GEOL1001 Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

Prof. Garello Spring 2025 **Study Guide** **for** **GEOL1001 Exam 1** **All materials covered in the lectures are a need-to-know, unless stated on the slides. If you follow this study guide, you should be able to do well on the exam.** No notes, textbook, or other resources allowed while taking...

Prof. Garello Spring 2025 **Study Guide** **for** **GEOL1001 Exam 1** **All materials covered in the lectures are a need-to-know, unless stated on the slides. If you follow this study guide, you should be able to do well on the exam.** No notes, textbook, or other resources allowed while taking the exam. **For more information and instructions, see our course Moodle page Exam 1 section.** **Chapter 1: Understanding Science/Geology** - Why do we study geology? (Lecture 1, Jan 15 slides) - Know the scientific method as shown in class/textbook - Know what is a scientific theory and a hypothesis - What is the Law of Uniformitarianism and how geologist use it to help make interpretations - Know the difference between so you could be able to identify in examples: - observation compared to interpretation - subjective observation compared to objective observation - qualitative data compared to quantitative data - What major contribution did each of the following provide for modern geology: Nicolaus Steno, James Hutton, Charles Lyell, Alfred Wegener (Foundation of Modern Geology lecture slides) - Know what the Earth system is and be able to define the 5 spheres - What are reservoirs - What are transport pathways - Know the components of the hydrologic cycle discussed in lecture - Know the Earth's compositional layers, their order, and the differences between layers as mentioned in lecture - Know the difference between compositional layers and physical layers of Earth - Be able to identify the crust, mantle, lithosphere, asthenosphere, outer core, and inner core on a diagram - What are the three major rock categories and how they are each classified? - Know the rock cycle: major materials and processes - What is isostasy - Know the relationship between crustal thickness, density, and surface elevation - Know how the Earth's layers formed **Chapter 7: Geologic Time** - Know the correct order of PreCambrian Eon, Phanerozoic Eon, and the three eras of the Phanerozoic (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic) - How is relative dating different from absolute dating techniques that geologists use to reconstruct the timing of geologic events? - What are the key geologic principles of relative dating we went over in class? - Make sure to know their definitions not just the terms to help you be able to: - Apply the principle of cross-cutting relationships to determine the correct sequence from oldest to youngest in a figure - Figure out what relative principle would be best applied to determine the sequence of events in a figure. - Know the importance of radioactive isotopes - Know what the half-life of a radioisotope - Know the percentage of radioactive isotopes (parent atoms) that are left in a sample after: 1 half-life, 2 half-lives, 3-half-lives - What makes radiocarbon dating different from other radioisotope decay series such as U-Pb, K-Ar? Hint: we talked about the half-life and material that can be used for radiocarbon dating vs the other methods - What is the difference between body and trace fossils? - Which is indirect evidence of past life and which is direct evidence of past life? - What are the ways fossils can be preserved (fossilization)? - You may get a question like; which fossilization process is shown in this picture... - What are the three factors that help the chance of fossil preservation which we went over in class - What is stratigraphic correlation? - What are the correlation techniques we went over in lecture? - What do unconformities indicate in the rock record? - Know the differences between the three types of unconformities - You may be asked to determine what type of unconformity is shown in a picture. - What are the two main evidence for the formation of Earth crust in Earth's very early history? - What are the three lines of evidence that provide the age of the Earth? - What are the two main evidence suggesting that free oxygen began to accumulate in Earth's atmosphere during the Precambrian Eon? - Know when the Great Oxygenation Event and the Second Oxygenation event occurred. - What role did cyanobacteria have in the oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere? - Know the names of the three eras of the Phanerozoic eon - What organisms are the Precambrian and the three eras of the Phanerozoic Eon known for? - For example: Mesozoic is defined by the evolution of dinosaurs and first appearance of angiosperms (flowering plants) - What event defined the Precambrian Eon-Paleozoic Era boundary? - What is the Cambrian explosion? - For the Great Dying extinction and the K-T extinction: - Know what boundary is defined by each - Know which was the extinction of the dinosaurs and which was Earth's largest mass extinction. - Know the causes that led to the events - Know what are the two likely causes of the extinction of the last ice-age Megafauna during the Cenozoic - What was the importance of the development of the Antarctic circumpolar current in the Cenozoic? **CHAPTER 2** - Define Plate Tectonics Theory - Continental Drift hypothesis: - what evidence was proposed to explain the concept? - who proposed this hypothesis? - why was it rejected? - What are the magnetic stripes on the seafloor and how are they formed? - What role does Earth's outer core play in the formation of the alternating magnetic patterns? - What role did the discovery and understanding of these magnetic stripes play in the Plate Tectonics theory? - What are three lines of evidence for seafloor spreading and the age of the ocean crust? - How does the distribution of volcanism and earthquakes relate to plate tectonic boundaries? - Know the differences between a divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundary? - Their relative plate motion - Major defining characteristics/features associated with the different boundaries- like mountains, volcanoes, ocean trench, accretionary prism, rift valley... - How does magma (melting of mantle rock) is caused by subduction? - How does magma (melting of mantle rock) is caused in divergent boundaries? - What does subduction refer to in Plate Tectonics? - What is the Wilson Cycle? - What are the three mechanisms/drivers of plate tectonics? - At what scale do tectonic plates move on average in a year? - What are three lines of direct evidence for the direction and rates of plate movement mentioned in lecture? - What are hot spots? - How do they form? - How do they support plate tectonics? - What is the difference between Volcanic Island Arcs and Volcanic Island Chains?