Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Geology 1003 > Test 1 Chs 1-4 > Flashcards

Test 1 Chs 1-4 Flashcards

(69 cards)

Start Studying
0
Q

Components of the system:

A
  1. Physiochemical
    - Inorganic physical and chemical processes shaping Earth
  2. Biological
    - Life and related processes.
     These two are often interrelated, and difficult to discuss entirely separate from one another.
     Often, physiochemical influences biological conditions and vice versa.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

Life exists because

A

-Earth’s unique T due to distance from the sun.
-Earth’s mass is large enough to
retain water through gravitational attraction (oceans, lakes, rivers).
-Earth’s mass is small enough to not
attract many giant meteorites through gravitational attraction.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Actualism

A

physical and chemical principles observed today, have operated throughout Earth’s history.
-• James Hutton: Uniformitarianism = “the present is key to the past”.
• What’s the difference? Understanding change and rates of change.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Catastrophism

A

global floods caused by supernatural forces formed most of the rocks visible at Earth’s surface.
• Popular until the 19th century.
• Hutton proposed a different idea, later popularized by Charles Lyell who wrote a book titled Principles of Geology.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what Hutton & Lyell beleived:

A
  • The Earth has been shaped and transformed by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.
  • Operate on local or regional scales
  • All occur at subtle rate of change (e.g., weathering)
  • Earth has remained basically the same, with slight changes to its features over time
  • But this isn’t entirely correct…..

• Lyell argued: no events unseen by humans have occurred

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Special circumstances arise in which we cannot use actualism entirely, but do not violate the fundamental principle

A

• Rocks may form under conditions nonexistent today.
• Conditions responsible for formation of certain rocks
may exist, but at depths greater than those observable.
• Conditions may exist, but require geologic time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Rock

A

interlocking or bonded grains of matter (minerals)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Mineral

A

naturally occurring, inorganic, solid element or compound with a particular chemical composition.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

3 rock types:

A

igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

igneous rock:

A
  • Formed from cool magma/lava
  • Intrustive/extrusive
  • Felsic/mafic
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Metamorphic rock:

A

• Formed from alteration of rock due to P, T, and/or differential
stress
• Foliated/non-foliated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

sedimentary rock:

A
  • Formed from lithification of physically or chemically weathered clasts, direct precipitation from solution, or biologically aided.
  • Clastic/chemical/biochemical/organic
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Bodies of rocks are classified into 3 formal units:

A

formation
members
and groups

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

formation:

A

discrete body of rock of a particular type that formed in a particular way. E.g., Kaibob Limestone

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

members (type of rock unit)

A

smaller rock units within some formations.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

groups (type of rock unit):

A

formations united into larger units

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Stratigraphy

A

study of stratified rocks and their relationships in space and time.
• Important because much of Earth’s history can be understood from the Stratigraphic Record.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Steno’s 3 principles for interpreting sedimentary rocks:

A

Superposition
original horizontality
lateral continuity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

superpostion

A

oldest strata are at the bottom within an undisturbed sequence of strata

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

original horizontality

A

strata are closest to horizontal when they form (except a few, e.g., dunes)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

lateral continuity

A

strataare deposited in a laterally continuous sequence, later broken by erosion or faulting

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Two other important principles (non-sedimentary):

A

intrusive relationships

and principle of components

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

intrusive relationships

A

intrusive igneous rocks are always

younger than the rock they intrude.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

principle of components

A

fragments within a body of rock are older than the body of rock (i.e., inclusions).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
rock cycle
endless pathway of rocks of varying kinds transformed into rocks of other kinds
25
Fossils
remnants of ancient life (existing thousands to millions of years ago) useful for comparing the ages of bodies of sedimentary rock throughout the world. • Fossils don’t survive high T and P – thus nearly exclusively occur in sedimentary rock. • Fossils occur at a variety of scales, from microns to many meters.
26
What is the foundation of geology?
Actualism versus Catastrophism • The same physical laws governed in the past as they do in the present, and some occurrences are plausible despite the absence of direct physical observations today (e.g., meteorite impact). • Think: Actualism = uniformitarianism + catastrophism
27
Moho Discontinuity
boundary between the crust and mantle at which an abrupt increase in seismic-wave velocity occurs.
28
oceanic crust consists of:
Mafic igneous rocks (Mg, Fe) | and is less dense than continental
29
continental crust consists of:
Felsic mainly (feldspar, silica, aluminum); some mafic
30
lithosphere
rigid crust + upper-most brittle mantle
31
asthenosphere
upper mantle underlying lithosphere. • Made of partially-molten, slush-like rock • Allows lithosphere to move above it and isostatically adjust
32
type of plate boundary: divergent
* Spreading of lithosphere * Magma rises * New lithosphere
33
type of plate boundary :convergent
* Subduction * Collision * Lithosphere destroyed
34
interior convection within earth
process by which material heated deep in the asthenosphere slowly rises to displace cooler, denser material near the surface. • Subducted slabs can be heated, then forced upwards to form hot spot magma plumes
35
WATER
• Essential to life- major component of cells. • Habitat for aquatic life. • Efficient absorber and transporter of heat (climate control!) • Gravitational attraction of Earth’s mass keeps gases, including water vapor, in our atmosphere.
36
angular uncomformity
older rocks tilted, eroded, then new phase of deposition
37
discomformity
disruptioninsedimentation(or erosion) then new phase of deposition
38
noncomformity
bedded rocks overly crystalline rocks
39
type of igneous rock: | FELSICROCKS
granite, rhyolite Felsic means that the rock is rich in silica and aluminum and is light- colored and less dense. The most common Felsic rock, granite, is primarily composed of Quartz and Feldspar.
40
type of igneous rock | mafic rocks
g.,basalt,gabbro Mafic means that the rock is poor in silica and contains NO quartz. Mafic rocks are rich in magnesium and iron. They are very dense and darker. Basalt is the most common Mafic rock. It forms oceanic crust, while ultramafic rocks form the mantle below the crust.
41
whatt does the grain siz of minerals reflect?
the rate at which the magma cooled.
42
Intrusive igneous rock
Magma cools within the Earth and at the surface • Intrusions – Slow cooling – Plutons • Sills • Dikes
43
extrusive igneous rock
The opening at the Earth’s surface through which magma is extruded is called a vent. • Magma erupted at the surface cools is a called lava. • Lava cools to form an extrusive igneous rock at the surface.
44
tuff
Loose volcanic debris
45
fissures
lava flowing out of cracks
46
flood basalt
Extensive areas covered by mafic lava
47
pillow basalt
Rocks formed by cooling rapidly beneath the sea
48
Siliciclastic rocks
* Sedimentary rocks composed of clasts of silicate minerals * Quartz is most resistant to weathering * Mafic minerals less stable at Earth’s surface
49
conglomerate siliclastic rock
Rounded grains
50
breccia
angled grains
51
siliciclastic rocks sizing: | sand
– 1/16-2 mm diameter – Often quartz | – Sandstone
52
siliciclastic rocks sizing: | silt
1/256-1/16 mm
53
siliciclastic rocks sizing: | clay
less than 1/250th of a mm
54
fissile
breaks along bedding surface | – Sediment aligned horizontally during deposition
55
lithification
Process by which siliciclastic sediments become rock (compaction).
56
cementation
Chemical process in which minerals crystallize from solution that percolates through the grains of sediment
57
chemically
Evaporates: Form from evaporation of seawater – Anhydrite – Gypsum – Halite • Readily formed, readily dissolved
58
chert
Flint – Extremely small quartz crystals precipitated from watery solutions – Brown, gray, or black • Impurities
59
carbonate rock: | limestone
Chemical and biogenic bodies of rock
60
carbonate rocks: | dolomite
– Carbonate mineral – Uncommon in modern rocks – Common in ancient rocks • Dolostone
61
carbonate muds
Mainly aragonite needles • Direct precipitation • Collapse of carbonate algal skeletons
62
carbonate rocks | oolites
Nearly spherical sediment – Produced in shallow water – Formed by rolling and accumulating aragonite needles
63
organic : | coal
– Organic sedimentary | – Low-grade metamorphism of plant debris
64
metamorphic rocks | slate
– Fine grained; -low grade; fissile
65
metamorphic rocks | schist
low to medium grade, platy
66
metamorphic rocks | gneiss
High-grade metamorphism | Granular; wavy layers
67
non foliated metamorphic rock | marble
Calcite and/or dolomite | – Limestone parent
68
non foliated metamorphic rock | quartzite
Nearly pure quartz – Sandstone parent

Geology 1003 (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions