Earth Science 1021
Terms
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- Absolute Age Dating
- Determines the numerical or exact age of objects.
- Radioactive decay
- the release of radioactive particles and change of other isotopes
- Half-life
- the length of time it takes for half of the isotope to decay
- Dating rocks
- scientists look at the paent-daughter ratios of the radioactive isotopes in the minerals that make up the rock.
- Radiocarbon dating
- scientists use C-14 to determine the age of organic materials
- tree rings
- when you cut down a tee, count the rings on the stump and you\'ll find out how old it is
- ice cores
- contain a record of past enviormental conditions in layers of snow deposits
- varves
- different colored sediments that build up over time
- relative age dating
- estimating the age of objects
- uniformtarianism
- the geological processes occuring today have been occuring since earth formed.
- original horizontally
- sediments rocks are deposited in horizontal layers
- superposition
- oldest rocs at the bottom & each layer above it is younger than the previous one
- cross-cuting relationship
- the intrusion is younger than the rock is cuts
- inclusions
- the rock layer must be older than the one that contains them
- unconformities
- buried surfaces of erosion
- disconformity
- horizontal layer of sedimentary rock is over another horizontal layer of sedimentary rock
- nonconfrmity
- a layer of sedimentary rock overlies a layer of igneous/metamorphic rock, the eroded surface is easier to identify
- angular unconformity
- a horizontal layer of sedimentary rock deformed during mountain building, they are uplifted & tilted
- correlation
- unique outcrops of rocks & fossils that match
- ey bed
- sediment/rock used as a marker
- fossil correlation
- used to correlate rock formations in other areas that geological distant
- Principle of Original Horizontality
-
Sedimentary layers & lava flaws are deposited in horizontal layers
- Principle of Original Lateral Contunuity
- Lava flows & strata extend laterally in all directions until they pinch out (thin to nothing)/ reach the edge of their basin of deposition
- Principle of Superposition
-
In a n undistured sequence of strata/lava flows
-oldest layer at the bottom
-youngest layer at the top - Principles of Inclusions
- Any piece of roc that has been included in another rock/body of sediment must be older than the rock/sediment into which it has been incorperated. The surrounding body of rock is called a matrix (or groundmass). Thus the includion is older than the matrix
- Principle of Cross-Cuting
- Any feature that cuts across a rock/body of sediment must be younger than the rock/sediment it cuts across.
- Principles of Unconformities
- Most contacts between adjacent strata or formations are conformities, meaning that rocks on both sides of them of formed at the smae time
- Eons
-
-Phanerozoic
-PreCambrian - Eras
-
-Cenozoic
-Mesozoic
-Paleozoic
-Precambrian - Period
-
-Ouaternary
-Tertiary
-Cretaceous
-Jurrasic
-Triassic
-Permian
-Pennsylvanian
-Mississippian
-Devonian
-Silurian
-Ordovician
-Cambrian
-PreCambrian - Epoch
-
-Holocene
-Pleistocene
-Pliocene
-Miocene
-Oligocene
-Eocene
-Paleocene -
T/F
THe dates & information on the geologic timetable are fixed and will never be changed. - False
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T/F
The fossil record determines the beginning and end of an era. - True
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T/F
Dinosaurs died out in the Triassic Period. - False
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T/F
Mesozoic means \"middle life\". - True
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T/F
The Silurian is the oldest period of time in the Paleozoic. - False
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T/F
Epochs are longer and more distinct units of time than periods. - False
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T/F
The oldest era the Pre-Cambrian, contains rocks loaded with fossils of land animals - False
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T/F
The ice age occured during the Pilocene Epoch. - False
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T/F
Cenozoic means \"recent life\" - True
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T/F
THe Paleozoic era is divided into 7 periods - True
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T/F
The earliest nown record of animal life are marine invertebrates. - True
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T/F
The transition fom marine animals to land animals occured during the Silurian Period. - True
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T/F
THe Mesozoic Era is divided into 2 periods, Triassic and Tertiary - False
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T/F
Evidence of early humans appeared during the ice age - True
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T/F
It is possible to establish some points on the geologic timescale in terms of years by determining the rate of decay of radioactive materials. - True
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T/F
The term cretaceous refers to chalk. - False
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T/F
The Mesozoic Era lasted approximately 50 million years. - False
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T/F
The Cenozoic Era is known as the Age of Reptiles. - False
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T/F
The Paleozoic Era is known as the Age of Invertabrates. - True
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T/F
The Mesozoic Era is known as the Age of Fish - False
- Original Remains
- soft tissues are still present
- Replaced Remains
- soft parts are replaced harder minerals
- Mold
- impression or hollowed area
- Cast
- mold filled w/ mineral material
- Trace Fossils
- tracks of animals instead of remains
- Index fossils
- short lived, easily reconized, widespread
- Corporalites
- \"fossilized poo\"
- The Phanerozoic Eon includes the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and ________
- Cenozoic
- The Archean and Proterozoic are examples of ______
- eons
- Which of the following is marked by the appearance of organisms with hard parts?
- the end of the Precambrian
-
T/F
The process of plate tectonics the movement of Earth\'s plates, started at the end of the Precambrian - False
-
T/F
The amount of radioactive isotopes contributing heat to Earth is greater now than it was when Earth was newly formed. - False
- sunspot
- a sunspot are cooler areas of the sun where the magnetic fiedl (often come in pairs)
- solar flare
- can be hotter than the core itself for if only a minute, very dangerous
- what form of energy does the sun use?
- hydrogen
- Fission
-
-separation of a large atom into smaller nucei
-ex: uranium-> lead
-\"bad\" by product - Fusion
-
-fusion of hydrogen atoms
-good by product
-ex: hydrogen->helium
-exotherme
-sun\'s energy - Corona
-
hottest layer of the sun
- What layer is only visible during an eclipse?
- The moon aligns w/ the sun, so it blocks out the center of the sun so you can only see the corona during a lunar eclipse
- What layer contains most of the suns \"activity\"?
- Chromosphere... i.e. sunspot, solar flares, promanances
- What is inside the Sun\'s core?
-
In the sun\'s core, helium is the product of hydrogen nuclei fusing.
H->He=energy=fission energy - What layer is the visible light that we see from?
- Photosphere, because it\'s the visible surface of the sun, and the visible light emitted by the sun comes from this layer.
- What are solar flares?
- Solar flares are just gas, and promanances are solar flares that get suced back into the sun.
- What layer contains most of the suns deadly radiation?
- Radiative layer
- What color is the cooler parts of the sun?
- Darker than the area around it. (Brown-sunspots)
- Where does the solar winds that cause geometric storms come from?
- coronal holes, solar flares+ promanaces
- Notes on the Sun:
-
-closest star
-149,59,00 km away=90 million miles away
-sunlight takes 8.33 minutes to get here
-use AU
-lightyear:distance light travels in 1 years time -
T/F
Compared to the human eye, telescopes can collect light over longer periods of time. - True
-
T/F
The corona is visible only during eclipses because it is the coolest layer of the Sun\'s atmosphere. - True
- A _______ eclipse occus when the Earth passes between the Sun and Moon
- lunar
- A lunar eclipse can only occur during the phase of the ____________.
- full moon
- Ou timekeeping system is based on the ________.
- solar day
- Most of the light emitted by the Sun comes from the _______.
- photosphere
- WHen the polarity of the Sun\'s magnetic field is taken into account, the solar activity cycle lasts_________.
- 22.4 years
- Why does the midwest have 4 season & the equator region have 1?
-
-solar radiation
-direct-indirect sunlight
-ground conditions - Why the equator has one season:
- The equator absorbs more sunlight -> keep temperature constant, constant movement of Earth\'s surfaces, oceans, and atmosphere
- About the Earth:
-
-1 revolution around the sun= 1 calender year = 365.25
-1 rotation on our axis = 1 day = 24 hours - Earth spins:
- counter-clockwise
- Tilt:
-
a major event such as:
-space (collison)
-Earthbound major earthquake - supernova:
-
2 ways for it to happen:
-when 2 stars collide
-when a massive star just collapses on itself
-similar 2 hydrogen bomb
-over 20 billion times luminous than the sun for a few weeks - red shift:
-
-if a star is moving away, the wavelenghts become longer
-shows that object is moving away
-ROYGBIV - Blue Shift:
-
-an object is moving towards us (closer)
-lines will moe to the blue in ROYGBIV - Brightness:
- amount of light given off
- Luminosity:
- energy output of a star per second
- Apparent magnitude:
- how bright a star appears (the closer it is = brighter it seems)
- Absolute magnitude:
-
-brightness of a star at the same distance away
- the brightness at 10 pc (parasec) -
T/F
Compared to the human eye, the telescope can collect light over longer periods of time. - True
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T/F
The Asteroid Belt has the possiblitly of forming new planets if the debris were to be drawn together. - True
-
T/F
Thea is the name of the moon that colided with Earth to produce a larger planet with a smaller iron core. - False
- People who see a partial solar eclipse are located in the _______ portion of the Moon\'s shadow.
- penumbra
- What force draws the matter in an interstellar cloud together to form a star?
- gravity
- Which planet has composition and density similar to the Sun?
- Saturn
- A scientist comparing the properties of a lare number of different stars could expect to find the most variation in the data describing the star\'s ______.
- luminosity
- Elliptical galaxies are divided into subclasses based on ______________ and _________________.
-
-their elongated shapes
-the ratio of their major and minor axes - WHat is true about an AU?
-
-it is ta distance of 93 trillion miles
-it is the distance from the Earth to the Sun - mT=
- maritime tropical
- cT=
- continental tropical
- mP=
- maritime polar
- cP=
- continental polar
- Northern Hemisphere\'s current moves __________.
- clockwise
- Southern Hemisphere\'s currents:
- counterclockwise
- Pattern of Currents:
-
-warm: move away from equator
-cold: move away from the poles
-warm: west side of the ocean basin
-cold: east side of the ocean basin - currents drive______.
- weather
- exosphere:
- outermost layer of Earth\'s atmosphere, transitional space between Earth\'s atmosphere and outer space
- thermosphere:
- layer above the mesosphere , absorbs solar radiation
- mesosphere:
- layer abouve the stratosphere, ends at the mesosphere
- stratosphere:
- layer above the troposphere, contains the ozone layer & ends at the stratopause
- Troposphere:
- laye closest to Earth\'s surface, ends at the tropopause
- continental margin:
- area where continents meet the ocean
- Seamount:
- submerges basaltic volcanoes more than 1km/high
- Continental shelf:
- shallowest part of a continental margin extended seaward from the shore
- Continental rise:
- the gently sloping accumulation of deposits from turbity currents that forms at the base of the continental slope
- Continental slope:
- where the sea drops away wuickly to the depths of several m
- Trench:
- deepest part of the ocean basin
- Mid-Ocean Ridge
- most prominent features of the ocean basins
- Absolute humidity
- actual amount of water in the atmospher measured in grams
- Relative humidity
-
how close the air is to being filled w/ water vapor
-its the amount of moisture is the air divided by the amount of water vapor it takes to fill the air x 100% - Golden Rule of Meterology:
-
the colder the air is, the less water vapor it can hold
-warmer air holds more water - Dew Point Temperature:
- the name for the temperature to which the air must be cooled to become saturated
- Cumulus Stage:
-
-heat on the surface warms the air around it
-warms air=lighter than cold air
-warm air rises (updrafts)
-if the ai is moist, then the warm air condenses into the cumulus stage - Mature Stage:
-
-cool air starts to enter the cloud
-cold air = heavier than warm air
-downdraft- pulls the heavywater downward
- Dissapating Stage:
- -warm air moist can no longer rise
- Thunder=
- lightning
- Thunder:
-
-sonic boom
-lightning super heats surrounding air
-expands faster than speed of sound = sonic boom - Tornado Watch:
-
-conditions are perfect for a tornado
-supercell
-tornado
-funnel cloud - Tornado Warning:
-
-tornado has been sighted/touched down
-AHHH! - What is lightning?
- -happens when (+) & (-) charged particles collide, causing an electrical disturbance w/in the cumulonibus cloud \"mother nature\" fixes this disturbance by producing a charge (lighting)
- Coriolis Effect:
- the effect of the rotation of the earth on the path of an object taveling oer the surface of the Earth
- Northern Hemisphere:
-
the coriolis dflects to the right
- Southern Hemisphere:
- the coliolis bend to the left
- Jetstreams:
-
300 mph winds go through the upper troposphere lie a powerful river
-wanders up & down in lazy s-curves
-major impact on weather - Birth of a Hurricane:
-
1) ocean conditions
2) humidity
3) winds
4) thunderstorms - Layers of a Hurricane:
-
-spiral bands
-eye wall
-eye -
T/F
The newer EF scale is not used often, and is being replaced by the newer F scale - False
-
T/F
The Jetstream is a result of the martitime and polar air masses - True
- The sun shines on and warms Earth\'s surface directly in a method of enery transfer known as __________.
- -conduction
- The density of air ______ as altitude decreases.
- decreases
- The atmosphere is composed mostly of _____ and oxygen, with traces of other gases such as carbon dioxcide and water vapor.
- nitrogen
- Both temperatue and pressure gernerally _______ with height in the troposphere.
- varies
- A super cell will produce tornadoes______% of the time.
- 20%-30%
- Differnet types of lightning:
-
-in the cloud
-ground-> cloud
-highest point of the cloud-> above the cloud /storm
-cloud top-> cloud top - supercell:
-
-cell dissapating
-giving superpowers to a cloud