Geology Questions and Answers PDF

Age of universe:13.7 billion years​ Solar system age:4.6-5 billion years. ​ What is the hypothesis for its formation?: the solar nebular hypothesis, gas and dust around the sun clump and form planets​ Five major steps in scientific method: form a question, hypothesis ,gather data, test, make a theor...

Age of universe:13.7 billion years​ Solar system age:4.6-5 billion years. ​ What is the hypothesis for its formation?: the solar nebular hypothesis, gas and dust around the sun clump and form planets​ Five major steps in scientific method: form a question, hypothesis ,gather data, test, make a theory​ Are theories ever proven using the scientific method? No. science can only disprove. A theory is the current best explanation for observed phenomena.​ What we see in the universe today with our instrumpets is only about 17% of the visible universe​ Today, stars and galaxies account for only 5% of the 17% universe seen by all instruments​ What happens to the matter in a supernova? Where does it go? Talk about what happens to the matter: ejected material gets shot out, the star either collapses into a neutron star, or forms into a black hole. Know how to read the hertzsprung-russell diagram: stars are ranked bottom to top by order of increasing brightness and decreasing magnitude, right to left by increasing temperature, and spectral class.​ How much % hydrogen and helium existed in the early universe? 75% hydrogen, 25% helium. What is the estimate of the number of galaxies in our universe? 2 trillion How close in light years is our sun to the next nearest star in the milky way galaxy? 4.25 light years away, proxima centauri.​ What will our galaxy collide with in the distant future? Andromeda galaxy, 4.5 billion years.​ Pair two parameters that can be used to plot a point on the H-R diagram: luminosity, temperature. ​ Gamma rays, visible light, microwaves, radio waves all belong to the energy continuum called: the electro-magnetic spectrum. How heavy is matter in a neutron star? Verbal description answer from book:​ A teaspoons worth of it would weigh millions of tons​ How strong is gravity on a neutron star? Verbal description answer.​ Two times that of the sun it originates from. Can we see inside a black hole? Why or why not​ No, its gravity is so strong it pulls in light.​ What is a solar flare? A sudden and intense burst of radiation from the sun. How old is our sun? 4.5 billion years old.​ How hot is the sun surface compared to areas of the sun where there are sunspots? ​ Hotter​ What makes up solar wind? Charged particles and radiation Name the two general categories that planets in our solar system are grouped into​ Jovian and terrestrial Where is the asteroid belt? Between mars and jupiter Four different kinds of meteorite​ Stony, stony iron, iron/nickel, Carbonaceous chondrite List three differences from the other planets that led to pluto being declassified as a planet​ Too small, has a elliptical orbit, not the biggest thing in its own orbit path​ Where is the heliosphere?​ 100 AU in all directions from the sun.​ List the proper alignment between sun, earth and moon for a solar eclipse to occur​ Sun, moon, earth in that order.​ Catastrophism says:​ All of earths features were formed quickly by great catastrophes​ Uniformitarianism says The physical, chemical, and biological laws that operate today have also operated in the geological past. List the four major principles of geology that are used for sequencing layered bedrock. Principle of superposition, original horizontality, cross-cutting relationships, inclusions.​ Sequenced beds give relative dating to the beds, unfortunately this only tells what is older or younger, but does not give a date in years old.​ In the periodic table, the letter Y stands for yttrium. What is a coprolite? Fossilized poop.​ Definition of a rock and a mineral:​ Rock: a solid mineral material that occurs naturally​ Mineral:a solid inorganic substance with a definite crystalline structure. ​ Be able to read a geologic time chart​ oldest at the bottom and youngest at the top Know the mineral groups and MOHS hardness scale and minerals Diamond, 10; Corundum, 9; Topaz, 8; Quartz, 7; Orthoclase, 6; Apatite, 5; Flourite, 4; Calcite, 3; Gypsum, 2; and Talc, 1.​ Know the mineral properties used to identify minerals hardness, density, cleavage, crystallography, electrical conductivity, magnetism, radioactivity and fluorescence. Know the types of bonding in minerals Ionic, covalent, or metallic bonding Know the rock cycle from the chart package Lithification, loose sediment turns into solid rock Metamorphism, existing rocks turn into different rocks with different properties Melting, heat and pressure melts it into magma Crystallization, cooling and solidification Weathering transportation, and deposition. Four spheres of geology for earth Atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere.