Geologic History & Canada's Landform Regions - unit 2.1 review

Question 1

Name the 3 solid spheres and the 2 non-solid spheres of the earth

Answer 1

3 solid spheres - lithosphere, mesosphere, centrosphere

2 non-solid spheres - hydrosphere, asthenosphere

Question 2

label each diagram with the layers of the earth

Answer 2

1. a) Crust (lithosphere) / b) Mantle (mesosphere) / c) Outer core / d) Inner core
2. a) Oceanic crust / b) Ocean / c) Continental d) Lithosphere / e) Lower mantle (semi-rigid) / f) Upper mantle = asthenosphere (flowing) / g) Upper mantle (rigid)

Question 3

Who was the scientist who came up with the theory of Continental Drift?

Answer 3

Alfred Wegener

Question 4

What did Alfred Wegener’s theory claim? (2 things)

Answer 4

1) 300 million years ago: all the earth’s land masses collided to form one continent called Pangea (meaning “all land”)

2) 200 million years ago Pangaea started to break up and the continent drifted in different locations to where they are today.

Question 5

What was the first proof that led people to believe the continents were once connected? What were the other 3 proofs?

Answer 5

evidence #1: the jigsaw fit of the continents/ coastline fit
evidence #2: fossil correlation
evidence #3: geologic similarities
evidence #4: glaciation

Question 6

Who was the scientist who came up with the theory of plate tectonics?

Answer 6

J. Tuzo Wilson

Question 7

Explain the theory of plate tectonics?

Answer 7

-for over 4 billion years they have been moving around on the earth’s surface in a process called plate tectonics.
-tectonic plates are floating over a layer of hot rock several hundred kilometers below the earths surface.
-interactions along plate boundaries result in earthquakes, mountain building, and volcanoes

Question 8

What force is responsible for moving tectonics in J. Tuzo Wilson’s theory?

Answer 8

Convection currents.
-formed from heat from deep within the earths crust
-made up of slow movement of magma in the mantle that carries heat from the interior of the earth to its surface.
-when plates move apart, magma from within the mantle rises to fill the open space and then cools forming a new crust

Question 9

Why do volcanoes and earthquakes occur at plate boundaries?

Answer 9

-it is where plates move in relation to each other
-plates are moving in different speeds & directions
-movement causes friction that disrupts the earths crust

Question 10

what are the 4 types of plate movements? draw & label a diagram with arrows to show each type of plate boundary.

Answer 10

1. Divergent
   -occurs when 2 plates move apart. this happens along a mid-ocean ridge
2. Convergent
3. Transform

Question 11

what type of plate boundaries form mountains?

Answer 11

convergent - when two continental plates meet, massive layers of rock are folded, broken, and forced upward by immense pressures of the collision

Question 12

what type of plate boundary creates a fissure in the earth’s crust? what happens when a fissure occurs?

Answer 12

stress is created by convection currents in the mantle. if the rock is brittle or the forces cause the rock to move faster that it can bend, it will fracture.
they will provide pathways for fluids to flow

Question 13

what is the definition of a volcano?

Answer 13

a place on earth’s surface where molten rock, gases and explosive debris erupt through the earth’s crust

Question 14

what are the 3 phases of volcanic activity? Name and explain each. Active, dormant, extinct

Answer 14

Active: A volcano is active if it is erupting, or may erupt soon

Dormant: A dormant volcano is one that may have erupted before, but it is no longer erupting

Extinct: An extinct volcano is not erupting and will never erupt again.

Question 15

what is the definition of an earthquake?

Answer 15

rapid shaking of the earth created by sudden movement of large sections of rock, natural hazards that occur when the earth’s tectonic plates move against each other.

Question 16

how do earthquakes occur?

Answer 16

when plate tectonics move against each other

Question 17

what are aftershocks?

Answer 17

-smaller ground shakes that occur after an earthquake in the same general area during the days to years following a larger event

Question 18

what are seismic waves? what is the name of the device which measures seismic waves displayed on paper?

Answer 18

a wave of energy that is generated by an earthquake or other earth vibration and that travels within the earth or along its surface.

richer scale - used to identify the magnitude of an earthquake
seismograph - detects and records seismic waves

Question 19

what is the richer scale? (2)

Answer 19

-a logarithmic scale created in 1935
-used to identify & measure the magnitude of an earthquake

Question 20

explain what the pacific ring of fire is?

Answer 20

-an area encircling the pacific ocean
-makes a circle of high volcanic and seismic activity (earthquakes)
-most of the active volcanoes on earth are located here

Question 21

what is a tsunami? how is a tsunami formed?

Answer 21

-a large wave or series of waves; occurs when an earthquake causes massive undersea crust movements and/or collapses displacing the water above.
-caused by earthquakes in the sea

Question 22

label the features of a volcano and earthquake diagrams

Question 23

what are the names of the 4 geologic eras of earth’s history in order from most recent to oldest? which one are we living in? which era is the longest?

Answer 23

4 geologic eras: cenozoic era (most recent 66 years) - mesozoic era (245 million to 66 million years ago) - paleozoic era (570 million to 245 million years ago) - precambrian era (4600 million to 570 million years ago)

-we are living in the cenozoic era
-the longest era is precambrian era

Question 24

name one geologic event and biologic event for each era.

Answer 24

cenozoic:
biological - human beings develop
geologic - formation of the rocky mountains completed

mesozoic:
biological - first birds and mammals appear
geologic - formation of rocky mountains begin

paleozoic:
biological - periods when large parts of North America are covered by shallow seas
geologic - first plants and animals on land

precambrian:
biological - first single and multi-celled organisms
geologic - islands collide to form continents

Question 25

what part of canada was created during the precambrian era?

Answer 25

the Canadian Sheild

Question 26

approximately how old is earth?

Answer 26

4.54 billion years old

Question 27

draw and label the rocky cycle diagram.

Question 28

what are the 3 types of rocks?

Answer 28

igneous rocks - (ex. granite)

sedimentary rocks - (ex. limestone)

metamorphic rocks - (ex. marble)

Question 29

how are igneous rocks formed? what are the 2 types of igneous rocks? where in canada are igneous rocks commonly found?

Answer 29

-superheated and originally liquid before they came out of a volcano. they start their lives below the crust and then get pumped out.

-1) extrusive: formed from lava on the earths surface
2) intrusive: formed from magma below the earths surface

-commonly found in granite

Question 30

how are sedimentary rocks formed?

Answer 30

created when sediments compress together. a flowing stream or river picks up sediments and carriers it downstream where it is eventually deposited somewhere. over millions of years, more and more sediments build up and compact together. these compacted sediments eventually become one big rock with visible layers of sediments.

Question 31

how are metaphoric rocks formed?

Answer 31

they are a combination of igneous and sedimentary rock. they are created by heat and/or pressure.

Question 32

use the map image to name all 7 landform regions of canada.

Answer 32

a) western cordillera b) interior plains c) canadian sheild d) lowlands e) innuitian regions f) great lakes - st. lawrence lowlands g) appalachian region

Question 33

which landform region was created by mesozoic era when the north american plate collided with the pacific plate?

Answer 33

Innuitian mountains are formed.

Question 34

what is a landform region?

Answer 34

a landform region is a part of the earth with a unique set of physical features.

Question 35

which landform region is the smallest? largest? oldest? has the largest population of canadians?

Answer 35

smallest - great lakes-lawrence lowlands
largest - canadian sheild
oldest - canadian sheild
largest poplation - great lakes-lawrence lowlands

Question 36

what separates the great lakes lowlands from the st. lawrence lowlands?

Answer 36

canadian sheild

Question 37

what is the biggest single feature of the great lakes st. lawrence lowlands?

Answer 37

-60% of canadians live there
-most important agricultural areas in canada (farm production)

Question 38

what is the oldest mountain chain in canada? how can you tell?

Answer 38

Applachian mountain. You can tell becake they have been worn down for milltions of years from erosion, causing gentle slopes we see today

Question 39

how does glaciation, weathering, erosion affect the shaping of the land?

Answer 39

weathering, glaciation, and more are major forces that erode the land. this is because the rock underneath glaciers break down (weathering) pick up and carry away materials (erosion) to be deposited.