Earth Science Midterm 1
Maturity (sedimentary rocks)
Combination of composition, sorting, and roundness
Neutrons
No charge/Neutral (in nucleus)
Mass Number
Number of protons + neutrons in atom (can differ in same element)
Atomic Number
Number of protons in atom
Theory
Principle formed to support data patterns
Sorting (clastic sediment)
Process where bigger sediments are deposited earlier in a river so that the end of the river is all tiny sediment grains
Rounding (clastic sediment)
Process where sharp corners are broken off of grains
Protons
positive charge (in nucleus)
Streak
Color of the mineral when powdered/smeared on streak plate
Pegmatitic igneous texture
Very slow cooling produces extremely coarse grained huge crystals
Pahoehoe
Very smooth/ropey lava that looks like flowing toothpaste
Flood basalts
extremely huge amounts of low viscosity mafic lava
Mohs Scale
1-10 scale to measure mineral hardness
Decompression melting
A decrease in pressure lowers a rocks melting temperature
Bowens reaction series
A diagram that shows how different minerals cool and crystalize at different temperatures
Sill (Volcano feature)
A horizontal intrusion of magma that flows between rock layers
Xenolith (Volcano feature)
A piece of foreign rock that gets incorporated into the magma chamber
Dike (Volcano feature)
A vertical intrusion of magma that cuts across existing rock layers
Metallic Bond
All of the atoms in a substance can share many electrons.
Hypothesis
Assumption made before testing has been done
Ionic Bond
Attraction between positively and negatively charges ions(atoms)
Luster
Describes the way a mineral reflects light (metallic vs non-metallic)
Quenched igneous rock
Extremely rapid cooling that produces a glassy texture
Light Silicates (nonferromagnesian)
Feldspars (Orthoclase/Plagioclase)
Pyroclastic rock texture
Fragmental
Vesicular igneous texture
Gas filled lava that cools as the gas escapes (rock bubbles)
Volatiles
Gases that easily come out of magma
Explosive eruptions
Higher silica and higher viscosity
Permeability
How easily water can drain through a rock
Porosity
How much space there is to store water within a rock
Shield volcanos
Huge , shallow volcanos (exclusively basaltic) (Hawaii)
Composite cone volcanos (Stratovolcano)
Large mountain sized volcanos (typically intermediate composition) (Mt. St. Helens)
Melt
Liquid part of magma
Hardness
Measure of a minerals resistance to scratching
Lava
Molten rock that cools at the surface
Magma
Molten rock that cools below the surface
Electrons
Negative charge (cloud around nucleus)
dark silicates (ferromagnesian)
Olivine, Pyroxenes, Amphiboles
Felsic (Granitic)
Quartz rich, lighter color, continental crust, low melt temp, high viscosity
Fine grained (aphanitic) igneous texture
Rapid cooling that produced small crystals
Crystal Form(Habit)
Refers to the minerals external geometry(shape)
Clastic rocks
Rocks formed by mineral grains bound together (classified by grain size)
Extrusive igneous rock
Rocks that form from lava at the surface
Intrusive igneous rock
Rocks that form from magma below the surface
Coarse grained (phaneritic) igneous texture
Slow cooling that produced large crystals
Flux melting
The addition of a fluid(flux) that lowers a rocks melting temperature
SiO4 Tetrahedron
The basic building block of all silicate materials
Color
The color of the rock (unreliable mineral indicator)
Nucleosynthesis
The creation of elements within stars
Magmatic differentiation
The process of partial crystallization of magma that changes the composition of the remaining magma
Lithification
The process that converts sediments into solid rock by compaction and cementation.
Cementation
The process where minerals/sediments crystalize together
Compaction
The process where sediments is squished together (loses water like a sponge)
Differential weathering
The process where softer rock gets eroded away and leaves harder rock exposed behind
Weathering
The process which degrades rocks without displacing them
Erosion
The process which rock particles are carried away by wind and water
Cleavage (vs Fracture)
The tendency(or lack) of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding
Batholith (Volcano feature)
The term for the magma chamber after it has cooled and crystalized
Cinder cone volcanos
Tiny gaseous magma volcanos (sunset crater)
Covalent Bond
Two or more atoms sharing an electron
Porphyritic igneous texture
Variable cooling that produces many sizes of crystals
Pyroclastic flow
Volcanic ash and debris that is shot upwards out of a volcano then lands and spreads down the volcano
Lahar
Volcanic mudflow that usually results from melted snow on a volcano
Intermediate (Andesitic)
a medium level of silica content, intermediate viscosity, medium melting temperature
Aa
broken jumbles of sharp lava fragments with rough edges
Specific Gravity
compares weight of mineral to an equal volume of water
Nucleus
contains most of the mass of the atom
Mafic (Basaltic)
lots of iron and magnesium, darker color, oceanic crust, high melt temp, low viscosity
Non-Clastic rocks
rocks that are formed from evaporation, precipitation, or biological processes (classified by chemical composition)
Volcanic neck (volcano feature)
the upper part of the pipe that connects the magma chamber to the top of the volcano