Plates
What makes land masses move across the surface of the planet?
The movement of tectonic plates.
What are the 4 major layers of the Earth?
Crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.
What is the Rock Cycle?
The process that changes rocks from one type to another.
What are 3 examples of minerals that we observed?
Examples include: quartz, calcite, mica, and feldspar.
The law stating that older rock layers are found beneath younger layers.
The Law of Superposition.
What is the difference between the lithosphere and asthenosphere?
Lithosphere = rigid outer layer
Asthenosphere = soft and flowing
The field of study Wegener studied that caused society to reject his theory of how plates move.
Meteorology.
What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
Weathering breaks down rock; erosion moves it.
What does the Mohs Hardness Scale tell us about a mineral?
It measures a mineral's resistance to scratching.
The current geologic era we live in.
Cenozoic Era.
Where do we find the youngest ocean floor?
At mid-ocean ridges.
Why do we find oceanic organism fossils at the top of mountain ranges?
The rocks were once on the ocean floor and pushed upward by plate tectonics.
What is the difference between compaction and cementation?
Compaction squeezes sediments; cementation glues them together.
How do fossil fuels form?
Remains of ancient organisms over millions of years.
The era during which Snowball Earth occurred.
Precambrian Era.
What does the Theory of Plate Tectonics explain?
How Earth's plates move and interact.
What evidence do we have of seafloor spreading?
Magnetic Stripes (Paleomagnetism), rock age (younger at the center, older further away), and sediment thickness (thinnest at the ridge).
How does each type of rock form?
Igneous cools from magma, sedimentary forms from sediments, and metamorphic forms from heat and pressure.
What can rocks tell us about the history of our area?
They reveal past environments, climates, and geologic events.
The law that states a rock that cuts across other rocks is younger than those rocks.
The Law of Crosscutting.
What is a piece of evidence that supports the Theory of Continental Drift?
Matching fossils, rock layers, and continental shapes on different continents.
What are the different features formed at each of the 3 plate boundaries?
Divergent - ridges; Convergent - mountains, trenches, volcanoes; Transform- faults and earthquakes.
What is the difference between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks?
Intrusive rocks cool slowly underground; extrusive rocks cool quickly at the surface.
What are the 5 criteria of a mineral?
Naturally occurring, inorganic, solid, crystal structure, and definite chemical composition.
The method scientists use to determine the exact age of rocks or fossils using radioactive decay.
Absolute or carbon dating.