Geology: Exam 1

Describe the Nebular Theory

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

Explain what makes water a polar molecule.

A water molecule has one positive end and one negative end.

The currently accepted age of the Earth is ________ years. A) 4.6 billion B) 4.6 thousand C) 6.4 million D) 6.4 trillion

A) 4.6 billion

The temperature below which magnetic material can retain a permanent magnetization is called the ________. A) Curie point B) Vine temperature C) Darcy temperature D) Bullard point

A) Curie point

The ________ proposes that the bodies of our solar system formed at essentially the same time from a rotating cloud of gases and dust. A) Nebular theory B) Heliocentric theory C) Big Bang theory D) Plate Tectonics theory

A) Nebular theory

________ is the dominant feldspar in basalt. A) Plagioclase B) Pyroxene C) Microcline D) Orthoclase

A) Plagioclase

The ________ is(are) a logical evolutionary analog of the African Rift Valleys ten million years from now. A) Red Sea B) San Andreas fault C) Peru-Chile trench D) Ural Mountains

A) Red Sea

The subduction of cold, dense oceanic lithosphere-a major driving force of plate motion-is known as ________. A) slab pull B) convection C) ridge push D) convective flow

A) slab pull

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern. A) trench B) craton C) shield D) mountain belt

A) trench

The father of plate tectonics is ______.

Alfred Wegener

The longest mountain chain in the world is the ______.

Andes

______ is the dominant lava erupted from volcanoes in The Andes and the Cascades.

Andesite

________ was the highly influential, ancient Greek philosopher noted for his writings and teachings on natural philosophy and on the workings of the Earth. A) Pappagapolis B) Aristotle C) Odysseus D) Nero

B) Aristotle

________ is thought to be common in the Earth's mantle but rare in the crust. A) Pegmatite B) Peridotite C) Pumice D) Granite

B) Peridotite

Pyroxene, hornblende, and biotite are all minerals found on the ________ series of Bowen's Reaction Series. A) continuous B) discontinuous

B) discontinuous

What are volatiles? A) the liquid portion of magma B) the gaseous components of magma C) ash particles D) silicate crystals in magma

B) the gaseous components of magma

Early results of the Deep Sea Drilling Project clearly justified the conclusion that ________. A) the oceans have not always contained most of Earth's water B) the ocean basins are relatively young; most ocean basin rocks and sediments are Cretaceous or younger in age C) the youngest sediments were deposited directly on the oldest seafloor basalts D) Proterozoic rocks are found only as seamounts in the deepest parts of the ocean basins

B) the ocean basins are relatively young; most ocean basin rocks and sediments are Cretaceous or younger in age

_______ is the dominant lava erupted from volcanoes on Hawaii and Iceland.

Basalt

How many neutrons are in its nucleus? A) 6 B) 21 C) 7 D) 14

C) 7

________ is the aphanitic or fine-grained equivalent of gabbro. A) Granite B) Rhyolite C) Basalt D) Diorite

C) Basalt

________, a popular natural philosophy of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, was based on a firm belief in a very short geologic history for Earth. A) Uniformitarianism B) Exoschism C) Catastrophism D) Ecospherism

C) Catastrophism

________ was an important eighteenth century English geologist and proponent of uniformitarianism. A) Isaac Newton B) James Ussher C) James Hutton D) Charles Lyell

C) James Hutton

All of the following are possible steps of scientific investigation EXCEPT for ________. A) the collection of scientific facts through observation and measurement B) development of observations and experiments to test the hypotheses C) assumption of conclusions without prior experimentation or observation D) the development of one or more working hypotheses or models to explain facts

C) assumption of conclusions without prior experimentation or observation

The ________ is not a part of the Earth's physical environment. A) atmosphere B) solid Earth C) astrosphere D) hydrosphere

C) astrosphere

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern. A) electron B) proton C) compound D) neutron

C) compound

In which type of chemical bonding are electrons shared between adjacent atoms? A) ionic B) subatomic C) covalent D) isotopic

C) covalent

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern. A) metamorphic B) igneous C) craton D) sedimentary

C) craton

At subduction zones, ________ portions of oceanic crust descend into the mantle. A) melted B) younger C) older D) less dense

C) older

The ________ is thought to be a liquid, metallic region in the Earth's interior. A) mantle B) lithosphere C) outer core D) inner core

C) outer core

The composition of the core of the Earth is thought to be ________. A) basalt B) granite C) solid iron-nickel alloy D) peridotite

C) solid iron-nickel alloy

Describe the difference between continental and oceanic crust.

Continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust

A ______ boundary forms and oceanic trench.

Convergent

Describe the differences between ionic and covalent bonding.

Covalent bonds share electrons whereas ionic bonds gain/ lose them

Describe the main difference between ionic and covalent bonding.

Covalent bonds share electrons whereas ionic bonds steal/ gain electrons

________ exhibit a sheet-like silicate structure. A) Feldspars B) Pyroxenes C) Carbonates D) Clays

D) Clays

________ refers to the removal and isolation of early-formed mineral grains that can cause the composition of the remaining magma to change. A) Magma mixing B) Assimilation C) Differentiation D) Crystal settling

D) Crystal settling

What is the smallest particle of matter that exhibits and defines the distinctive chemical characteristics of the individual elements? A) electron B) element C) compound D) atom

D) atom

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern. A) fossil evidence B) paleoclimates C) fit of the continents D) mantle plumes

D) mantle plumes

Which of the following crystallizes at the highest temperature? A) quartz B) potassium feldspar C) amphibole D) olivine

D) olivine

When gas bubbles escape as lava solidifies, a ________ texture is formed. A) fragmental B) glassy C) porphyritic D) vesicular

D) vesicular

A ______ boundary is where two plates are moving apart.

Divergent

_______ rocks are composed almost entirely of light colored silicates.

Granite

The Himalayas formed due to the collision of the ______ plate and the _____ plate.

Indian, Eurasian

An example of an ionic compound would be _____.

NaCl

The supercontinent that was present roughly 200 million years ago was named _____.

Pangea

What two components of magma make an eruption more violent when their concentrations are increased?

Pressure and Temperature

The four categories of geologic time are _____, _____, _____, and ____.

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Quaternary

The only mineral composed entirely of silica and oxygen is ______.

Quartz

The most famous transform plate boundary in the world is the _____.

San Andreas Fault

Which plate will be subjected along an oceanic- oceanic convergent boundary, and why?

The older plate will be subjected

Describe the difference between phaneritic and aphanitic texture.

The temperature in which the rock cools

A _______ is an open cavity in a volcanic rock that was filled by a gas bubble when the lava was still mainly liquid.

Vesicle

Explain why a theory can never be 100% proved.

We can prove things in our own solar system but we cannot prove that it is consistently right in the entire universeWE

Describe how we can use hot spots to track plate motion.

We can track the new development of volcanoes to see how plates are moving

Describe how we use the Bowen's reaction series.

We rank common igneous silicate minerals by the temperature at which they crystallize.

Explain why Alfred Wegener's continental drift theory was ultimately debunked.

Wegener couldn't find a mechanism that made the plates drift apart

The accepted age of the Earth is ______ years old.

`4.6 billion

Changing the composition of magma by incorporating the surround host rock is known as _____.

assimilation

The building blocks of all things are called _____.

atoms

The outermost layer of the earth is the _________.

crust

The hardest mineral on Earth is _______.

diamond

The majority of rock forming minerals are composed of _______ elements.

eight

There are _____ planets in the Solar System.

eight

A rock that cooled on the surface of the Earth is called ______.

extrusive

The group of minerals most abundant in the Earth's crust are ______.

feldspar

The. group of minerals most abundant in Earth's crust are ______.

feldspar

Obsidian has a _____ texture.

glassy

The Mohs scale measures the ______ of minerals.

hardness

The four spheres of earth are the ___, ____, ____, and ____.

hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere

The three major rock types are ______, ______, and _____.

igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic

The innermost layer of the earth is called the ______.

inner core

A rock that cooled within the Earth is called ______.

intrusive

Explain the difference between magma and lava.

magma is underneath the earths surface and lava is what magma is called once it reaches the earths surface

Plate motion is driven by heat from the ______.

mantle

The thickest layer of the Earth is the _____.

mantle

Define uniformitarianism

mechanisms of change are constant over time

Define decompression melting.

melting due to a drop in confining pressure that occurs as rock rises

The core is comprised almost entirely of _____ and ___.

nickel-iron alloy, iron

The three particles found in atoms are called ______, ______, and ______.

protons, neutrons, and electrons

The _______ denotes the color of a powdered mineral.

streak