Earth Space Science Final Flashcards

Questions and Answers

What are the five characteristics a substance must have to be classified as a mineral?

have a crystal structure, have a definite chemical composition, be inorganic, be naturally occurring, and be a solid.

Why isn't coal a mineral?

it's organic.

Why isn't glass a mineral?

it doesn't occur naturally.

What is a mineral that contains a useful substance or element, such as iron or aluminum?

an ore. Signup and view all the answers

The higher you are on the Moh's Hardness Scale, the more materials you will...?

scratch. Signup and view all the answers

The lower you are on the Moh's Hardness Scale, the more materials you will...?

get scratched by. Signup and view all the answers

What is the order of the Moh's Hardness Scale from softest to hardest?

Talc, Gypsum, Calcite, Fluorite, Apatite, Feldspar, Quartz, Topaz, Corundum, then Diamond. Signup and view all the answers

What is a geode?

A hollow rock inside which mineral crystals have formed. Signup and view all the answers

What is cleavage?

When a mineral splits on a flat surface. Signup and view all the answers

What is a crystal?

A solid in which the atoms are arranged in a pattern that repeats again and again. Signup and view all the answers

What is fracture?

When a mineral splits on an uneven surface. Signup and view all the answers

What is inorganic?

A substance not having the structure or organization characteristic of living bodies. Signup and view all the answers

What is luster?

The way a mineral reflects light from its surface. Signup and view all the answers

What is a mineral?

A naturally occurring inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition. Signup and view all the answers

What is Moh's Hardness Scale?

A scale that ranks ten minerals from hardest (10) to softest (1) or softest (1) to hardness (10). Signup and view all the answers

What is streak?

The color of a mineral's powder. Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between cleavage and fracture?

Cleavage is when a mineral splits on a flat surface. Fracture is when a mineral splits on an uneven surface. Signup and view all the answers

How are minerals formed in Diagram B?

Magma gets trapped under the crust and slowly cools. Then, it forms minerals. Signup and view all the answers

How are minerals formed in Diagram C?

Lava erupts on the crust and cools off. Then, it forms minerals. Signup and view all the answers

Which diagram will have larger crystals, Diagram B or Diagram C?

Diagram B because it's magma, and crystals from magma are larger than crystals from lava. Signup and view all the answers

Which diagram will have smaller crystals, Diagram B or Diagram C?

Diagram C because it's lava, and crystals from lava are smaller than crystals from magma. Signup and view all the answers

How do minerals form by evaporation?

When water evaporates, the minerals are left behind. Then, they form their crystal structures. Signup and view all the answers

What are two ways diamonds are useful?

They are used in jewelry and they are a ten in Moh's Hardness Scale. Signup and view all the answers

What are the properties used to identify minerals and gems?

color, density, hardness, luster, and magnetism (cleavage, fracture, and special properties). Signup and view all the answers

What is crystallization?

The process in which a substance forms into a material with a crystal structure. Signup and view all the answers

What is lava?

Liquid magma that reaches the surface. Signup and view all the answers

What is magma?

The molten mixture of gases, rock-forming substances, and water that comes from the mantle. Signup and view all the answers

What is solution?

When one substance dissolves in another. Signup and view all the answers

What is vein?

a narrow slab of minerals that is different from the surrounding rock. Signup and view all the answers

What is a gem?

a beautiful, bright, clear, highly prized, and rare mineral. Signup and view all the answers

What is an ore?

deposit in which a mineral exists in large enough amounts to be mined at a profit. Signup and view all the answers

For a mineral to be a gem, what does the mineral have to have?

beauty, durability, portability, and rarity. Signup and view all the answers

Are all minerals gems?

False Signup and view all the answers

Are all gems minerals?

False Signup and view all the answers

Why is most quartz useful?

it's used in electronics. Signup and view all the answers

What do Ilmenite and rutile have to make them ores?

titanium. Signup and view all the answers

What are three qualities of titanium that make it good for hip or knee replacements?

durable, lightweight, and non-toxic. Signup and view all the answers

Where is iron and aluminum usually found?

inside of veins of minerals. Signup and view all the answers

What is a vein mineral?

a mineral dissolved in fluids. Signup and view all the answers

What do you do in scientific inquiry?

ask yourself a question, make a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, use variables and change one at a time, write down the procedures for the experiment, collect data, make a conclusion, and communicate. Signup and view all the answers

Why isn't scientific inquiry a rigid sequence of steps?

one scientific inquiry leads to another. Signup and view all the answers

What are the five branches that make up Earth Science?

astronomy, environmental science, geology, meteorology, and oceanography. Signup and view all the answers

What do geologists study?

geology - study of Earth. Signup and view all the answers

What do astronomers study?

astronomy - study of the universe. Signup and view all the answers

What do oceanographers study?

oceanography - study of water. Signup and view all the answers

What do meteorologists study?

meteorology - study of the atmosphere, climate, and weather. Signup and view all the answers

What do environmental scientists study?

environmental science - study of Earth's environment and resources. Signup and view all the answers

What do seismologists study?

seismology - study of earthquakes. Signup and view all the answers

What do volcanologists study?

volcanology - study of volcanoes. Signup and view all the answers

What is the rocky outer layer of the Earth's atmosphere?

lithosphere. Signup and view all the answers

What is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere with all of the waters on Earth?

hydrosphere. Signup and view all the answers

What is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere with all living things?

biosphere. Signup and view all the answers

What are the four major systems of the Earth?

atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Signup and view all the answers

What do scientists need to do?

have a scientific attitude, infer, observe, and predict. Signup and view all the answers

What are the senses scientists need to use?

feeling, hearing, seeing, smelling, and tasting. Signup and view all the answers

What is a scientific theory?

a well tested concept that explains many observations. Signup and view all the answers

What is a scientific law?

a statement that describes what scientists expect to happen every time under the same conditions. Signup and view all the answers

Does everything have to be documented?

False Signup and view all the answers

What is a controlled experiment?

an experiment when only one variable is changed at a time. Signup and view all the answers

What type of attitude would help to make a good scientist? Why?

inquisitive attitude because they need to question everything. Signup and view all the answers

True or false? Everything is an established fact.

False Signup and view all the answers

Why are astronomers considered to be Earth scientists?

they study other planets and the solar system. Signup and view all the answers

Why do scientists use models to represent Earth's processes?

to represent Earth's processes on a smaller scale so it's easier to study them. Signup and view all the answers

What is science?

A way of learning about the natural world through logical reasoning and observations. Signup and view all the answers

What is observing?

the process of using one or more senses to get information. Signup and view all the answers

What is an inference?

an educated guess. Signup and view all the answers

What is predicting?

using evidence to make an inference. Signup and view all the answers

What is a hypothesis?

an answer. Signup and view all the answers

What is an independent variable?

the variable that is changed during an experiment. Signup and view all the answers

What is a manipulated variable?

the variable that is changed during an experiment. Signup and view all the answers

Is there a difference between an independent variable and a manipulated variable? If yes, then what is it?

False Signup and view all the answers

What is a dependent variable?

what changes due to the variable being changed. Signup and view all the answers

What is a responding variable?

what changes due to the variable being changed. Signup and view all the answers

Is there a difference between a dependent variable and a responding variable? If yes, then what is it?

False Signup and view all the answers

What is Earth Science?

the science that focuses on planet Earth and the universe. Signup and view all the answers

What is a system?

a portion of the universe and all of its components, interactions, and processes. Signup and view all the answers

What is energy?

the ability to do work. Signup and view all the answers

What is a constructive force?

what creates landmasses and mountains. Signup and view all the answers

What is a destructive force?

what wears away landmasses and mountains. Signup and view all the answers

What is the rock cycle?

a process when rocks form, change into another rock, get destroyed, and then the process restarts. Signup and view all the answers

What is deposition?

when sediment is put into new locations. Signup and view all the answers

What is a rock?

a solid mixture of one or more minerals. Signup and view all the answers

What is erosion?

when the materials of Earth's surface dissolve or worn out. Signup and view all the answers

What is composition?

the chemical makeup of a rock. Signup and view all the answers

What is texture?

when a rock is based on the positions, shapes, and sizes of it. Signup and view all the answers

What are the three main types of rock?

igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. Signup and view all the answers

What is weathering?

water and wind wearing away the rock. Signup and view all the answers

Why are rocks important?

build materials and make tools. Signup and view all the answers

What are the processes that shape the Earth?

cementation and compaction, heat and pressure, melting, and weathering, erosion, and deposition. Signup and view all the answers

What are the ways to classify a rock?

composition and texture. Signup and view all the answers

What is it called when sediment is dropped and comes to rest?

deposition. Signup and view all the answers

Besides being classified by their composition, how else are rocks classified?

texture. Signup and view all the answers

What determines the composition of a rock?

the minerals it's made of. Signup and view all the answers

What is igneous rock?

rock formed when lava or magma cools and hardens. Signup and view all the answers

What is intrusive?

a type of igneous rock that has crystals and forms when magma cools slowly beneath the surface. Signup and view all the answers

What is extrusive?

a type of fine-grained igneous rock that forms when magma cools quickly near or on Earth's surface. Signup and view all the answers

What is basaltic?

dark colored and dense igneous rock that forms from magma. Signup and view all the answers

What is basaltic rich in?

magnesium. Signup and view all the answers

What is basaltic poor in?

silica. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Mineral Classification and Properties

To qualify as a mineral, a substance must have a crystal structure, a definite chemical composition, be inorganic, naturally occurring, and solid.
Coal is not considered a mineral because it is organic in nature.
Glass is not a mineral because it does not occur naturally.

Moh's Hardness Scale

Moh's Hardness Scale ranks minerals based on their ability to scratch one another, with higher ranks indicating a greater ability to scratch.
The scale ranges from Talc (softest, 1) to Diamond (hardest, 10).
Mineral hardness is a key property used to identify and differentiate minerals.

Mineral Structures and Formation

A geode is a hollow rock filled with mineral crystals.
Cleavage refers to the ability of a mineral to split along flat surfaces, while fracture indicates splitting along uneven surfaces.
Crystallization is the formation process of solid materials with repeating atomic patterns, occurring from cooling magma or evaporation of water.

Rock Types and the Rock Cycle

Rocks are classified into three main types: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
The rock cycle describes continuous processes where rocks can form, change, and be destroyed.
Weathering involves the breakdown of rocks, while erosion refers to the wearing away of surface materials.

Mineral Identification

Minerals are identified through their properties, including color, density, hardness, luster, and magnetism.
Streak refers to the color of a mineral's powder when scraped against a surface.

Scientific Inquiry

Scientific inquiry involves posing questions, forming hypotheses, conducting experiments, and analyzing data to reach conclusions.
The nature of scientific inquiry is non-linear; findings often lead to more questions.

Earth Science Branches

Earth science is divided into five branches: geology (study of the Earth), meteorology (study of the atmosphere), oceanography (study of water), environmental science (study of the environment), and astronomy (study of the universe).

Earth's Systems

The four major systems of Earth include the atmosphere (air), biosphere (living things), hydrosphere (water), and lithosphere (rock and soil).

Experiments and Variables

An independent variable is changed during an experiment, while a dependent variable responds to changes.
Controlled experiments isolate variables to determine their effects.

Mineral and Gem Properties

Gems must possess beauty, durability, portability, and rarity; while all gems are minerals, not all minerals qualify as gems.
Titanium is valued for its durability and lightweight nature, making it suitable for medical implants.

Material Processes

Depositional processes occur when sediments settle and accumulate in new locations, contributing to sedimentary rock formation.
Constructive forces create landforms, while destructive forces wear them down.

Rock Characteristics

The texture of a rock is defined by the shapes, sizes, and positions of its constituent minerals.
The composition of a rock refers to the types of minerals it contains, influencing its classification and properties.

Types of Igneous Rock

Intrusive igneous rocks form from magma cooling slowly beneath Earth's surface, leading to larger crystals.
Extrusive igneous rocks form from lava cooling rapidly, resulting in fine-grained textures.
Basaltic rocks are dark, dense, and rich in magnesium, while being low in silica content.

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Description

Test your knowledge of minerals and their characteristics with this Earth Space Science final flashcard quiz. Dive into questions about mineral classification and exceptions like coal and glass. Perfect for reviewing before the final exam.