Rocks & Minerals
What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?
A rock is a combination of different minerals. Minerals are made of only ONE chemical.
What type of weathering occurs when water gets into the cracks of rocks, freezes, and breaks them apart?
FROST WEDGING
Subduction occurs at what type of boundary?
CONVERGENT BOUNDARY
High viscosity magma flows (slowly or quickly)?
SLOWLY
VISCOSITY=RESISTANCE TO FLOW
What is the difference between absolute dating and relative dating?
Absolute -> Measures ratio of radioactive material to find exact age
Relative -> Compares rock layers using index fossils to estimate their age
What is the difference between mineral cleavage & fracture?
Cleavage: breaks along flat planes or surfaces
Fracture: breaks jagged and uneven
Hot water is (more or less) dense so it moves (up or down)
Mid-ocean ridges form at what type of boundary?
DIVERGENT BOUNDARY
What does the s & p stand for in s & p waves?
S- SECONDARY
P- PRIMARY
A fault is (older or younger) than the rock layers it cuts through.
YOUNGER
What is effervescence?
A mineral FIZZES when in contact with HCL.
What type of weathering occurs when sediments rub against one another?
ABRASION
What is the driving force that causes tectonic plates to move?
CONVECTION CURRENTS IN THE MANTLE
What is the largest type of volcano?
SHIELD VOCLANO
If you have 200 grams of a radioactive substance, how many grams will be left after TWO half-lives?
50 GRAMS
If a sedimentary rock is put under intense HEAT & PRESSURE, what type of rock will it become?
METAMORPHIC
What is the difference between weathering & erosion?
Weathering is the BREAK DOWN of rock material.
Erosion is the TRANSPORTATION OR MOVEMENT of rock material.
What type of plate is MORE DENSE? Oceanic or continental?
OCEANIC (more dense sinks LOWER)
What type of volcano is made up of many layers of lava built up from multiple eruptions over time?
COMPOSITE VOLCANO
What are the 4 criteria for an index fossil?
1. Abundant
2. Geographically Widespread (many locations)
3. Easy to recognize & distinct
4. Lived for a short period of time (one layer)
If an igneous rock cools VERY quickly, what type of texture will it have?
GLASSY & SMOOTH (like obsidian)
What type of weathering occurs when iron in rocks reacts with oxygen in the air or water, creating a rusty substance?
OXIDATION
Who came up with the theory of continental drift AND what does the theory say?
Alfred Wegener said that all of the continents were once connected as super-continent Pangea. Then they slowly drifted apart over time.
Tell me about a p-wave: 1. speed? 2. shape? 3. what can it travel through?
1. FASTER than S-WAVE
2. LONGITUDINAL
3. TRAVELS THROUGH SOLIDS & LIQUIDS
What caused the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs?
A giant asteroid hit the earth, creating an ash cloud that surrounded the planet & blocked out the sun.