Chapter One- Geology

What does it mean that Earth's magnetic field is largely a dipole?

-It has two poles: North and South -North & South are at opposite ends of the geographic poles if you think of a magnet inside the interior of the earth

Describe the "red shift" and "blue shift" of the Doppler Effect

-Red shift= light source is moving AWAY from you; lower frequency -Blue shift= light source is moving CLOSER to you; higher frequency

What is the difference between absolute age dating and relative age dating?

-Relative compares the age of one event with that of another -Absolute determines the actual age of the event.

Describe how the Doppler effect works.

-The Doppler effect is the change in frequency that happens when a wave source moves either closer or further away -It depends on your perspective/location. -When something moves AWAY from you it has a LOWER frequency; when something moves CLOSER to you it has a HIGHER frequency

Why is the earth round?

-When a planet gets big enough and soft enough that gravity can smooth out irregularities and compress inward

How did the moon form?

-protoplanet collided with the Earth in the young solar system -debris was ejected and formed a ball/star

How old is the universe according to the Big Bang Theory?

13.7 billion years

What is the Big Bang Theory?

13.7 billion years ago a violent explosion occurred that scientists suggest represent the formation of the Universe; before this event, all matter and all energy were packed into one volumeless point. Hydrogen and helium were formed in the explosion, and eventually other elements formed

What is the Earth made of? (7 things)

3 M'S, VGRS "vip great rock study" -Minerals -Metals -Melts -Glasses -Rocks -Sediment -Volatiles

Nebulae

Atoms formed during the Big Bang collected into clouds of gas/dust, which, due to gravity, collapsed into the first stars.

How do temperature and pressure change with increasing depth in the Earth?

Both temperature and pressure increase with increasing depth. The rate at which the temperature increases is the geothermal gradient.

Which is thicker: oceanic lithosphere or continental lithosphere?

Continental lithosphere (150 km) while oceanic lithosphere (100 km). *continental b/c has more letters than oceanic

Fission vs. Fusion

Fission is splitting & fusion is combining (occurs on the sun)

What is the core of the Earth made out of?

Iron alloy

What is the difference between the asthenosphere and the lithosphere?

Lithosphere is relatively cool, rigid, contains crust and uppermost part of the mantle. Asthenosphere is soft, flows readily and lays beneath the lithosphere.

Does the crust float on a "sea of magma"? Is this a correct image of the mantle just below the Moho?

No it does not float on it- b/c mantle is not liquid it is solid it just can sort of bend which is why it could be confused as to why it is liquid. Moho is division between the crust and the mantle in the lithosphere technically.

What is the difference between oceanic and continental crust?

Oceanic crust is mafic while continental crust is felsic to intermediate.

Which comes first: planetesimals or protoplanets?

Planetesimals -> protoplanets -Planetismals= bodies whose diameter exceed about 1 km -Protoplanet= bodies approaching the size of today's planets

Formation of solar system according to nebular theory

Planets grow out of rings of gas, dust, and ice (nebulae) surrounding a newborn star. Denser materials sunk to the center of planets.

Sediment

accumulation of loose mineral grains (not stuck together)

Moho

boundary between the crust and the mantle

Volatiles

materials that easily transform into gas at low temperatures

Minerals, Metals, Melts

mineral=solid natural substance with aligned atoms metals= solid composed of metal atoms melts=solid materials transforming to liquid

Silica

most common minerals in Earth contain silica (silicon and oxygen combo)

Geothermal Gradient

rate of change in temperature with depth

Glasses

solid where atoms are arranged in irregular pattern

Where is the boundary between the lithosphere/asthenosphere found in terms of the location of the moho?

the boundary between the lithosphere/asthenosphere is found below the Moho. (beLOW-moHO