Week 9, Interlude E, Chpt 10, 12 Flashcards
Life first appeared on earth how many billions of years ago?
3.8
Radioactive decay progresses along a _____, which creates new ______ that also decay. The decay proceeds to a _____.
Radioactive decay progresses along a decay chain, which creates new unstable elements that also decay. The decay proceeds to a stable endpoint.
Isotope that undergoes radioactive decay
Parent isotope
Decay product
Daughter isotope
How old is the oldest crust on earth?
4 billion years old.
How can you tell the difference between the crust and the mantle?
By looking at the Nd ratio. Sm prefers to stay in the mantle and Nd goes into crustal melts.
Resources
Things that we take from the solid earth and use.
Energy
The capacity to do work or cause change.
Fuel
A usable form of energy resource.
What is an inclusion?
A fragment of another rock.
Principle of Inclusions
A rock containing an inclusion must be younger than the inclusion.
What are unconformities?
Surface representing intervals of non deposition and/or erosion.
At a given location sediments do not accumulate continuously so
unconformities can form.
Stratigraphic Formation
A recognizable sequence of beds that can be mapped across a broad region.
Geological column
Represents the entirety of earth’s history.
