Earth Science Test #1 Study Guide

This study guide covers only the basics of the test; you will still need to study your textbook, power points, sketches,
labs, and quizzes.
This study guide is worth up to 10 extra credit points on test #1. To receive all 10 extra credit points, you study guide
must be complete, correct, and detailed in your responses.

NOTE: Questions are in no particular order

1. Sketch or describe all parts of the rock cycle.

a.
2. Define Plate Tectonics.
a. a scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth's
subterranean movements
3. What are the 2 types of seismic waves? How are they different?
a. Body waves and surface waves. body waves can travel through the Earth's inner layers, but
surface waves can only move along the surface of the planet like ripples on water
4. How does the rate of cooling of a molten igneous rock affect the resulting crystal sizes?
a. If the magma cools quickly, the crystals do not have much time to form, so they are very small. If
the magma cools slowly, then the crystals have enough time to grow and become large.
5. What is the difference between an anticline, syncline, dome, and basin?
a. In an anticline, rocks arch upward. A three-dimensional anticline is a dome. In a syncline, rocks
arch downward. A three-dimensional syncline is a basin.
6. Describe Earth’s Interior Layers.
a. Crust- strong, rocky layer; 5km-70km
b. Mantle- 82% of earth's volume, rocky, strong due to high pressures; strength increases with depth
due to pressure.
c. Core- divided into the inner and outer (liquid) core
d. -outer core-density of 9.9g/cm^3
e. -inner core-density of 13g/cm^3
f. --side note: Moho is the boundary between crust and mantle
g. -- D'' layer between lower mantle and outer core
7. Define Earth Science and all its components.
a. the fields of study concerned with the solid Earth, its waters, and the air that envelops it.
8. What is the age of the Earth?
a. 4.543 billion years
9. Define A. mineral, B. rock, C. ore, and D. gemstone.
a. Mineral-a solid inorganic substance of natural occurrence.
b. Rock- the solid mineral material forming part of the surface of the earth and other similar planets,
exposed on the surface or underlying the soil or oceans.
c. Ore- a naturally occurring solid material from which a metal or valuable mineral can be profitably
extracted.
d. gemstone-a precious or semiprecious stone, especially one cut, polished, and used in a piece of
jewelry.
10. Define silicate, and describe quartz, feldspar and mica.
a. silicate-a salt in which the anion contains both silicon and oxygen, especially one of the anions
SiO42−.
b. Quartz- a hard white or colorless mineral consisting of silicon dioxide, found widely in igneous,
metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is often colored by impurities (as in amethyst, citrine, and
cairngorm).
c. feldspar-an abundant rock-forming mineral typically occurring as colorless or pale-colored crystals
and consisting of aluminosilicates of potassium, sodium, and calcium.
d. Mica- a shiny silicate mineral with a layered structure, found as minute scales in granite and other
rocks, or as crystals. It is used as a thermal or electrical insulator.
11. Define carbonate (mineral). How do carbonate rocks form? List some common carbonates.
a. minerals that contain the carbonate ion, CO32-, as their basic structural unit
b. Detrital carbonate rocks are formed from the debris of limestone and shells,
c. calcium carbonate in the form of calcite.
12. Describe the differences between cleavage, fracture, streak, hardness and luster
a. Cleavage - The tendency of a mineral to break along flat planar surfaces as determined by the
structure of its crystal lattice.
b. Fracture is the property of a mineral breaking in a more or less random pattern with no smooth
planar surfaces
c. Streak is simply the color of a mineral powder.
d. Hardness is the resistance of a mineral to scratching
e. Luster is a physical property used by meteorologists to help identify minerals.
13. What are the 2 different types of A. Igneous Rocks B. Sedimentary Rocks
C.
Metamorphic Rocks? How are they different?
a. Igneous rocks are “fire-born,” meaning that they are formed from the cooling and solidification of
molten (melted) rock.
b. Sedimentary rocks are formed from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms.
c. Metamorphic rocks started out as some other type of rock, but have been substantially changed
from their original igneous, sedimentary, or earlier metamorphic form.
14. Define regional and contact metamorphism. How are they different? What is foliation?
a. Contact metamorphism is a type of metamorphism where rock minerals and texture are changed,
mainly by heat, due to contact with magma. Regional metamorphism is a type of metamorphism
where rock minerals and texture are changed by heat and pressure over a wide area or region.
b. Foliation refers to repetitive layering in metamorphic rocks.
15. Describe the difference between a scientific hypothesis, theory, and law.
a. A hypothesis is a researched and reasonable guess about why something happens. It needs to be
tested. A scientific theory is something that answers why and it has been tested repeatedly and has
so far always been true. A law is a mathematical statement that tells how something happens.
16. Describe Alfred Wegener’s ground-breaking theory. Give evidence in support of his idea. Why did the
scientific community not initially accept it?
a. Continental drift.
b. because the actual forces generated by the rotation of the earth were calculated to be insufficient to
move continents.
17. Define convection.
a. Convection is a way in which heat travels.
18. What are the 3 types of plate boundaries? Describe the type of motion that is occurring at each boundary.
a. divergent, convergent, and transform
19. What are the 3 different types of convergent plate boundaries? Describe the type of motion that is occurring
at each.
a. oceanic-oceanic, oceanic-continental, and continental-continental
20. How does the age of the ocean floor help prove plate tectonics?
a. The age of the ocean floor helps prove plate tectonics by providing evidence for seafloor spreading
and the movement of tectonic plates
21. Describe several differences between the lithosphere and asthenosphere. What is a tectonic plate?
 a. The lithosphere is the brittle crust and uppermost mantle.
b. The asthenosphere is a solid but it can flow, like toothpaste.
c. The lithosphere rests on the asthenosphere.
d. arge, irregularly shaped slabs of solid rock that make up Earth's crust and upper mantle, or
lithosphere
22. What & where is the Ring of Fire?
a. path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquake
23. What are the 3 types of volcanoes? Describe the differences between each type.
a. shield volcano, the cinder cone, and the supervolcano.
b. Shape and size
24. How is a hot spot different than most other volcanoes?
a. it does not originate from processes that produce the more common submarine volcanism that
occurs at boundaries of Earth's tectonic plates.
25. What are the characteristics of magma that create explosive eruptions?
a. high gas content and high viscosity
26. What are the differences between an earthquake epicenter and a focus?
a. Epicenter is the location on the surface of the Earth directly above where the earthquake starts.
Focus is the location in the Earth where the earthquake starts.
27. How is oceanic crust different than continental crust?
a. Oceanic crust is generally composed of dark-colored rocks called basalt and gabbro. It is thinner
and denser than continental crust, which is made of light-colored rocks called andesite and granite
28. What is a tsunami and how is it created?
a. giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea.
29. What is deformation? What is the difference between elastic, brittle, and ductile deformation?
a. Deformation is the result of stresses that change the shape of rocks
b. Ability of a material to undergo stress, deform, and then recover and return to its original shape
after the stress ceases.
c. Irreversible strain when rocks break in pieces in response to stress
d. shape change of a material through bending or flowing during which chemical bonds may become
broken but subsequently reformed into new bonds.