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