Term
| What are the five major pieces of evidence cited by Alfred Wegener in support of continental drift?- |
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Definition
1. Fit of the Continents
2. Distribution of Glacial Deposits
3. Distribution of Mountain Belts and Rocks
4. Distribution of Fossils
5. Distribution of Climatic Zones |
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Term
| What are the five major pieces of evidence cited by Alfred Wegener in support of continental drift?- |
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Definition
1. Fit of the Continents
2. Distribution of Glacial Deposits
3. Distribution of Mountain Belts and Rocks
4. Distribution of Fossils
5. Distribution of Climatic Zones |
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Term
| why should scientists never use the term truth or proof when referring to the scientific explanations? |
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Definition
| unless with math, science never proves anything |
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Term
| what is a scientific model |
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Definition
| an idea or construct that provides an explanation of how something in the world works |
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Term
| whats the difference between how poeple use teh term theory in everyday language and how scientists use the word? |
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Definition
collogquial-I believe-a set of statements or principles to explain a group or fact
scientific:the branch of science or art consisting of its explanatory statements accepted principles and methods of analysis |
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Term
| What is meant by testing of 'multiple working hypotheses'? |
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Definition
a statement about the natural worlds that leads to testable prediciotns... usually an if then statemnt
must be testable |
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Term
| How is a hypothesis usually formulated (If….) |
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Definition
if.. then statements
hypothesis formulation--->testing--->
not falsified=one possible explanation
falsified-garbage |
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Term
| Can the facts change in science? |
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Definition
| facts in science are never final...what is accepted as a fact today may be modified or even discarded |
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Term
| Why does it take a lot of time and evidence to show that a scientific theory is false? |
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Definition
| proof-the idea of proof leaves no room for certainty-gradation scale and the theory is very established |
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Term
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Definition
| the catastrophic , explosive death of a sar accompanied by the sudden, transient brightening of the star to an optical luminosity comparable to that of an entire galaxy |
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Term
| what are the two different source regions for comets? |
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Definition
1.)Oort Cloud (30-50 AU's)
2.)Kuiper Belt(50000 -100000 AUS) |
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Term
| What role do stars play in making elements? |
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Definition
| fusion-fuse together elements |
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Term
| Explain how our solar system was formed |
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Definition
originally big bang
made into Rockey (mercury, venus, ceres, erath , marth
gaseous (jupiter, satrun , uranus, neptune)
rocky and icy(pluto and eris)
EXPANSION |
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Term
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Definition
| soon after the earth was forms, a small protoplanet about the size of mars collides with it blasting out debris that forms=moon forms from the ring of debris |
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Term
| What's peculiar about the orbit of Pluto? |
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Definition
| all planets orbit roughly with in a single plane (trans neptunian objects) |
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Term
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Definition
Ceres, Eris, Pluto
a celestial body that orbits teh sun and large enough to assume a nearly round shape, but that does not clear the neighborhood around its orbit and is not a satellite planet |
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Term
| How are comets and meteor showers related? |
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Definition
meteor particle of dust or small chunk of debris
meteroid-burning up in the erath's atmosphere leaving a streak of light
a great number of meteors that seem to come from one region of the sky within a relatively short period of time
METEOR SHOWERS OCCUR WHEN THE EARTH PASSES THROUGH THE DEBRIS TRAIL OF A COMET'S ORBIT |
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Term
| What’s the difference between a meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite? |
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Definition
meteor-a bright trail or streak that appears in the sky when a meteroid is heated to incadescence by fricition by earth's atmosphere
meteroid-a solid body moving space that is smaller than an asteroid and at least as large as a speck of dust
metorite- a stony or metallic mass of matter that has fallen to the earth's surface from outer space. |
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Term
| how many officially recognized planets are there? |
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Definition
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Term
| How is the Earth's magnetic field generated? |
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Definition
| outer core around the inner core-dynamo! |
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Term
| Name all the layers of the Earth and their states (solid vs. liquid) |
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Definition
solid crust
solid-lithosphere
solid upper mantle
lower mantle-solid
liquid outercore
solid innercore |
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Term
| What are the four major forms of evidence that are used to reconstruct the interior of the Earth? |
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Definition
seismic analysis
digging
geochemistry of xenoliths and lava
examine meteorites
recreate in the lab |
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Term
| What did the "wrinkled apple model" try to explain about the Earth? |
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Definition
molten earth---cooling--
cool exterior and hot center-makes teh surface wrinkled ---makes oceans and mountains |
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Term
| What are the five major pieces of evidence cited by Alfred Wegener in support of continental drift? |
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Definition
1.fit of the continents
2.distribution of glacial deposits
3.distribution of mountain belts and rocks
4.distribution of fossils
5.distribution of climatic zones |
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Term
| What is pelagic sediment? |
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Definition
| a mixture of very fine grained sediment consisting of the microscopic shells of plankton and particle of organic matter |
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Term
| Why was Wegener's theory met with such great skepticism? |
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Definition
| he was just a biologist and did not have a geological past |
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Term
| Explain Arthur Holmes' Convection Current Hypothesis |
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Definition
Initially is was proposed that the slowly convecting asthenosphere drags the overlying lithosphere along like a conveyor belts
Aurthur Holmes' Convection Current Hypothesis fails to be sufficient to explain observed plate motions
-it is impossible to construct a owrking ,global arrangement of convection cells that is consistent with observed plate motions
-direction of plate motion does not always coincide with the direction of convetion in the asthenosphere |
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Term
| Explain the five major sources of new evidence that finally lead to the acceptance of plate tectonics? |
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Definition
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Term
| How is the lack of a thick blanket of sediment on the floor of the Atlantic evidence that the ocean has not always existed? |
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Definition
There were some regions that lacked pelagic sediments
Indeed, it was the Mid-oceanic ridges that were virtually without sediment
In other words, ocean basins like continents had soon formed after the formation of hte earth and had existed since then in their present form and position.
it the atlantic had existed for the entirety of earth's history, then it would be entirely covered by a thick blanked of pelagic sediment
this is not so-the atlantic had no always existed====
continents and ocean basin have always been there
ocean basins 3.8 billion years-river dumb things into sediment-core the ocean floor, thickest sediment stack-1 at some point in the past and no sediment for years or ocean basins were no 3.8 billions years old-oceans were much younger |
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Term
| What is meant by a "magnetic reversal", a "magnetic anomaly"? |
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Definition
| A reversal of the polarity of the earth's magnetic field that has occurred at about one-million-year intervals. |
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Term
| What parts of the upper mantle are involved in actual plate motion? |
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Definition
| asthenosphere and lithosphere |
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Term
| Which two forces drive plate motion and subduction? |
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Definition
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Term
| What happens to subducted slabs? |
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Definition
| there is much seismic evidence to suggest that subducted slabs are not completely destroyed initially, but are recycled into the lower mantle |
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Term
| Name the three different types of plate boundaries |
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Definition
convergent
divergent
transform |
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Term
| Explain how a continental rift forms into an ocean basin |
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Definition
continents can break up and a previous continental collisions-ie-india is putting them together
convection cell in the mantle zone of heat and split the continent apart- make a rift and ocean comes in eastern part of Africa |
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Term
| What is a passive margin? |
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Definition
| a continental margin formed by rifting during continental break up |
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Term
| What is an accretionary wedge and how does it form? |
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Definition
| a wedge like shaped of sediment on a continent where subducting goes into the mantle, the slab descends, slab is made of lithospheric mantle, oceanic crust, thin layer of pelagic sediment-as it scrapes against the continent-loosely wedge shape giant bulldozer-accreting sediment onto the edge of the continent |
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Term
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Definition
| between the accretionary wedge and the mountains-fills with sediment. A forearc is a depression in the sea floor located between a subduction zone and an associated volcanic arc. It is typically filled with sediments from the adjacent landmass and the island arc in addition to trapped oceanic crustal material |
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Term
| Draw a cross-section through a typical continental-oceanic subduction zone |
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Definition
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Term
| Draw a cross-section through a typical rift valley |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the cause of mineral cleavage? |
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Definition
| Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break along smooth planes parallel to zones of weak bonding. |
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Term
| What is a conchoidal fracture? |
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Definition
| Conchoidal fracture describes the way that brittle materials break when they do not follow any natural planes of separation.--a rippling effectb |
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Term
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Definition
| is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure and specific physical properties. |
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Term
Name the properties by which minerals can be differentiated from one another
What's the difference between a stone and a rock? |
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Definition
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Term
| What's the difference between cemented and interlocking grains? |
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Definition
| cemented grains are glued while interlocking are like a jigsaw puzzle locked next to one another |
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Term
| What is the difference between lava and magma? |
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Definition
lava-molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption-liquid at temp from 700 to 1200 degrees -quite viscous
magma is molten rock located beneath the surface of the earth that often collects in the magma chamber |
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Term
| Explain the three means by which melting is caused in the mantle |
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Definition
flux
decompression
heat transfer |
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Term
| At what temperatures do rocks melt at the surface? |
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Definition
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Term
| How does temperature and pressure matter in melting mantle rocks? |
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Definition
| increase temperature or decrease pressure to melt rocks |
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Term
| Explain the four different ways in which the composition of a magma can change |
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Definition
fractional crystallization-partial melting
contamination-all of the magma comes from the same place |
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Term
| What's the difference between a laccolith and a sill? |
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Definition
Laccolith-igneous intrusion or concordant pluton that has been injected between two layers of sedimentary rock
sill is a tabular mass of igneous rock that has been intruded laterally between layers of older rock |
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Term
| What are the two main characteristics that are used to classify crystalline igneous rocks |
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Definition
1.silicic composition
2. grains |
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Term
| What are the three major types of intrusive igneous rocks and how does their silica content differ? |
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Definition
granite=66-78
diorite= 52-66
gabbro=45-52 |
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Term
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Definition
| in geology, mafic minerals and rocks are silicate minerals, magmas, and volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks that have relatively high concentrations of the heavier elements |
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Term
| What are the three main products of volcanic eruptions |
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Definition
lava flow
pyroclastic debris
volcanic gas |
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Term
| How does the composition of a melt influence the shape of a volcano? |
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Definition
more silica-steeper-coned
little silica-will give it a wide look-shield |
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Term
| Explain three different forms (shapes…etc.) that lava can take at the surface |
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Definition
pahoehoe flows-ropy
aa flows-rubbly flow with jumbled angular pieces
pillows-blob like shaped pieces of lava formed under |
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Term
| Name some different types of pyroclastic debris |
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Definition
ash powder syzed glassy debris
bombs-piece of cooling lava that became streamlined as it traveled through the air
pyroclastic flows-fast moving avalanche of hot gas ash and pyroclastic debris also known as nuee ardente or glowing cloud |
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Term
| What are the three different types of volcanoes and how are they related to the kind of lava that they produce? |
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Definition
shield volcanos-broad gently sloped cdones -thin lava flow, low viscocity
effusive lava flows
cinder cones-steep sloped piles of volcanic debris and some lava flows-thin lava flow and intermediate viscocity-very explosive at vent and effusive lava flows
stratovolcano-very large cone shaped mountian thick dome flow and pyroclastic eruptions |
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Term
| What is the difference between modern uniformitarianism and Lyellian uniformitarianism |
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Definition
Modern uniformitarianism---invariance of physical laws of the universe
physical process unchanged
Lyell-cumulative slow change produced by natural processes operating at relatively constant rate-
the present is the key to the past |
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Term
| How does cement form between sand grains? |
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Definition
| it is precipitated and glues them together |
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Term
| What are the three primary means by which sediment is moved across the surface of the planet |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the sedimentary characteristics of rocks that were deposited in a lacustrine setting? |
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Definition
regarding a lake
channels
ripple marks
mudcracks
raindrop impressions
tool marks
terrestrial and freshwater fossils
gravel, sand, and silt deposits
muds and coals |
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Term
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Definition
| sedimentary layers-wedges |
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Term
| What are the sedimentary characteristics of rocks that were deposited in an eolian setting? |
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Definition
regarding winds
frosted grains
well sorted grains
large crossbeds
terrestrial trace fossils
evaporites |
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Term
| How does a tool mark form? |
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Definition
| from fluvial environments-such as a log scraping on the bottom of a lake |
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Term
| What are the sedimentary characteristics of rocks that were deposited in a fluvial setting? |
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Definition
channels-ripple marks
mudcracks
raindrop impressions
tool marks
terrestrial and freshwater fossils
gravel, sandand silt deposits
muds an coal |
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Term
| What are the sedimentary characteristics of rocks that were deposited in a fluvial setting? |
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Definition
| What are the sedimentary characteristics of rocks that were deposited in a fluvial setting? |
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Term
| What is Neo-Catastrophism? |
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Definition
neo catastrophism =-sudden high magnitude events are a part of geological history
both gradual processes and sudden events are important
there is room for catastrophe in geology-volcanic eruption, sudden burial, large regional floods, asteroid impact |
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Term
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Definition
a varve is an annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock
varve form from marine and lacustrine depostitional environments from seasonal variation in clasitc, biological, and chemical sedimentary processes. |
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Term
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Definition
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