Study guide for test

The formation of a mineral (e.g. calcite) via biologically-induced precipitation is the result of which process?

biomineralization

The Hawaiian Islands are thought to have been formed at a ____________.

mantle plume/ hot spot

A divergent boundary is a boundary between two plates that __________.

move away from each other

All minerals are __________

naturally occurring

Is opal a mineral?

no

Rocks having same magnetism as the present magnetic field exhibit _______________________________.

normal polarity

What is the definition of the asthenosphere?

Solid, but "plastic" region of the upper mantle

Which is the thinnest physical (mechanical) layer of the Earth?

Lithosphere

In which layer of Earth does the convection necessary for plate motion occur?

Mantle

The number of protons in the nucleus, which is characteristic for a particular element, is that element's ____________________________

atomic number

What property of the crust allowed it to form as the exterior of Earth?

Materials that make up the crust are less dense and rose to the top

If the temperature in the Earth generally increases with depth, how is it possible that the inner core is a solid?

The pressures in the core are immense and keep it in a solid state in spite of the high temperature

Approximately how old is the oldest oceanic crust?

180,000,000 years

Which scientist developed the Continental Drift hypothesis?

Alfred Wegener

Which element is the minerals diamond and graphite made of?

Carbon

Which best explains why identical Mesosaurus fossils are found on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean?

Continental Drift

________________ is thick (30 - 75 km), old (up to 4,400,000,000 years), composed of felsic (granitic) silicates, light (~2.7 g/cm3), and is highly deformed by folding.

Continental crust

______________________________ describes the formation of new minerals directly from the elements within existing minerals under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure.

Metamorphism

The supercontinent in the Continental Drift hypothesis was called ___________

Pangaea

What statement best describes the difference between a rock and a mineral?

Rocks are aggregates of minerals.

Harry Hess' theory of __________ explained how ocean crust is generated and destroyed

Seafloor Spreading

What was Marie Tharp's contribution to geology?

She mapped the ocean floor and discovered a huge (rift) valley in the center of the (previously discovered) mid ocean ridge

What was the main reason the Continental Drift hypothesis was rejected?

The scientist who proposed it could not provide a mechanism for the movement of the continents ("the how?")

True or false. Earth's magnetic field occasionally reverses its polarity.

True

~13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang created the _____________ from a point source.

Universe

Divergent boundaries are places where:

all of these basaltic lava erupts from volcanoes shallow focus earthquakes occur new ocean lithosphere is created

An atom that loses or gains electron(s) and has a net electric charge is called ______________________________

an ion

The kind of bonding characterized by the sharing of electrons is _____________________________

covalent

The lithosphere is made up of the upper-most mantle and the ____________________________

crust

Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges and is associated with __________________________________ plate boundaries.

divergent

What provides us with the most information about the interior of the Earth?

earthquake vibrations (seismic waves)

When did geologists develop the theory of plate tectonics?

in the 1960's

The Red Sea is an example of:

initial rifting of a continent

Why is there an elevated intraplate earthquake risk for portions of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois?

it's the site of an ancient continental rift

The ________________________________ is Earth's strong, rigid outer layer.

lithosphere

Basaltic rocks contain ___________________ (Fe3O4), an iron-rich mineral influenced by Earth's magnetic field.

magnetite

Ocean floor sediments become ________________________________________ as you move further away from a mid ocean ridge.

older and thicker

The only layer of the Earth that is a liquid is the

outer core

When magma/lava cools and solidifies, minerals form. This is the process of ______________________________

solidification

__________________ are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion.

striations