Geological Time/Glaciation
Rocks and Fossils
Earth Layers/Tectonics
Radiometric Dating
Earthquakes
100

What is a glacial erratic?

A large rock left behind from the last glaciation period when continental glaciers covered most of North America

100

What are the 3 rock types?

Igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary

100

What type of plate boundary occurs when two plates slide past each other?

Transform boundary

100

What is a half-life?

The amount of time that it takes one half of the parent radioactive atoms to decay into daughter isotopes. Every radioactive isotope has a specific half-life.

100

What machine records earthquake waves?

Seismograph

200

The era that spans the greatest geological time in Earth's History is...

Precambrian era

200

What are 4 types of fossils?

mould, cast, trace, body/fossil remains

200

What is the semiplastic layer of earth that tectonic plates move across called?

Asthenosphere

200

What is an isotope?

Two or more forms of the same element that contain equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei.

200

which type of wave travels the fastest?

Primary Waves

300

The geological eras in order from oldest to most recent are....

Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic

300

Which type of igneous rock will have larger crystals--intrusive or extrusive?

Intrusive

300

Which plate boundary results in the destruction of crust?

convergent (subducting)

300

What is the half-life for the following unknown element?

8 days

300

If a seismograph determines that the time between p and s-waves is 55 seconds, how far away is the station from the epicentre?

540 km

400

What microorganism left behind fossilized structures called stromatolites? 

cyanobacteria

400

What are the three things that make a good trace fossil?

  1. Distinctive (easily recognizable)

  2. Abundant (many fossils can be found)

  3. Wide geographic distribution over short time

400

How we know that the Earth's magnetic poles have reversed multiple times throughout geological history?

Paleomagnetism


400

Radio carbon dating is done by estimating in a specimen:

a.) The amount of ordinary carbon still present.

b.) The amount of radiocarbon still present.

c.) The ratio of the amount of C-14 to C-12 still present.

d.) The ratio of the amount of C-12 to C-14 still present.

c.) The ratio of the amount of C-14 to C-12 still present.

400

What are the most damaging types of waves?

Surface waves, love and raleigh

500

When was the last glaciation? What was it called?

About 12-20 000 years ago, Wisconsin Glaciation

500

What are the 4 laws of relative dating?

Law of Superposition, Original Horizontality, Lateral Continuity, and Cross-Cutting Relationships

500

What are the 4 layers of earth listed from thickest to thinnest?

Mantle, outer core, inner core, crust


500

A geologist determines the percentage of uranium-238 and lead-206 found in a titanite. She finds that 88% of the sample is lead-206. Determine the age of the titanite.


Approximately 13 billion years old.

1.3 x 10^10 a

500

What is the difference between P and S-waves?

P-waves can travel through solids and liquids while S-waves can only travel through solids.