GEOL 101 Sec 250 - All Smartwork Questions Before Exam 1
At 100 km/hr, how long would it take to travel through the continental crust?
42 minutes
Up to what elevation can you live without needing supplemental oxygen?
5.5 km
At 100km/hr, how long would it take to travel through the (thickest) oceanic crust?
6 minutes
Describe the process by which oceanic lithospheric mantle forms.
As newly formed oceanic crust moves away from the ridge axis, the crust and the mantle directly beneath it gradually lose heat to the ocean above, forming lithospheric mantle.
Based on the geothermal gradient graph, what can be said about temperature and pressure within the Earth? Select all that apply.
Temperature increases with depth. At greater depths, the pressure is higher.
Which of the following best describes the geocentric model of the Universe?
The Earth is the center of the Universe, and the stars and planets rotate around it.
The time it takes for half of a group of radioactive isotopes to decay is called a(n)
half-life
A rock that forms from molten material is called _________ whereas a rock that forms from a preexisting rock and undergoes changes in heat and pressure is called ________.
igneous; metamorphic
Sediments
loose fragments of soil or weathered rock (igneous, metamorphic, or aedimentary) that has eroded away This can also include minerals precipitated directly from solution and biogenic means
Mafic
low silica, gabbro, and denser
Jupiter has 63 of them.
moons
What percentage of the Earth's radius does the thickness of the lithosphere represent?
no more than 1%
Which layer is responsible for the magnetic field?
outer core
Arc volcanoes form above the ___ plate
overriding
Researchers assumed that continents _________ fixed positions and that Earth's magnetic poles actually moved long distances over time.
remained in
Felsic
granite, high silica, and less dense
sedimentary rock
sediments that have been cemented together at or near the Earth's surface They cover about 80% of the surface
What does the solar wind consist of?
dangerous radiation
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The Four Sedimentary Rock classes:
1) Clastic: loose rock fragments (clasts) cemented together (example: sandstone, shale, siltstone, and breccias) 2) Biochemical: cemented shells of organisms (example: Limestone) 3) Organic: carbon-rich remains of once-living organisms (examples: fossiliferous limestone and coal.) 4) Chemical: minerals that crystallize directly from water (chert , chalk , evaporites like rock gypsum and rock salt, and coal.)
What are the stages of planet formation according to the nebular hypothesis?
1) Nebula formed from hydrogen and helium 2) Gravity pulled gas and dust inward to form an accretionary disk 3) Dust and ice participles began to stick together, forming planetesimals 4) More collisions led to protoplanets; proto Earth became round due to gravity 5) After Earth formed, it was hit by a protoplanet that ejected debris which then formed the Moon 6) Earth's atmosphere formed from volcanic gas
What is the approximate distance from Earth to the Sun?
150,000,000 kilometers
The International Space Station travels at 25,000 km/hr. How long would it take an object traveling that speed to go from Earth to the Sun?
250 days
At 100km/hr, how long would it take to travel through the mantle?
28.9 hours
At 100 km/h (62 mph), how long would it take to drive a distance equal to the thickness of the breathable atmosphere?
3.3 minutes
What percentage of the lithosphere is continental, and what percentage is oceanic?
30% continental, 70% oceanic
How does a planet differ from a protoplanet?
A protoplanet is a large, nonspherical body smaller than a planet.
Match the types of unconformities with their correct descriptions.
Angular Unconformity: an erosional surface that cuts across previously titled or folded underlying layers Nonconformity: sedimentary rocks overlie older eroded intrusive igneous rocks or metamorphic rocks Disconformity: paralle layers of sedimentary rock deposited on much older parallel layers of sedimentary rock
How does the crust of a continental shelf differ from the crust in a continent's interior?
Continental shelf crust is generally thinner and below sea level.
How are fracture zones oriented relative to the axis of a mid-ocean ridge?
Fracture zones run perpendicular to a mid-ocean ridge axis.
Label the parts involved in Earth's magnetic field.
From Left to Right (Based on where point A is): Solar wind, van Allen belts, Magnetic field lines, magnetosphere
Label the planetary orbits.
From closest to the sun (yellow center dot) : Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Why do astronomers use light-years to define distances between stars?
It is a convenient way to measure vast distances.
Donut-shaped ring of particles outside the orbit of Neptune
Kuiper Belt
Determine which properties go with which areas in the crust and upper mantle: Lithosphere, Oceanic Crust, Continental Crust
Lithosphere: composed of rigid upper mantle and crust Oceanic Crust: rocky layer composed of basalt, approximately 3-10 km thick Continental Crust: Layer composed of granitic rock; approximately 70 km at its thickest
How do lithospheric mantle and asthenosphere differ from each other?
Lithospheric Mantle: Rigid, part of tectonic plate, cannot flow, rocks coller than 1.280*C Asthenosphere: Can flow, Plastic, Sits beneath tectonic plates, rocks warmer than 1,280*C
Terrestrial
Mars, Venus, Earth, Mercury
Sort the following bathymetric features based on their typical depth.
Mid-ocean ridges: 2.2.5 km Abyssal Plains: 4-5 km
How can glass be distinguished from a mineral?
Minerals have a crystal form; glass does not because its atoms are not arranged in an orderly manner.
Could a planet like Earth have formed around a first-generation star?
No. First-generation stars formed from nebulae that had only elements 1 through 5 on the periodic table, whereas Earth's core is composed primarily of iron (26 on the periodic table).
According to the principle of fossil succession, do all individual species of organisms survive for all of geologic time after they first appear?
No; a particular fossil assemblage can be found only in a limited interval of strata and not in beds above or below that interval.
Why can radioisotopic dating methods be used to determine the numerical age of igneous rocks but not of sedimentary rocks?
Numerical ages of minerals in sedimentary rocks provide the age the minerals crystallized in their original rock.
Why are abyssal plains deeper than mid-ocean ridges?
Older lithosphere sinks down into the asthenosphere because it is thicker, colder, and denser than younger lithosphere.
Spherical layer of icy objects surrounding the Solar System
Oort Cloud
Imagine that you are a Greek philosopher living 2,000 years ago. If you were to lecture on the structure of the Universe to students, which of the following statements would help your students distinguish between stars and planets?
Planets move in complex paths independent of stars. Stars appear to revolve around a fixed point.
Jovian (Giants)
Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter
How do sediments differ from melts?
Sediments are loose, unconsolidated grains; melts are liquids that were derived from solids.
Label the layers of Earth's interior as understood before detailed seismic studies were conducted.
Starting from the bottom: Core, Mantle, Crust
Label the layers of the atmosphere.
Starting from the bottom: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere
What is the link between the observation that the Universe is expanding and the Big Bang theory?
The discovery that all objects in the Universe are spreading apart led to the idea that everything must have been together at some point and then began to expand. This idea is known as the Big Bang theory.
How does Earth's inner core differ from its outer core?
The inner core is solid; the outer core is liquid.
How does the lithosphere differ from the asthenosphere?
The lithosphere is rigid; the asthenosphere is plastic.
This photo shows the Crab Nebula, the remains of a supernova observed in 1064 C.E. It is 6,523 light-years from the Earth. Does this nebula contain any uranium?
Yes, because the Crab Nebula represents a supernova explosion whose extreme high temperatures allowed for the formation of heavier elements.
A material that can exist as a gas on the Earth's surface is called
a volatile.
Where does melting occur at a convergent plate boundary?
above the surface of the downgoing plate
A stratigraphic formation is __________.
an interval of strata composed of a specific rock type or group of rocks that together can be traced over a broad region
Located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
asteroid belt
Is the lithospheric mantle thicker beneath a mid-ocean ridge or beneath a continental shelf?
beneath a continental shelf
Icy objects that follow an elliptical orbit
comets
The surfaces that define the boundaries of a formation are called __________.
contacts
How was the geologic column developed?
correlating strata locality to locality at millions of places around the world
In what direction do the planets revolve around the Sun?
counterclockwise
In a continental rift, the lithosphere will
stretch and become thinner
Which of the following is not one of Earth's domains?
the Moon
Relative age describes __________.
the age of one geologic feature with respect to another in a sequence
What visible evidence illustrates the interaction between Earth's magnetic field and solar wind?
the aurora borealis
Which of the following best describes the habitable zone?
the distance from the Sun where temperatures range between 0°C (freezing) to 100°C (boiling)
An apparent polar-wander path for a continent represents ______________.
the movement of a continent relative to fixed magnetic poles
The principle that physical processes we observe today also operated in the past at roughly the same rates, and that these processes were responsible for the formation of geologic features that we now see in outcrops is called the principle of
uniformitarianism
