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Exam 1
Earth System, plate tectonics, rocks, volcanoes
74
Geology
Undergraduate 2
10/08/2008

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Term
Kilometers to Miles
Definition
1 Km= .62 miles
Term
cm vs mm vs inches
Definition
1 cm=10 mm and 2.54 cm=1 inch and 25.4 mm=1 inch
Term
Fahrenheit to Celsius
Definition
Tc=(5/9)*(Tf-32)
Term
scientific method
Definition
observe the natural system, design an experiment, objective and repeatable tests, modify or add to hypothesis, repeat tests
Term
Faith Based Approaches to Interpreting Phenomena
Definition
If you can't prove it, its not a scientific issue (religion emphasizes this) EX: God put boulders where they are
Term
Earth layers
Definition
Crust- firm ground we live on
Mantle- semi-molten rocks that move plate tectonics
Outer core- Molten rocks
Inner Core- Solid mass of iron and magnesium
Term
Age of Earth, age of universe
Definition
Earth is about 4.65 billion years old, the universe is about 13 billion years old
Term
Earth Systems
Definition
interacting geosystems (i.e. lakes). all processes depend on energy
Term
Internal Energy
Definition
energy comes from the hot core (leftover energy from when Earth formed) causes mountain building, earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics
Term
External Energy
Definition
Energy from the sun that drives processes like the water cycle
Term
Evidence for Continental Drift
Definition
Alfred Wegner-Matching of Continental Outlines, Paleontological evidence, common rock layers, glacial evidence
Term
Problems with theory of continental drift
Definition
no theory as to how the continents moved, evidence is all from the land, most of the evidence is in the southern hemisphere
Term
Evidence for seafloor spreading
Definition
Harry Hess(use of Sonar)
Term
Driving Forces of Plate tectonics
Definition
convections currents from within the mantle where hot material rises in the middle and cool material sinks along the sides
Term
Divergent Plate Boundaries
Definition
plates move apart creating a spreading ridge where new oceanic crust can be made or a valley appears EX: Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Term
Convergent Boundary
Definition
two plates collide into one another
Term
subduction zone
Definition
the oceanic plate goes under the continental plate and is recycled back into the mantle. usually causes mountains or volcanoes because of melting rocks due to pressure and evaporating water and a very deep trench EX: Peru Chile- Andes Mountains
Term
continent-continent convergent boundary
Definition
one plate slightly subducts and pushes the other plate up creating a massive mountain range. India and Eurasian plate
Term
transform plate boundary
Definition
two plates slip past each other in opposite directions, very likely to cause earthquakes Ex. San Andreas Fault
Term
elastic rebound
Definition
the release of built up energy that occurs when the plates slip in an earthquake, the plates that were originally folded but go back to the unstressed state
Term
epicenter
Definition
the area on the surface of land directly above the spot where the earthquake originated
Term
focus
Definition
the exact spot underground where the earthquake occurred, distance from the focus determines how much damage occurs
Term
Primary (P) Waves
Definition
compressional waves, the first waves to arrive at a seismograph at any given location, the fastest waves
Term
Secondary (S) Waves
Definition
Sheer Waves, the second group of waves to arrive, usually larger and closer together than P Waves
Term
Surface Waves
Definition
move over earth's surface not through the core, many different kinds, the slowest waves, create the most ground motion
Term
Evidence of Seafloor Spreading
Definition
rock record of magnetic reversals of earth, seafloor ages farther from spreading ridge, deep sea drilling for age of different layers
Term
Plate Tectonics
Definition
about 12 plates of lithosphere that float on the mantle and result in the formation of mountains, deep valleys, trenches, volcanoes
Term
Hot Spot
Definition
thin plumes of fast rising material from the deep mantle that are located in the middle of plates EX: Hawaiian islands
Term
plate movement theories
Definition
either move by convection currents within the mantle or from the gravitational pull of the cold slabs of lithosphere sinking into the mantle
Term
Richter Scale
Definition
First way of measuring the magnitude of an earthquake
Term
Logarithmic Scale
Definition
Currently used system for measuring the magnitude of an earthquake. Each step is a power of 10 more than the lower level EX: M6 is 1 in of ground motion and a M7 is 10 in
Term
Mercalli Intensity Scale
Definition
gives a number to a particular location to show how intense the shaking was at a given location
Term
Locations of Earthquakes
Definition
Divergent Boundaries(Don't occur very often), Transform Fault Boundaries(more common), Convergent Boundaries( produce largest earthquakes on earth)
Term
Right Lateral Fault
Definition
The plate on the right moves down and the plate on the left moves up
Term
Left Lateral Fault
Definition
The plate on the left moves down and the plate on the right moves up
Term
Earthquake Hazards to Humans
Definition
ground shaking, fire (ruptured gas pipes), soil liquification (soft soil allows heavier material to sink through), tsunamis
Term
Earthquake Hazard Mitigation
Definition
Restrictive Land use planning in dangerous areas, disaster preparation, earthquake resistant building design
Term
Earthquake Resistant Building Designs
Definition
Cross Braces, Counterweights, increase the strength of floor/column attachment, reinforce the concrete with steel rebar
Term
Short term Earthquake forcasting
Definition
not reliable, no set formula, have been a few successful examples
Term
long term earthquake forecasting
Definition
largely inaccurate, just looking at the average time between earthquakes to predict when new ones will occur
Term
Requirements of Minerals
Definition
naturally occurring, inorganic, crystalline structure, solid, definite composition
Term
Igneous Rocks
Definition
Result from the crystallization of magma or lava, may occur within the earth or at the surface
Term
Sedimentary Rocks
Definition
formed by the consolidation of material derived from pre-existing rocks, form from sediment washed by rivers or sediment scraped off plate
Term
Metamorphic Rocks
Definition
Rocks that are changed by heat or pressure,
Term
Rock Cycle
Definition
Igneous rock is formed and eroded down from weathering, sediments of igneous rock collect and form sedimentary rock and are changed by heat or pressure into a metamorphic rock, the metamorphic rock is melted down and forms an igneous rock
Term
Atomic Mass
Definition
sum of an elements protons and neutrons
Term
atomic number
Definition
equal to the number of protons in the nucleus
Term
cation
Definition
positively charged ion
Term
anion
Definition
negatively charged ion
Term
ionic bond
Definition
chemical bond formed by electrical attraction of ions of opposite charge
Term
covalent bond
Definition
chemical bond formed by elements sharing electrons
Term
internal earth processes
Definition
plate tectonics, convections currents, heat rising up from earth's core, cause land formations (mountains, volcanoes)
Term
External Earth processes
Definition
sun heats land which heats up atmosphere, rain erodes the mountains that plate tectonics build up, wind creates waves
Term
With no internal processes
Definition
earth would be flat, barren landscape, no fresh soil for growing, no magnetic field, flooding of continents
Term
with no external processes(keep sun but no rain)
Definition
dry no rainfall, no distribution of water, lots of mountains because nothing will wear them down, no wind (no air circulation), no waves (no water circulation), higher elevation means less warm climate areas
Term
plutonic rocks
Definition
form in magma plutons beneath the surface of earth, usually crystallize slowly resulting in coarse grained texture
Term
volcanic rocks
Definition
usually formed when magma cools quickly after a volcanic eruption, fine grained, very diverse, can be pyroclastic or vesicular, midocean ridges
Term
Rock Melting Processes
Definition
Temperature melting(partial melting of rocks at high enough temperatures), pressure melting(deeper in earth the pressure increases and lowers the melting point), water melting(water in the rocks gets evaporated and causes the rocks' melting points to drop)
Term
decompression melting
Definition
rocks melt spontaneously as pressure decreases below a point. produces huge volumes of molten rock, process forms basalts on the seafloor
Term
Room Problem
Definition
how do large collections of granite exist when a liquified rock, 10 times that volume would have been needed
Term
possible solutions to room problem
Definition
assimilation- melting of surrounding rock, doesn't work b/c the chemistry doesn't match
forceful injection-magma has been pushed up from below to fill voids, would see deformation of surrounding rocks (non-existent)
Term
Shield Volcanoes
Definition
mafic rocks, highly fluid magma, magma from the mantle. shape: broad and rounded and occur at spreading ridges and hot spots
Term
Strato (Composite) Volcanoes
Definition
Intermediate magma, medium viscosity(variable), mix of mantle and continental crust. shape: steep sides usually produce ash found in subduction zones
Term
Dome volcanoes
Definition
Felsic rocks, magma from the continental crust, very thick magma, pressure builds up and causes a huge explosive eruption, found in continental interiors
Term
viscosity
Definition
the resistance of material to flow
Term
Shield volcano hazards
Definition
lava flows
Term
strato volcano hazards
Definition
more explosive and variable, more ash
Term
caldera volcanic hazards
Definition
less likely to occur but are the most explosive and destruction with large amounts of ash
Term
volcanic hazards
Definition
lahars(mud flows), ash, lava,
Term
Volcanic Hazard Prediction
Definition
measure the inflation of the volcano(building pressure), measure temperature(steam, hot springs), measure gas(SO2) emissions, look for small earthquakes moving towards summit of volcano
Term
long term prediction of volcanoes
Definition
hazard maps (look at previous lava flows and ash dispersion over a landscape)
Term
Mt. Pinatubo
Definition
an explosion that slowly built up so people weren't as worried about leaving. resulted in a massive explosion that killed more people than there needed to be
Term
Mt. St. Helens
Definition
volcano swelled with lava on one side which resulted in a massive collapse of one side of the mountain and an eruption that went out horizontally as well as straight up
Term
Sichuan Earthquake
Definition
resulted from the mountains created by india and eurasia pushing the mountains towards China. resulted in the collapses of a lot of schools and destruction in rural areas
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