Exogenic Processes in Geology
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Questions and Answers

What are the main exogenic forces?

Weathering, erosion, mass wasting, and deposition.

What is the process of breaking down rocks into smaller particles such as sand, gravel, and other fragments?

  • Erosion
  • Deposition
  • Weathering (correct)
  • Mass wasting

    • Which type of weathering involves changes in the size and shape of rocks without any changes in their composition?

  • Physical Weathering (correct)
  • Chemical Weathering
  • Biological Weathering
  • All of the above

    • Erosion is the process of transporting weathered materials to new locations.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Mass wasting refers to the downward movement of sediments under the influence of gravity.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Deposition is the process of weathered materials settling down in a new location.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is heat energy?

    <p>Heat energy is the result of the movement of tiny particles called atoms, molecules, or ions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is primordial heat?

    <p>Primordial heat is the internal heat energy accumulated by dissipation during the first few million years of a planet's evolution.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is radiogenic heat?

    <p>Radiogenic heat is the thermal energy released due to the spontaneous nuclear disintegration of naturally occurring radioactive elements like Uranium, Thorium, and Potassium.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does heat transfer through conduction?

    <p>Conduction is the transfer of heat energy between particles of objects in direct contact.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe heat transfer through radiation.

    <p>Radiation is the transfer of heat energy through electromagnetic waves.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is subduction?

    <p>Subduction is a process where the collision of Earth's crustal plates results in one plate being drawn down or overridden by another.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Magma is molten rock located beneath the Earth's surface.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is magmatism?

    <p>Magmatism is the process of magma formation and movement within the Earth's crust and upper mantle.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is plutonism?

    <p>Plutonism refers to the igneous processes that occur below the Earth's surface.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Extrusion is the eruption of magmatic materials onto the Earth's surface.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a magma chamber?

    <p>A magma chamber is a large underground pool of molten rock located beneath a volcano.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is metamorphism?

    <p>Metamorphism is a process that changes the mineral composition and texture of rocks without melting them.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Tensional stress pulls rocks apart.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Compressional stress squeezes rocks together.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Shear stress causes rocks to slide past each other.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are folds?

    <p>Folds are geological structures formed when rocks experience compression and deform plastically, leading to bending of the rock layers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a fault?

    <p>A fault is a fracture in the Earth's crust where there is a displacement of rocks on either side of the fracture line.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The theory of sea-floor spreading was first proposed by Harry Hess in the 1960s.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe the process of seafloor spreading.

    <p>Seafloor spreading occurs when new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges, pushing older crust away from the spreading center. This process is driven by convection currents in the Earth's mantle.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the main features of ocean basins?

    <p>Ocean basins typically include continental shelves, continental slopes, continental rises, abyssal plains, islands, seamounts, trenches, and mid-ocean ridges.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Pacific Ocean basin is the largest, deepest, and oldest existing ocean basin.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the three types of plate boundaries?

    <p>The three types of plate boundaries are convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe what happens at a convergent plate boundary.

    <p>At a convergent plate boundary, two plates collide, leading to either subduction, where one plate slides beneath the other, or to mountain building, where the plates buckle and uplift the crust.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Describe what happens at a transform plate boundary.

    <p>At a transform plate boundary, two plates slide horizontally past each other, causing earthquakes but not creating or destroying crust.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Stratified rocks are formed by the deposition of sediments in layers.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is stratigraphy?

    <p>Stratigraphy is a branch of geology that focuses on the study of stratified rocks, including their description, correlation, and interpretation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a stratigraphic law?

    <p>A stratigraphic law is a principle that guides geologists in understanding the relationships between rock layers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the Law of Original Horizontality state?

    <p>The Law of Original Horizontality states that sedimentary layers are initially deposited in horizontal layers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the Law of Superposition state?

    <p>The Law of Superposition states that in an undisturbed sequence of rock layers, the oldest layer is at the bottom, and each successive layer is younger than the one below it.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships state?

    <p>The Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships states that any geological feature or rock body that cuts across another is younger than the feature it cuts across.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an unconformity?

    <p>An unconformity is a surface within a sequence of rock layers that represents a missing interval of geological time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is correlation?

    <p>Correlation in geology is the process of demonstrating that rocks or geologic events occurring at different locations are of the same age.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Relative dating techniques determine the numerical age of rocks.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the two main methods of determining the relative age of rocks?

    <p>The two main methods for determining relative age are stratigraphy and biostratigraphy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is absolute dating?

    <p>Absolute dating is a method used to determine the numerical age of rocks and fossils using radioactive isotopes or other techniques.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is half-life?

    <p>Half-life is the time taken for the radioactivity of a specified isotope to decay to half of its original value.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The geologic time scale is a standard timeline used to describe the age of rocks, fossils, and events in Earth's history.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the three main eras of geologic time?

    <p>The three main eras are Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Paleozoic Era is known as the age of dinosaurs.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The Cenozoic Era is the era where humans exist and still exist.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Exogenic Processes

    • Processes at Earth's surface influenced by external forces
    • Includes weathering, erosion, mass wasting, and deposition

    Weathering

    • Disintegration (physical) and decomposition (chemical) of rocks
    • Breaks down rocks into smaller particles (sand, gravel)
    • Types:
      • Physical/Mechanical: Breakdown without composition change; size/shape of rocks alters due to factors like ice wedging, pressure release, abrasion, and exfoliation.
      • Chemical: Rocks weaken and disintegrate through reactions (dissolution, hydrolysis, oxidation); alters mineral compositions.
      • Biological: Living organisms (insects, tree roots) contribute to disintegration; produce acids that can dissolve rocks.
      • Processes/factors that bring about biological weathering:
        • Root wedging
        • Burrowing of animals
        • Anthropogenic activities

    Erosion

    • Separation and removal of weathered rocks by agents (water, wind, glaciers)
    • Transports materials to depositional areas
    • Mass wasting: Movement of sediments downslope due to gravity (falls, slides, avalanches, flows)

    Deposition

    • Weathered materials carried by erosion settle in a specific location
    • Geological process

    Earth's Internal Heat

    • Heat energy results from atom/molecule movement in solids/liquids/gases.
    • Crucial for Earth's habitability.
    • Sources:
      • Primordial heat: Heat accumulated during Earth's formation.
      • Radiogenic heat: Heat from radioactive decay (uranium, thorium, potassium).
    • Heat Transfer:
      • Conduction: Heat transfer between particles in direct contact (occurs in solid Earth's upper layers).
      • Convection: Heat transfer via fluid movement (occurs in molten rock zones).
      • Radiation: Heat transfer through electromagnetic waves (between Sun and Earth).
    • Subduction: One tectonic plate slides beneath another.
    • Methods of heat transfer also include conduction, convection, radiation

    Endogenic Processes

    • Geological processes occurring below Earth's surface
    • Includes tectonic movements, metamorphism, seismic activity, and magmatism

    Magma

    • Molten rock beneath Earth's surface (specifically in the mantle)
    • Magmatism: Formation and movement of magma
    • Substances/Elements present:
      • Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminum, Iron, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, etc.
      • Various percentages in magma composition.
    • Formation:
      • Partial melting of minerals in the lower crust/upper mantle at different temperatures and pressures. This may involve increase in temperature, decrease in pressure, or addition of volatiles (fluids like water, gases).

    Intrusion/Extrustion

    • Intrusion: Magma forces its way into surrounding rocks without erupting.
    • Extrusion: Magma erupts onto the Earth's surface as lava

    Volcanism

    • Volcanism: Broad term encompassing geological phenomena like volcanic eruptions and hot springs.
    • Processes create volcanic landforms (volcanoes) and volcanic rocks.

    Rock Behaviors Under Stress

    • Tensional Stress: Pulling forces, causing lengthening and breaking. Common in divergent plate boundaries
    • Compressional Stress: Squeezing forces, causing folding or fracturing. Common in convergent plate boundaries
    • Shear Stress: Forces sliding in opposite directions resulting in slippage. Found in transform plate boundaries
    • Geologic Structures:
      • Folds: Bending of rocks due to compressive stresses (monocline, anticline, syncline).
      • Faults: Fractures in rocks caused by stress (hanging wall and footwall).

    Seafloor Spreading

    • Seafloor continuously spreads at mid-ocean ridges, pushing older crust away and creating new oceanic crust.
    • Three lines of evidence for seafloor spreading:
      • Molten materials
      • Magnetic stripes
      • Drilling core samples

    Ocean Basins

    • Features: continental shelf, slope, rise, abyssal plain, ridges, trenches, islands
    • Formation: Shaped by plate tectonics.

    Stratified Rocks

    • Form from layers of deposited sediments or volcanic products
    • Stratigraphy: The study of rock layers, including their description, correlation, and interpretation.

    Relative Age Dating

    • Determining the age of rocks relative to each other using various principles, including:
      • Law of Superposition: Older layers are below younger layers.
      • Law of Original Horizontality: Layers are deposited horizontally.
      • Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships: A feature that cuts across rocks is younger than the rocks it cuts.
      • Law of Lateral Continuity: Layers are initially continuous unless interrupted by erosion.
      • Law of Inclusions: An inclusion (piece of one rock within another) is older than the rock it is within.
    • Methods for correlating rocks: rock type, index fossils, stratigraphy, detailed characteristics

    Absolute Age Dating

    • Determining the specific numerical age of rocks using various methods, including:
      • Radiometric dating: Measures radioactive decay.
      • Amino acid dating: Measures changes in amino acid compositions.
      • Dendrochronology: Measures tree ring patterns.
      • Thermoluminescence: Measures light absorbed.
      • Fluorine dating: Measures fluorine content in fossils/bones.

    Geologic Time Scale

    • A standard timeline for Earth's history.
    • Divided into eons, eras, periods, and epochs.

    Eras

    • Paleozoic (early life)
    • Mesozoic (age of dinosaurs)
    • Cenozoic (age of mammals)

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    Description

    Explore the various exogenic processes that shape the Earth's surface. This quiz covers weathering types, erosion mechanisms, and the impact of biological factors. Test your understanding of these crucial geological processes.

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