collapse, landslide, sediment liquefaction, fire, and tsunamis.
What are the two types of planets in our solar system?
Terrestrial- Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Jovian/Gas giants- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
How does the angle of inclination of the Earth's magnetic field vary with latitude?
The dip of magnetic needle is at 0 degrees at the equator and 90 degrees at the poles.
What is the difference between cleavage and fracture?
Cleavage is seen when minerals break along planes of weakness in the atomic structure and fracture implies equal bond strength in all directions
What are the compositions of magma? Which is the most viscous?
Felsic, intermediate, mafic, ultramafic
Felsic
What is the difference between a dip-slip fault, strike-slip fault, and an oblique fault?
Strike-slip- if there is no dip, the fault is vertical – the blocks move laterally (lateral shear)
Dip-slip- have a vertical slant (normal, reverse, and thrust faults) where the hanging wall moves either up or down relative to the footwall
Oblique faults are a combination of both- they move diagonally
What is the the difference between Earth's compositional layering and Earth's physical layering?
Composition- inner core, outer core, mantle, crust
Physical- lithosphere and asthenosphere
How do magnetic anomalies provide evidence for seafloor spreading?
Seafloor that forms has normal polarity make positive anomalies. Seafloor that forms when Earth's polarity is reversed make negative anomalies. Anomalies are symmetrical on either side of the mid ocean ridge and their age aligns with the duration of the polarity.
Minerals are grouped based on what?
Chemical composition. They are grouped based on anions.
ex. CaCO3
Carbonates:CO3
Silicates: SiO4
What is fractional crystallization? What minerals settle out of a melt first?
as magma cools, the first minerals to crystallize (with high melting temperatures) settle out of the melt, leaving changing the composition of the melt (more felsic).
Mafic minerals settle out first- olivine and pyroxene
What are the four types of seismic waves? Which are body waves and which are surface waves?
P-waves=compressional body waves
S-waves= shear body waves
Love waves= surface wave with snake-like movement
Rayleigh waves= surface wave with that cause ripple motion
Why does the Earth have a magnetic field?
The rotation of the liquid outer core around the solid inner core causes magnetic field.
What support did Wegener have for his theory of continental drift? (5)
1. Continents fit like puzzle pieces
2. Location of past glaciers
3. Distribution of ancient climatic belts
4. Distribution of Fossil species
5. Matching geologic units
What are the unique physical properties of minerals?
Color, streak, luster, hardness, specific gravity, crystal habit, cleavage
What is the difference between extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks. What rock texture is associated with each. Give one example of each.
Extrusive rocks form when molten rock cools at Earth's surface. Intrusive rocks form when molten rock cools underground.
Extrusive- aphanitic- basalt, andesite, rhyolite
Intrusive- phaneritic- gabbro, diorite, granite
Explain liquefaction.
Ground shaking from earthquakes causes the sediment and structures on top of a layer of wet sand and silt (quicksand) to "settle out" or sink.