GEO 1000: Science in Cinema EXAM I - HW Sheets

What is the difference between a sill and a dike? (HW4 Volcanos)

Dikes: Vertical cracks Sills: Horizontal cracks

Name at least 2 natural 'warnings' that might indicate a tsunami is approaching a coastal area? (HW3 Tsunamis)

A large recession of water from the beach as if a low tide is occurring. A loud "ocean roar" similar to the sound of a large aircraft or train

What is a mid-ocean ridge? (HW1 Earths Interior)

A mid-ocean ridge is a region of space between two tectonic plates on the ocean floor. When these two plates diverge from one another, new crust will form from the magma rising between the plates. An example is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

About how often does a 100 m asteroid hit the Earth. (HW7 Impacts)

Around every 10000 years

Describe at least two ways that victims of the CE 79 eruption of Mt Vesuvius were killed. (HW4 Volcanos)

Asphyxiation from inhaling ash and many were buried under the sheer amount of debris released from these mountains.

What is the difference between an asteroid and a comet? (HW7 Impacts)

Asteroids are usually made up of metals and rock, whereas comets are mostly composed of ice

List three ways that solid hot rock can be melted to produce liquid magma. (HW4 Volcanos)

Heat the rock up, decrease the pressure the rock experiences, and add x amount of water and or gasses

What is a transform fault? (HW1 Earths Interior)

In simple terms, a transform fault is a tectonic phenomena when two plates are sliding past one another. A good example of this would be the San-Andres fault is California, where the western side of the state is moving north, and the eastern side is heading south.

For a tsunami wave that was 10 meters high in shallow water when it hit the coast, about how high was it likely to be when it was traveling over deep ocean? (HW3 Tsunamis)

It would only have minimum height when traveling over the ocean (only a few centimeters)

What information from Doppler weather radar helps weather forecasters identify supercell thunderstorms that may give rise to tornadoes? (HW5 Tornadoes)

Large updrafts happening inside a supercell

Briefly describe each of the three processes that lead to the formation of magmas? (HW4 Volcanos)

Magma rising upward increases the temperature around the rock, melting it to create magma. Pressure also decreases as the mantle rises up, and the introduction of water will make magma melt faster.

What is the difference between a meteor and meteorites? (HW7 Impacts)

Meteors disintegrate before they make contact with the earth's surface, whereas meteorites make contact with the surface of the earth.

Where is the most dangerous place to be during a tornado (based on the # of deaths that occur)? (HW5 Tornadoes)

Mobile homes

During that season of the year do tornadoes occur most frequently in the United States? (HW5 Tornadoes)

Most tornadoes will occur in the spring and summer months in the United States

List three places in the US where large amounts of lava have flowed onto the land. (HW4 Volcanos)

Mount Baker and Mount St. Helens in Washington, along with Lassen Peak in California

What are the two major types of dip-slip faults and how do they move? (HW2 Earthquakes)

Normal faults: The block of crust on the top moves downward, whereas the block of crust on the bottom moves upward, and since the crust grows in length, we can accommodate for extension. The faults in Utah are of this variety most of the time. Thrust faults: Otherwise known as reverse faults, the top crust moves up and the bottom crust moves down. This fault accommodates convergence as the surface shrinks in length.

Formation of the thunderstorm requires vertical lifting of air. Explain the three main mechanisms of air mass lifting that can trigger thunderstorms. (HW5 Tornadoes)

Precipitation forms rising air The release of heat causes further updrafts In environments with very little wind shear, these storms will thrive

What 5 factors influence the intensity of earthquake effects on people and buildings? (HW2 Earthquakes)

The distance from the hypocenter of the earthquake The size of the earthquake itself (although, while some earthquakes are weaker than others, that does not necessarily mean they will cause less damage) The type of geological materials the seismic wave travel through The population of the area The types of building practices used.

What is the downburst and why are they hazardous to airplanes? (HW5 Tornadoes)

The downburst is the strong wind system that flows downward, and they cause tailwinds for airplanes as they pass through said downbursts.

Which types of plate-boundaries produce earthquakes that are most likely to cause large tsunami? Why? (HW3 Tsunamis)

The earthquakes caused by thrust faults are usually the ones that cause tsunami, and rarely do tsunami occur from earthquakes caused by normal faults

What was the magnitude of the largest earthquake within the state of Utah during the past week? Using information from google, how common are earthquakes of this size (e.g., how many occur worldwide each year)? (HW2 Earthquakes)

The highest I could find was a magnitude of 2.4 18.6 kilometers down. And according to google, there are millions of earthquakes of a 2.4 or less every single year. CRAZY!!!

What is a subduction zone? (HW1 Earths Interior)

A subduction zone is a section of earth between two tectonic plates come together, where the older and denser of the two slides underneath the other and into the mantle. Most of the volcanic structures you see on land are located directly parallel to the boundary between two of these plates. Also, the most powerful seismic events (earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides) occur in these zones.

Why are intrusive rocks coarse-grained and extrusive rocks fine-grained? (HW4 Volcanos)

The rate at which these rocks are cooled dictates their crystalline structure. Extrusive rocks cool quickly, resulting in small crystals and thus a fine grain. Conversely, the intrusive cool slowly, so they have a coarse grain

What are three of the main causes of tsunami? (HW3 Tsunamis)

The three main causes of tsunami are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater landslides.

What is a caldera? Name at least two famous calderas in the USA. (HW4 Volcanos)

A large hole that forms after the magma chamber has been emptied, and are the sites of super volcanoes. Two famous calderas in the US are the Yellowstone caldera and the Valles caldera in New Mexico

What are the four chemically differentiated layers that make up the Earth (note that lithosphere and asthenosphere are strength varying layers, there are not chemically differentiated layers) (HW1 Earths Interior)

Crust, mantle, outer core, inner core

Briefly describe how earthquakes are generated by fault motion. (HW2 Earthquakes)

Earthquakes occur from elastic rebound. As stress builds up on either side of a fault, it will eventually slip and release said stress, causing the earthquake. This process is a continuous cycle, otherwise known as stick-slip behavior.

What is the difference between a shield volcano and a stratovolcano? (HW4 Volcanos)

Stratovolcanoes are generally tall, whereas shield volcanoes are wide.

What is the name of the region where the most common type of comets, long period comets, come from, and how many of these objects exist? (HW7 Impacts)

The Oort cloud, and there are millions upon millions of objects in this area

In what ways does silica percentage affect the behavior of a magma? (HW4 Volcanos)

The amount of silica dictates how thick or thin the magma is.

What is the name of the region where asteroids come from and where is this region located? (HW7 Impacts)

The asteroid belt, otherwise known as the Kuiper belt

What are the two types of seismic body waves and describe their wave motion? (HW2 Earthquakes)

The two main types of waves seismic waves are P-waves and S-waves P-waves: Primary waves, otherwise known as compressional or longitudinal waves, are waves that oscillate back and forth on the ground, and they are the fastest wave. S-waves: Secondary waves produce motion up and down in a vertical fashion, with an alternating transverse motion.

Describe two factors that control the violence or style of a volcanic eruption? (HW4 Volcanos)

The viscosity of magma flow and the content of the gas rising from the volcano will determine the amount of damage. Depending on the amount of trapped gas, the explosion could be extremely violent, and if the magma is thin, it will spread quickly giving less time for evacuation.

If you removed the Atlantic Ocean, why do the coasts of North and South America seem to fit together with the coasts of Europe and Africa? (HW1 Earths Interior)

This describes the theory of continental drift, which states that the continents shift across the surface of the earth along their tectonic plates. Essentially, the supercontinent Pangea has broken apart, and the remaining pieces are the continents we see in today's world. The coastlines are the areas where Pangea broke apart, which is why the coastlines seem to fit together.

List at least 3 differences between tsunami waves and normal wind-caused waves. (HW3 Tsunamis)

Tsunami are taller than regular waves (some up to the 10s of meters) Tsunami are faster than regular waves (10->500km) Tsunami have a longer wavelength than regular waves (>100km)