General Earth Science Overview
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Questions and Answers

What is the process that disintegrates or breaks rocks apart without changing their chemical composition?

Mechanical weathering

What kind of weathering is caused by the expansion and contraction of rocks due to successive heating and cooling?

Block disintegration

What is the process that causes many rocks to break due to the repeated freezing and melting of water within a small narrow crack or space in the rock surface?

Frost wedging or freeze-thaw

What is the process of wearing away of rocks by constant collision of loose particles?

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

What kind of weathering is caused by plants and animals, including humans?

<p>Biological Activity</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of weathering is the breakdown of rock by acidic water to produce clay and soluble salts?

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

What is the process of combining water with carbon dioxide to make carbonic acid?

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

The thinnest layer of the Earth is the mantle.

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

What is the thickest and largest layer of Earth, composed of very hot, dense rock?

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

What is the outer core of the Earth composed of?

<p>Melted metals nickel and iron</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main reason why the interior of the Earth is hot?

<p>Heat from when the planet formed and accreted</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of heating is caused by denser core material sinking to the center of the planet?

<p>Frictional heating</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the process of decomposing of natural radioactive elements, particularly uranium, which produces heat and helps sustain the Earth's temperature?

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

Magma is molten material beneath or within the Earth's crust from which metamorphic rocks are formed.

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

What is the process by which magma gets out through the crust and crystallizes as an intrusive igneous rock beneath the Earth's surface?

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

What kind of rock is formed as a result of magmatism?

<p>Igneous rock</p> Signup and view all the answers

Rocks melt at a single temperature.

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

Wet melting occurs when minerals or rocks, with no carbon dioxide or water in them, are heated to a specific temperature.

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

The temperature at which wet melting occurs decreases with increased pressure or depth initially.

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

A partial melt can occur with both wet and dry melting of rocks, but cannot occur with minerals.

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

What is the process by which magma is transferred from the mantle to the lithosphere through convection currents?

<p>Hot-spot volcanism</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the two main igneous processes that form igneous rocks?

<p>Volcanism and Plutonism</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the resistance to flow of magma?

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

High viscosity magma flows very rapidly.

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

Rift zones are areas where the volcano is erupting or ejecting lava.

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

Basaltic magma is formed through wet partial melting of the mantle.

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

Rhyolitic magma is formed as a result of dry melting of continental crust.

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

What is the process that creates and arranges rocks into the current landscape, driven by heat concealed within the Earth's interior?

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

What kind of intrusion is defined as an intrusion that formed at depths of less than 2 kilometers?

<p>Shallow intrusion</p> Signup and view all the answers

Xenoliths are fragments of rock that have been incorporated into another type of rock.

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

What is an intrusion of magma that wells up from below the surface?

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

Non-explosive eruptions are favored by low gas content and low viscosity magmas.

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

Explosive eruptions are favored by high gas content and low viscosity magmas.

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

What are the solid particles that result from explosive eruptions and cool as they fall through the air?

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

Hawaiian eruptions involve high-viscosity basaltic magma.

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

Strombolian eruptions involve distinct blasts of andesitic to rhyolitic magma.

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

What type of eruption occurs when magma contacts shallow groundwater?

<p>Phreatomagmatic eruption</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of eruption occurs when magma encounters shallow groundwater and groundwater flashes to steam?

<p>Phreatic eruption</p> Signup and view all the answers

Metamorphism is the change that takes place within a body of rock as a result of it being subjected to conditions that are the same as those in which it formed.

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

What type of metamorphism occurs when magma comes in contact with an already existing body of rock?

<p>Contact metamorphism</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of metamorphism occurs over a much larger area, caused by large geologic processes like mountain building?

<p>Regional metamorphism</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of metamorphism occurs along fault zones during tectonic movement?

<p>Dynamic metamorphism</p> Signup and view all the answers

Metamorphic rocks typically have the same mineral assemblages and textures as their parent rocks.

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

Metamorphic changes typically occur in the temperature range of 100-400 degrees Celsius.

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

Uniform pressure acts vertically downwards, squeezing rocks and potentially leading to folds and a foliated texture.

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

Chemically active fluids play an important role in metamorphism, providing a medium for chemical reactions and inducing compositional changes in surrounding rocks.

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

The presence of magma is not essential for metamorphism to occur.

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

What is the process by which rocks are bent or crumpled, forming folds?

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

Folding typically occurs deep in the Earth's crust, where rock behavior is brittle.

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

What is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock, along which the opposite sides have moved relative to one another?

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

What type of fault occurs when the block above the inclined fault moves down?

<p>Normal fault</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of fault forms when the hanging wall moves up?

<p>Reverse fault</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks?

<p>Thrust fault</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of fault occurs when two blocks slide past one another?

<p>Transcurrent or strike-slip fault</p> Signup and view all the answers

A left-lateral strike-slip fault occurs when the left block moves toward you and the right block moves away.

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

What type of fault combines strike-slip and dip-slip components of movement?

<p>Oblique-slip fault</p> Signup and view all the answers

Myonites are rocks with fine-grained, cohesive, aligned minerals caused by shearing.

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

What is an ultrafine-grained glassy-looking fault rock formed by the frictional melting and rapid solidification of rocks during seismic faulting?

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

What is the process in which tectonic plates split apart from each other, resulting in the creation of new seafloor?

<p>Sea-floor spreading</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the process by which molten materials rise, causing sideways spreading of the seafloor?

<p>Seafloor spreading process</p> Signup and view all the answers

The mid-ocean ridge is a feature found at the center of divergent boundaries.

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

What are the two types of continental margins?

<p>Passive or Atlantic type and Active or Pacific type</p> Signup and view all the answers

Abyssal plains are extremely flat sediment-covered ocean floors, interrupted by occasional mostly extinct volcanoes called seamounts.

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

What is the process by which tectonic plates move toward each other, resulting in the destruction of crust?

<p>Convergent boundary</p> Signup and view all the answers

Convergent boundaries are characterized by the creation of new seafloor.

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

What type of convergent boundary occurs when an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate?

<p>Oceanic-continental convergence</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of convergent boundary occurs when two oceanic plates collide?

<p>Oceanic-oceanic convergence</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of convergent boundary occurs when two continental plates collide?

<p>Continental-continental convergence</p> Signup and view all the answers

Transform boundaries are characterized by the creation of new crust.

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

Transform faults are common along oceanic ridges, where they create zigzag plate margins.

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

What is the process by which magma from the mantle upwells through cracks in the crust, creating new seafloor?

<p>Divergent boundary</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a central valley that forms at the summit of oceanic ridges, where molten materials continuously flow out, pushing seafloor away?

<p>Rift valley</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the process by which tectonic plates slide horizontally past one another, creating zigzag plate margins and shallow earthquakes?

<p>Transform fault boundary</p> Signup and view all the answers

Subduction zones are formed by divergent boundaries.

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

What is one principle mechanism that drives the movement of tectonic plates?

<p>Mantle convection current</p> Signup and view all the answers

What mechanism is when newly formed, warm oceanic plates at ridges have higher elevation, pushing them away from the divergent boundary?

<p>Ridge push</p> Signup and view all the answers

What mechanism is when older, colder plates sink at subduction zones, pulling the rest of the plate behind due to increased density as they cool?

<p>Slab pull</p> Signup and view all the answers

Convection currents occur only in the Earth's mantle.

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

Asthenospheric currents act like conveyor belts, moving the overlying lithosphere, with hot rock rising and eventually sinking back to the core.

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

The Proterozoic Eon is known as the age of visible life.

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

What is the process of physical and chemical breakdown of rocks?

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

What is the process of removal of sediments from their sources?

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

What is the process by which sediments are transported via water or wind?

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

What is the process by which sediments settle due to decreased energy?

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

What is the process by which sediments are lithified into sedimentary rocks?

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

Sedimentary rocks are always stratified.

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

Stratigraphy is the study of igneous rocks.

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

What is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil, or igneous rock that was formed at the Earth's surface?

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

What is the general term for layering in sedimentary rocks?

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

What is the term for layering in sedimentary rocks that are greater than 1 cm thick?

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

What is the term for layering in sedimentary rocks that are less than 1 cm thick?

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

Sedimentary rocks are always deposited in horizontal layers.

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

Cross-bedding is common in fluvial or aeolian deposits, where layers are at an angle to the main bedding plane.

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

What is the systematic change in grain or clast size across the bed, which is commonly observed in sedimentary rocks?

<p>Graded bedding</p> Signup and view all the answers

Geologic events leave evidence in the stratified layers of sedimentary rocks, providing insights into the past environment.

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

What is determining the age of something compared to something else, using words like "older" or "younger"?

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

What is determining the actual age of something, using methods like radiometric dating?

<p>Absolute dating</p> Signup and view all the answers

Isotopes are elements that have the same number of neutrons but different numbers of protons.

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

What are unstable isotopes that decay over time called?

<p>Radioactive isotopes or parent isotopes</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the time it takes for half of a radioactive isotope to decay?

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

Radiometric dating is used to determine the actual age of rocks and minerals using the decay of stable isotopes.

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

Radioactive isotopes are only accurate if the mineral containing them has remained a closed system since its formation.

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

The Earth’s history is recorded in its rocks, and the rock record is complete and accurate.

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

The Precambrian Era is considered as part of the Phanerozoic Eon.

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

The Phanerozoic Eon is divided into three eras: Mesozoic, Paleozoic, and Cenozoic.

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

Index fossils are used in the formal structure of geologic time to define eons, eras, and periods.

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

The boundaries of some subdivisions in the geologic timescale are defined by the mass extinction events.

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

The Mesozoic Era is known as the “Age of Mammals”.

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

The Cenozoic Era is known as the “Age of Mammals”, which started with the appearance of land mammals and ended with the extinction of the dinosaurs.

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

The Hadean Eon was considered as the ‘chaotic eon’ because it was a time of immense heat and volcanic activity.

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

The Archean Era is the period of Earth’s history that saw the formation of the first continents, the beginning of tectonic activity, and the development of the oceans.

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

The Proterozoic Eon was a time of major evolutionary changes, including the oxygenation of the atmosphere, the rise of eukaryotic life, and the emergence of multicellular animals.

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

The Paleozoic Era was characterized by the rise of reptiles, including dinosaurs, and the emergence of mammals.

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

The Mesozoic Era was characterized by the rise of mammals and the transition of some reptiles to mammals.

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

The Cenozoic Era is marked by the emergence of modern life, with the development of modern horses, birds, deciduous trees , and a diversity of mammals.

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

All fossils can be considered as index fossils.

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

Index fossils are used to define geologic time periods.

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

Index fossils are exclusive to certain regions and are not found widely distributed.

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

Index fossils have a relatively long geologic time range.

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

Index fossils can indicate the age of sedimentary rocks, but not igneous rocks.

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

The process of fossilization is often rapid, and only organisms that are buried quickly can be preserved as fossils.

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

Trilobites are a good example of index fossils, as they were common in the Paleozoic Era and had a wide geographical distribution.

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

Microscopic fossils are often used to determine the age of very fine-grained rocks, such as shales and mudstones.

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

The geologic time scale organizes Earth’s history into a hierarchical framework, ranging from the smallest units, ages, to the largest units, eons.

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

The Phanerozoic Eon is the eon of hidden life.

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

Study Notes

General Earth Science Study Notes

  • Earth Science is the study of Earth's physical structure, processes, and history.
  • Earth science encompasses various interconnected disciplines, including geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy.
  • Earth science examines the formation, composition, and processes of Earth.
  • Earth science utilizes scientific methods to investigate natural phenomena and patterns.

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Explore the fundamental aspects of Earth Science, including its various branches such as geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy. This quiz delves into Earth's physical structure, processes, and history while utilizing scientific methods. Test your knowledge of the earth's formation, composition, and natural phenomena.

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