48 Questions
What is the study of earthquakes known as?
Seismology
Which branch of Earth science studies the historical processes and events that resulted in the formation of Earth and life?
Historical Geology
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
Which branch of Earth science studies the oceans, tides, waves, processes, and changes in the ocean?
Oceanography
What is the study of weather, high sky, and climate known as?
Meteorology
Which branch of Earth science studies the structure, form, and components of the Earth?
Geology
What is the term used for the study of the universe?
Astronomy
What are important specialties under geology that help people understand earthquakes and volcanoes respectively?
Seismology and Volcanology
What does the word root 'geo' mean in the term geology?
Earth
What do meteorologists inform us about?
Weather changes and chances of rain or storm
What vital information do oceanographers provide related to climate change and renewable energy sources?
Tides and waves data
What is the study of volcanoes known as?
Volcanology
What is the standard system of measurement used in science?
Metric System
Which language is predominantly used for naming early scientists?
Greek
What does the Scientific Method involve after conducting an experiment?
Drawing a conclusion
Which type of chart is commonly used to display trends over time?
Line graph
What does the study of Earth's structure, form, and components fall under?
Geology
What is the term for the process of proposing a possible explanation based on observed phenomena?
Hypothesizing
What component of scientific vocabulary is helpful for understanding the meaning of scientific terms?
Suffixes
Which branch of Earth science studies the historical processes and events that resulted in the formation of Earth and life?
Paleontology
Which units are used to measure mass in the International System of Units (SI)?
(Kilogram)
What is the term for the potential distortion of results due to preconceived notions or prejudices?
Bias
In which phase of a scientific experiment are observations made?
Observe
Which type of chart is commonly used to compare parts of a whole?
Pie Chart
What marks the end of the Precambrian eon and the start of the Phanerozoic eon?
The appearance of multicellular organisms
What process do scientists use to determine the age of rocks and fossils based on the position of rock layers and fossils?
Relative age dating
What era was known as the age of dinosaurs?
Mesozoic Era
What is the process that allows scientists to calculate the actual ages of rocks and fossils?
Radiometric dating
What spans hundreds to thousands of millions of years in the geologic time scale?
Eons
What is used by scientists in the process of stratigraphy to learn more about the history of the Earth?
Fossils and rock layers
What are scientists studying when they investigate layers of rock, or strata, in stratigraphy?
History of the Earth
What allows scientists to use absolute age dating to calculate the actual ages of rocks and fossils?
Radiometric dating
Which geological theory emphasizes abrupt, violent events resulting in mass extinctions and geosphere changes?
Catastrophism
Who is known as the Father of Modern Geology due to his influential work on the uniformitarian theory?
James Hutton
What type of dating determines rock age based on the known decay rate of radioactive isotopes within the rocks?
Radiometric dating
Which scientist popularized catastrophism through his study of the fossil record and biblical influences?
Georges Cuvier
What essential technique do geologists use to establish rock and fossil ages by determining rock age based on physical relationships to surrounding geologic structures?
Relative dating
What key principle of relative dating involves determining rock age based on superimposed layers?
Original Horizontality
Which type of radioactive decay involves emitting a gamma ray?
Gamma decay
What method do scientists use to determine the sequence of ages between bodies in our solar system based on impact crater counts?
Relative dating
What is the process by which an unstable nucleus loses energy and releases radiation?
Radioactive decay
Which method measures the content of leftover radioactive carbon in an object or material?
Radiocarbon dating
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?
Half-life
Which radioactive substance decays into lead-206 in uranium-lead dating?
Uranium-238
What is the term for the method used to establish the age of geologic and organic materials that contain radioactive isotopes?
Radiometric dating
Which radioactive substance decays into nitrogen-14 in the process of radiocarbon dating?
Carbon-14
Which method has a half-life of only 5,730 years?
Radiocarbon dating
What type of material can radiocarbon dating measure the ages of?
Biological tissues
Study Notes
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Earth science is a field that studies Earth and neighboring planets
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Greek and Latin languages contribute significantly to scientific vocabulary
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Greek used for early scientists' names, Latin for naming organisms
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Word parts (prefixes, roots, suffixes) helpful for understanding scientific terms
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Scientific method is a series of steps for answering scientific questions
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Question, background research, hypothesis, experiment, data analysis, conclusion
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Replicable experiments can lead to theories if hypotheses are supported
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Biases can impact experiments and should be minimized
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International System of Units (SI) is standard system of measurement
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SI units include length (meter), mass (kilogram), volume (cubic meter), density (kg/m), temperature (kelvin)
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Conversion factors needed to change units
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Scientific experiments consist of six steps: observe, hypothesize, design, collect data, evaluate, conclude
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Data displayed through various charts and graphs: line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, flow charts
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Each chart type used for specific purposes in analyzing data.
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Strict catastrophism is a geological theory explaining Earth's surface through abrupt, violent events resulting in mass extinctions and geosphere changes.
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Georges Cuvier popularized catastrophism through his study of the fossil record and biblical influences.
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Uniformitarianism, which views Earth's surface as shaped by gradual processes, challenged catastrophism's dominance.
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James Hutton is known as the Father of Modern Geology due to his influential work on the uniformitarian theory.
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Charles Lyell's uniformitarianism emphasizes gradual geological changes but acknowledges occasional cataclysms.
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Geologists today use a combination of relative and numerical dating to establish rock and fossil ages.
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Relative dating determines rock age based on physical relationships to surrounding geologic structures.
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Key principles of relative dating include the Principle of Uniformitarianism, Original Horizontality, Lateral Continuity, Superposition, Cross-cutting Relationships, Inclusions, and Baked Contacts.
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Radiometric dating, or radioactive dating, determines rock age based on the known decay rate of radioactive isotopes within the rocks.
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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).
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Scientists use relative dating to determine the sequence of ages between bodies in our solar system based on impact crater counts.
Test your knowledge of the branches of Earth science with this quiz. Learn about geology, meteorology, astronomy, and oceanography, and their roles in understanding the Earth and neighboring planets.
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