Unit 1: introduction to geology lecture note guide
When was the first star born?
800 million years after the big bang
How did earths moon form?
A mars sized protoplanet slammed into earth. The debris from the planet accreted
Hydrosphere
All the water on earth
Hypothesis
An explanation made with limited evidence
How do galaxies form?
By stars running out of fuel and exploding By nebula material coming together in an accretionary disk
How do we know what earths structure is
By using the seismic waves caused by earthquakes
What does the solar nebula theory specifically explain?
Due to gravity a nebula cloud will collapse into a flattened disk and begin to spin. Heat will radiate outward allowing for cooling and condensing of gases at the center of the disc with enough collapse, a star is born
Geo
Earth
What allows us to have an atmosphere
Earths gravity force
Homogeneous
Evenly distributed
Cyrosphere
Frozen water on earth
Jovian planets
Gas giant planets ; outer planets Jupiter, saturn, uranus, Neptune
What is an example of a scientific law ?
Gravity
What generates earths magnetic field?
Hot spinning metals
Terrestrial planets
Inner planets; smaller rocky bodies Mercury, venus, earth, mars
The core
Iron rich nickle core
What happens when a star runs out of fuel?
It dies by collapsing in on itself, and then explodes in what is called supernova
Outer core
Liquid
What is responsible for igniting a star?
Nuclear fusion reactions involving hydrogen & helium occurring in a protostar
Observation
Observing something in order to gain information
How was the atmosphere created
Outgassing from volcanoes erupting in earths early days
What is an example of a theory in geology ?
Plate tectonic theory
What materials make up solar systems?
Primordial gases leftover from the big bang in the guts of dead stars
What does the magnetic field do for the planet?
Protects the earths surface
Differentiation
Speration of materials by density Terrestrial planets had differentiated by 4.56 GA
Scientific Law
Statements based on repeated experiments or observations , that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena
Logos
Study of
Geothermal gradient
Temperature increases with depth
How did Earth Form ?
The Big Bang Theory
How do we study geology
The Scientific Method
What is geology?
The Study of the Earth
Make a hypothesis based off the observation listed above
The apple hits the ground when it fails from the tree
Lithosphere
The crust and upper most solid mantle
The solar nebula theory
The forming of stars
Asthenosphere
The lower mantle
gyrosphere
The rocky portion of the planet
The mantle
The thickest layer
The crust
The thinnest and outermost layer of the planet
What is unique about first generation stars?
They are larger, burn hotter, and run out of fuel faster than other stars
How do heavier elements form is any type of concentration
They form as a byproduct of fusion reactions, also known as stellar nucleosynthesis
Give an example of an observation
Watching an apple fall from a tree
Stellar nucleosynthesis
When heavier elements form as a byproduct of fusion reactions
What 2 factors influence an object's gravitational attraction ?
distance mass
External Processes
driven by energy from the sun * Wind causes Weathering and erosion of rocks - reshapes earth's surface features
internal processes
driven by heat inside the earth * Plate movement Causes mountain building volcanism etc.
What does the Big Bang Theory specifically explain ?
everything is moving away from a central point the Universe expands from a central point
Biosphere
part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere
Inner core
solid
Theory
system of ideas intended to explain something
Why is studying geology important ?
• minerals are in everything we use and everything around us . Geologists are in charge of finding these minerals and their purposes . • Geology plays a major role in daily life
