Early Earth Processes
What did the Iron core do for the Earth?
Created the Earth's magnetic field
What is a layer of iridium evidence of?
Asteroid impact
List the letters in the order in which they occurred. List from OLDEST to YOUNGEST
Youngest: E
D
A
B
Oldest: C
What does the ozone layer do?
Protects from UV rays and makes the planet more habitable
What were the gases of the early atmosphere? (4)
Methane, Carbon Dioxide, Ammonia, and Water Vapor
What do reddish bands in rocks tell us about Earth's early atmosphere?
Oxygen must have been present in atmosphere in order to turn iron in rocks red
Order of Eras in the geologic time scale (oldest to youngest)
Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic
How is the relative age of rock layers determined?
By using the principle of superposition, where younger rocks are on top of older rocks
What 2 factors do we look at in order to figure out an area’s climate?
Temperature and Precipitation
Circular currents in the mantle caused by the magma being heated by the core of the Earth is called...
Convection currents
How did the oceans form?
As Earth began to cool, the water vapor from volcanoes condensed and fell as rain for millions of years
What marks an end of an era?
Mass extinctions
What type of rock is formed from cooling magma or lava? What are characteristics of this rock?
Igneous rock. No layers. Glassy or coarse. May have crystals.
What type of surface(s) would have the LOWEST albedo value?
pavement, sand, anything darker in color that will ABSORB the sun's rays
Where is the youngest crust found on Earth?
Mid ocean ridges - Divergent plate boundaries
What did cyanobacteria do for Earth's evolution
Produced oxygen through photosynthesis, converted CO2 to O
What is the correct logical progression for dominant life forms on Earth?
Use the following terms to place in order from oldest to youngest:
Mammals, Single Celled organisms, Reptiles, Fish
Single celled organisms, fish, reptiles, mammals
Which type of rock can contain fossils? What are characteristics of this rock type?
Sedimentary rock. Contains layers. Have visible minerals.
Why do warm currents begin near the equator?
The equator receives the most direct sunlight, heating the currents in the ocean. Due to the density of warm currents being low, it causes them to move from the equator to the poles.
How do earthquakes provide proof for the layers of the earth?
Knowing how the waves behave as they move through different materials enables us to learn about the layers that make up the Earth. Seismic waves tell us that the Earth's interior consists of a series of concentric shells, with a thin outer crust, a mantle, a liquid outer core, and a solid inner core.
What was discovered as the building block for life before the earliest life in the Miller-Urey experiment?
Amino Acids
Which of the following creatures would make the best index fossil?
lived for 100 million years, resembled the modern grasshopper and was found in Africa only
lived for 5 million years in Canada only and is closely related to the modern ladybug
lived for 5 million years over most of the Earth and slightly resembles the modern scallop
lived for 8 million years found in Kentucky only and doesn’t resemble anything we currently know
Fossils of widely distributed organisms that lived during only one short period (3)
What is radioactive dating? How is it measured? What happens to the parent product?
Radioactive dating is the method to determine EXACT age of rocks. The way to determine this is by measuring the half life of the isotopes found within the rock. The parent isotopes (unstable atoms) decay over time and convert into daughter isotopes (stable atoms)
“We saw 2 inches of rain today” is an example of ___________, while the statement, most “Decembers in Flemington have an average temperature of 39° F” is an example of _______
Weather, climate
What are the four Earth spheres/systems? Name all four and provide one example of an interaction between two spheres.
The four Earth systems are: geosphere (solid Earth, including rocks and soil), hydrosphere (all water on Earth), atmosphere (gaseous layer surrounding Earth), and biosphere (all living organisms).
Examples: volcanic eruptions releasing gases into the atmosphere (geosphere to atmosphere) and plants absorbing water from the soil (biosphere to hydrosphere).