Geology final

The ___ division of the geologic time scale is an era of the Phanerozoic eon.

Paleozoic

All of the following are possible steps of scientific investigation except for

assumption of conclusions without prior experimentation or observation

A ___ is a well tested and widely accepted view that best explains certain scientific observations.

Theory

What best describes the fundamental concept of superposition?

any sedimentary deposit accumulates an older rock or sediment layers

Who was the highly influential, ancient greek philosopher noted for his writings and teachings on natural philosophy and on the workings of Earth?

aristotle

The ___ proposes that the bodies of our solar system formed at essentially the same time from a rotating cloud of gases and dust

astrosphere

___ a popular natural philosophy of the 17th and 18th centuries, was based on a firm belief in a very short geologic history for Earth

catastrophism

A ___ system is on in which energy moves freely in and out, but no matter enters or leaves the system.

closed

The currently accepted age of Earth is how old?

4.6 billion

Which observation and inference is consistent with the idea of uniformitarianism?

sand rolling along a stream bottom shows that sediment is moving downstream

___ rocks always originate at the surface of the solid earth

sedimentary

The ___ refers to the sum total of all life on Earth.

biosphere

What are the differences between the disciplines of physical and historical geology?

historical is the study of rocks, strata, fossils, geologic events utilizing the geologic time scale as a reference, and physical is the study of how rocks form and how erosion shapes land surface

___ rocks form by crystallization and consolidation of molten magma

igneous

In correct order from the center outward, Earth includes which units?

inner core, outer core, mantle, crust

Who was an important 18th century English geologist and proponent of uniformitarianism?

james hutton

The ___ forms the relatively cool, brittle plates of plate tectonics.

lithosphere

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, direct observations showed that a glacier in Switzerland flowed forward in the downhill direction while it's snout (terminus) was retreating higher up the valley? Which of the following explains these observations in a rational, scientific way?

the melting rate of ice in glacier exceeded the rate at which new snow and ice were added

Compared to the Age of Earth accepted as correct today, how did 17th and 18th century proponents of catastrophism envision the Earth's age?

they believed Earth to be much younger than current estimates

___ is often paraphrased as "the present is key to the past".

uniformitarianism

___ is the process by which rocks break down in place to produce soils and sediments.

weathering