Earth Science Branches Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What is the study of earthquakes known as?

  • Seismology (correct)
  • Astronomy
  • Meteorology
  • Volcanology

Which branch of Earth science studies the historical processes and events that resulted in the formation of Earth and life?

  • Astronomy
  • Historical Geology (correct)
  • Physical Geology
  • Oceanography

What is the term formed using word roots derived from Greek and Latin language, where geo means earth and -ology means the study of?

  • Geology (correct)
  • Geography
  • Geophysics
  • Geomorphology

Which branch of Earth science studies the oceans, tides, waves, processes, and changes in the ocean?

<p>Oceanography (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the study of weather, high sky, and climate known as?

<p>Meteorology (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which branch of Earth science studies the structure, form, and components of the Earth?

<p>Geology (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used for the study of the universe?

<p>Astronomy (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are important specialties under geology that help people understand earthquakes and volcanoes respectively?

<p>Seismology and Volcanology (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the word root 'geo' mean in the term geology?

<p>Earth (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do meteorologists inform us about?

<p>Weather changes and chances of rain or storm (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What vital information do oceanographers provide related to climate change and renewable energy sources?

<p>Tides and waves data (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the study of volcanoes known as?

<p>Volcanology (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the standard system of measurement used in science?

<p>Metric System (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which language is predominantly used for naming early scientists?

<p>Greek (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the Scientific Method involve after conducting an experiment?

<p>Drawing a conclusion (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which type of chart is commonly used to display trends over time?

<p>Line graph (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the study of Earth's structure, form, and components fall under?

<p>Geology (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the process of proposing a possible explanation based on observed phenomena?

<p>Hypothesizing (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What component of scientific vocabulary is helpful for understanding the meaning of scientific terms?

<p>Suffixes (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which branch of Earth science studies the historical processes and events that resulted in the formation of Earth and life?

<p>Paleontology (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which units are used to measure mass in the International System of Units (SI)?

<p>(Kilogram) (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the potential distortion of results due to preconceived notions or prejudices?

<p>Bias (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In which phase of a scientific experiment are observations made?

<p>Observe (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which type of chart is commonly used to compare parts of a whole?

<p>Pie Chart (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What marks the end of the Precambrian eon and the start of the Phanerozoic eon?

<p>The appearance of multicellular organisms (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What process do scientists use to determine the age of rocks and fossils based on the position of rock layers and fossils?

<p>Relative age dating (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What era was known as the age of dinosaurs?

<p>Mesozoic Era (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the process that allows scientists to calculate the actual ages of rocks and fossils?

<p>Radiometric dating (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What spans hundreds to thousands of millions of years in the geologic time scale?

<p>Eons (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is used by scientists in the process of stratigraphy to learn more about the history of the Earth?

<p>Fossils and rock layers (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are scientists studying when they investigate layers of rock, or strata, in stratigraphy?

<p>History of the Earth (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What allows scientists to use absolute age dating to calculate the actual ages of rocks and fossils?

<p>Radiometric dating (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which geological theory emphasizes abrupt, violent events resulting in mass extinctions and geosphere changes?

<p>Catastrophism (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Who is known as the Father of Modern Geology due to his influential work on the uniformitarian theory?

<p>James Hutton (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of dating determines rock age based on the known decay rate of radioactive isotopes within the rocks?

<p>Radiometric dating (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which scientist popularized catastrophism through his study of the fossil record and biblical influences?

<p>Georges Cuvier (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What essential technique do geologists use to establish rock and fossil ages by determining rock age based on physical relationships to surrounding geologic structures?

<p>Relative dating (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What key principle of relative dating involves determining rock age based on superimposed layers?

<p>Original Horizontality (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which type of radioactive decay involves emitting a gamma ray?

<p>Gamma decay (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What method do scientists use to determine the sequence of ages between bodies in our solar system based on impact crater counts?

<p>Relative dating (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the process by which an unstable nucleus loses energy and releases radiation?

<p>Radioactive decay (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which method measures the content of leftover radioactive carbon in an object or material?

<p>Radiocarbon dating (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used to describe the amount of time in which the quantity of a radioactive substance is reduced to half its original value?

<p>Half-life (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which radioactive substance decays into lead-206 in uranium-lead dating?

<p>Uranium-238 (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the method used to establish the age of geologic and organic materials that contain radioactive isotopes?

<p>Radiometric dating (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which radioactive substance decays into nitrogen-14 in the process of radiocarbon dating?

<p>Carbon-14 (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which method has a half-life of only 5,730 years?

<p>Radiocarbon dating (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of material can radiocarbon dating measure the ages of?

<p>Biological tissues (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

  • Earth science is a field that studies Earth and neighboring planets

  • Greek and Latin languages contribute significantly to scientific vocabulary

  • Greek used for early scientists' names, Latin for naming organisms

  • Word parts (prefixes, roots, suffixes) helpful for understanding scientific terms

  • Scientific method is a series of steps for answering scientific questions

  • Question, background research, hypothesis, experiment, data analysis, conclusion

  • Replicable experiments can lead to theories if hypotheses are supported

  • Biases can impact experiments and should be minimized

  • International System of Units (SI) is standard system of measurement

  • SI units include length (meter), mass (kilogram), volume (cubic meter), density (kg/m), temperature (kelvin)

  • Conversion factors needed to change units

  • Scientific experiments consist of six steps: observe, hypothesize, design, collect data, evaluate, conclude

  • Data displayed through various charts and graphs: line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, flow charts

  • Each chart type used for specific purposes in analyzing data.

  • Strict catastrophism is a geological theory explaining Earth's surface through abrupt, violent events resulting in mass extinctions and geosphere changes.

  • Georges Cuvier popularized catastrophism through his study of the fossil record and biblical influences.

  • Uniformitarianism, which views Earth's surface as shaped by gradual processes, challenged catastrophism's dominance.

  • James Hutton is known as the Father of Modern Geology due to his influential work on the uniformitarian theory.

  • Charles Lyell's uniformitarianism emphasizes gradual geological changes but acknowledges occasional cataclysms.

  • Geologists today use a combination of relative and numerical dating to establish rock and fossil ages.

  • Relative dating determines rock age based on physical relationships to surrounding geologic structures.

  • Key principles of relative dating include the Principle of Uniformitarianism, Original Horizontality, Lateral Continuity, Superposition, Cross-cutting Relationships, Inclusions, and Baked Contacts.

  • Radiometric dating, or radioactive dating, determines rock age based on the known decay rate of radioactive isotopes within the rocks.

  • Different types of radioactive decay include alpha decay (emitting an alpha particle), beta decay (emitting a beta particle), and gamma decay (emitting a gamma ray).

  • Scientists use relative dating to determine the sequence of ages between bodies in our solar system based on impact crater counts.

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