Geology Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

**Exam 1 Study Guide (February 17th)** **50 Multiple Choice Questions** **[Module 1 -- What is Historical Geology?]** - **What is Historical Geology?** - Earth's origin and development through time looking at the record of past events - **What is paleontology?** - What...

**Exam 1 Study Guide (February 17th)** **50 Multiple Choice Questions** **[Module 1 -- What is Historical Geology?]** - **What is Historical Geology?** - Earth's origin and development through time looking at the record of past events - **What is paleontology?** - What is a molecular fossil? - **What is a hypothesis?** - An idea or proposition whose truth or falsehood is not initially known - **For an endeavor to be scientific, it needs to have repeatable observations** - **How old is Earth?** - \~4.56 billion years old - **How old is the Universe?** - \~13.7 billion years old **[Module 2 -- Principles of Geologic Time]** - **Know the definitions for the principles of geology** - Superposition - Lateral continuity - Original horizontality - Cross-cutting relationships - Fossil succession - **What is the difference between relative ages and numerical ages?** - **What does Uniformitarianism mean?** - The present is the key to the past - **Know the 3 types of unconformities** - Disconformity - Nonconformity - Angular unconformity - How do you recognize them in diagram form? - Which unconformity represents the most missing time? - Nonconformity - **Know how to tell the sequence of events through looking at a cross section** - We completed two examples in class, and one was in your HW - *This cross section will be on the exam -- try to figure out the sequence of events* - **The geologic time scale was first developed using what kind of dating?** - Relative (the geologic time scale) - **What is the definition of correlation?** - Linking rock formations from many different places over a long distance - **Fossil succession is biostratigraphy** **[Module 3 -- Measuring Deep Time]** - **Who created the first geologic map of Great Britian?** - William Smith - **Eras are split into periods which are split into epochs of time** - **What are the two parts of the atom?** - Orbiting electrons and nucleus (protons and neutrons) - **What is a half-life of a radioactive isotope?** - The time required for one half of a population of parent atoms to decay - **Zircons are the mineral that are used to age date rocks of extremely old age** **[Module 4: The Rock Cycle]** - **What are the 5 criteria for being a mineral?** - Naturally occurring - Inorganic - Solids - Defined crystalline structure - Definite chemical composition - **What are the observations to help determine a mineral's identity?** - Color, luster, cleavage/fracture - Know how to identify quartz, pyrite, calcite, halite, feldspar - Which of these will react to acid? - **What chemical bond is the strongest?** - Covalent - **What are the most abundant elements in the Earth's crust?** - O, Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Na, K, and Mg (in order from most abundant to least of the most abundant) - **What is the building block of all silicate minerals?** - Silica tetrahedron - **What group of minerals make up more than 90% of Earth's crust?** - Silicates - **What is magma? What is lava?** - Magma is deep in the crust; lava reaches the surface of the earth - **Know igneous rock texture** - Phaneritic, Aphanitic - **Know igneous rock compositions** - Felsic, Intermediate, and Mafic - **Know the kinds of minerals in the rock names and how much silica content** - Granite, Basalt - **What is a sediment?** - Sediments are loose fragments of rocks or minerals, shells and shell fragments, or mineral crystals that precipitate out of water. - **What is the process in which sediment becomes compacted and cemented?** - Lithification - **What is a metamorphic rock?** - Rocks that have undergone change - **What is a protolith?** - The "parent rock" that undergo changes in texture and mineral content - Ex. Limestone Marble