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Empirical World > Midterm 5 > Flashcards

Midterm 5 Flashcards

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1
Q

Earths 3 basic layers

A

Crust
Mantle
Core

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2
Q

Earths crust

A

Thin and cool

Divided into basaltic oceanic crust and granitic continental crust

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3
Q

Earths mantle

A

Thick
Hot rock rich in silicon and oxygen (like the crust)
Mantle contains more magnesium, iron, and calcium

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4
Q

Earths core

A

Composed of scorching hot metal

Mostly iron/some nickel

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5
Q

Earth consists of layers that differ by properties rather than….

A

Chemical composition

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6
Q

Properties that determine Earth’s layers

A

Temperature
Pressure
Strength
Ability to flow

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7
Q

Earth’s structural layers

A 
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Lower mantle
Outer core
Inner core
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8
Q

Seismology is..

A

The study of earthquakes and seismic waves

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9
Q

Earthquakes release stored

A

Elastic energy

Energy radiates outward in all directions

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10
Q

Energy travels in the form of

A

Seismic waves

Which cause the ground to shake and vibrate

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11
Q

What does the analysis of seismic waves provide?

A

A detailed view of Earth’s layered interior

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12
Q

Two types of seismic waves

A
  • Body waves: travel through earth’s interior (primary waves: p-waves; secondary waves: s-waves)
  • Surface waves: travel on earth’s surface (Rayleigh waves; love waves) MOST DESTRUCTIVE
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13
Q

Wegener’s evidence to support continental drift hypothesis

A
  • Jigsaw fit of the continents
  • Fossil evidence
  • Matching rock types
  • Structural similarities in mountain chains on different continents
  • Paleoclimatic evidence
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14
Q

Plate Tectonics - earths division

A

Earth divided into a dozen or so major lithospheric plates as well as a few smaller ones

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15
Q

Plates

A

In motion and continually changing in shape and size

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16
Q

Largest plate

A

Pacific Plate

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17
Q

Do several plates include an entire continent plus a large area of sea floor?

A

Yes

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18
Q

Oceanic-oceanic convergence

A
  • When 2 oceanic plates converge, the older and denser plate descends beneath the other plate
  • As the denser plate descends, partial melting of mantle rock generates magma and volcanoes
  • If the volcanos emerge as islands, a volcanic island arc is formed (ex: Japan)
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19
Q

Oceanic-continental convergence

A
  • the denser oceanic slab sinks into the asthenosphere
  • As the denser plate descends, partial melting of mantle rock generates magma
  • The mountains produced by volcanic activity from subduction of oceanic lithosphere are called continental volcanic arcs or island arcs
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20
Q

Continental-continental convergence

A
  • continued subduction can bring two continents together
  • the less dense, buoyant continental lithosphere does not subduct
  • the result is a collision btwn two continental blocks
  • the process produces mountains
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21
Q

Transform-Fault boundaries

A
  • most located within ocean basins

- a few of these cut through continental crust

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22
Q

Extremophiles

A

Organisms adapted to the extreme conditions found at great depth in ocean trenches

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23
Q

Some ocean trenches contain hydrothermal vents; what are those?

Study These Flashcards
A

Cracks in the crust often associated with tectonic activity

24
Q

What can a food chain develop around?

Study These Flashcards
A

A hydrothermal vent where chemosynthesis, rather than photosynthesis, provides food for the lowest-level organisms in the chain

25
5 characteristics of a mineral
- naturally occurring - a solid - definite chemical composition, with slight variations - inorganic - has a characteristic crystalline solid
26
Some minerals have same composition but diff crystal structure
- Diff arrangements of the same atoms result in diff minerals - Such minerals are called polymorphs - with a diff crystal structure, the minerals have diff properties
27
What is a rock?
A coherent aggregate of minerals- a physical mixture
28
Three categories of rock
Igneous: formed from cooling and crystallization of magma or lava Sedimentary: formed from preexisting rocks subjected to weathering and erosion Metamorphic: formed from preexisting rock transformed by heat, pressure, or chemical fluids
29
Magma
Molten rock that forms inside earth
30
Lava
Molten rock (magma) erupted at Earth’s surface
31
Sedimentary rocks
- products of mechanical and chemical weathering and erosion - 5% of earths crust - 75% of Earth’s surface - contain evidence of past environments - contain fossils
32
Metamorphic rocks produced from...
Igneous rocks Sedimentary rocks Other metamorphic rocks
33
Metamorphism
“Changed rock” The transition of one rock into another by temperatures or pressures different from those in which it formed
34
Solar system consists of...
Sun System of planets Asteroids Comets
35
Sun
- nearest star to earth - composed of mostly hydrogen in the plasma phase - hydrogen is fused to helium by thermonuclear fusion in the Sun’s core - in the sun 4.5 mil tons of mass are converted to energy each second - a tiny fraction of this energy reaches and sustains earth
36
Inner Planets
- four nearest the sun - high-density solid rock Mercury Venus Earth Mars - the orbital speeds of planets around the Sun decrease with increasing distance from the sun
37
Earth
Third planet from the sun At a distance from the sun where most of its water is neither solid nor gas, but liquid
38
Outer planets
- gaseous, low-density worlds - appreciably larger than Earth - more widely spaced than the inner planets (In order of distance from sun...) Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
39
Asteroids
Small rocky bodies that orbit the Sun
40
Where are most asteroids located?
Btwn mars and Jupiter Some encounter earth
41
In what setting are asteroids conspicuous?
On ice (many are in Antarctica)
42
Comets
Differ from asteroids in chemical composition
43
Comets are made up of what
Masses of water, methane, and ice
44
Where are most comets located
Kuiper belt and Oort Cloud
45
Do comets have highly elliptical orbital paths?
Yes
46
How are the tails of comets swept?
Outward from the sun by solar wind
47
How do monthly constellations in the night sky change?
They change as earth moves in its path around the sun
48
Time exposure of the night sky reveals what?
Streaks of stars from our “carousel Earth”
49
Star color indicates temperature
Red star: cooler than a blue star Blue star: almost twice as hot as a red star
50
Life cycles of stars
- Star begins as a nebula, a cloud of gas and dust - hot center of a nebula becomes a protostar - protostar becomes a star when fusion in its core occurs - depending on its mass, the star may become a red giant and then burn out to become a white dwarf
51
White dwarf (stars)
- cools for eons until it is too cold to emit light | - if part of a binary star, it pulls matter from its partner, which can lead to a nuclear blast (nova)
52
Supernova
- final stage of more massive stars is collapse and then an explosion (supernova) - Crab Nebula (remnant is a supernova)
53
Black holes
- what remains when a supergiant star collapses into itself | - so makes bc gravitation at its surface is so intense that even light can not escape
54
3 types of galaxies
Elliptical Irregular Spiral (Giant elliptical galaxy, M87)
55
Most of the composition of the universe
Dark energy Then dark matter

Empirical World (2 decks)

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