Earth-Atmosphere Interface (ch. 9) – Flashcards
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Geomorphology
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Studies earth's surface landforms.
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Geology
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Studies all aspects of earth
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Three primary cycles composing the geologic cycle include
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Rock cycle, hydrologic cycle and tectonic cycle
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Earth's full history is represented in the
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Geologic time scale
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Boundaries between intervals of the geological time scale are determined by
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Major events in Earth's history, such as major extinctions
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Precambrian Eon
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83.3 percent of Earth's total history.
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The largest defined unit of the geologic time scale is an
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Eon
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Knowledge of Earth's interior is mostly derived from
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Indirect evidence involving the analysis of seismic waves
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The scientific study of rock strata (layers) is known as
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Stratigraphy
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Principle of Supposition
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Oldest strata will be at bottom of the sequence.
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Seismic waves
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Waves of energy caused by sudden breaking of rock within the earth or an explosion (earthquake)
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Earth's layers from surface to center
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Crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
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Outer core
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Where the electromagnetic waves come from
-Liquid
-Responsible for producing Earth's magnetic field
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Earth's inner core
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Solid iron in composition
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Mantle
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Lies between earth's sense, super-heated core and its thin outer crust
-Mantle is about 1,800 miles thick and makes up 84% of Earth's total volume
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Which layer contains greatest volume of Earth's interior?
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Mantle
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Three most abundant elements in Earth's crust
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Oxygen: 46% of Earth's crust
Silicon: 28 percent of Earth's crust
Aluminum: 8 percent of Earth's crust
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Earth's crust made up of ___ plates
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14
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Lithosphere
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Rigid crust and uppermost mantle
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Asthenosphere
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Partially molten
-Best described as plastic.
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Plate tectonics
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Theory that describes motion of Earth's lithosphere.
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Subduction
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-When plates collide
-Thickness of oceanic crust is less than continental crust.
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When oceanic crust and continental crust collide...
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Oceanic plate goes under the continental plate
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Basic component of rocks are
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Minerals
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Criteria for a substance to be classified as a mineral
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-Solid
-Inrganic
-Crystalline structure
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An assemblage of minerals bound together
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Rock
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Three main types of rocks
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-Sedimentary (layered)
-Metamorphic (chaotic)
-Igneous (coarse, clumpy)
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Igneous
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Rock type makes up approximately 90% of Earth's crust
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Molten rock beneath Earth's surface
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Magma
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Molten rock on Earth's surface
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Lava
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Granite
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Intrusive igneous rock
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Sedimentary rock
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Derived from bits and pieces of former rock
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Limestone formed from shells of marine organisms is an example of
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Biochemical sedimentary rock
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Limestone is a type of _______ rock
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Sedimentary
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Limestone forms when
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Broken fragments of rock are deposited in a water environment and are then cemented together
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A rock transformed from any other rock through extreme heat and/or pressure is referred to as
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Metamorphic
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Following processes can cause metamorphism
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-Pressure
-Heating
-Compression and shear
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Increasing temperature and pressure
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Make things hotter with more pressure.
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Continuous alteration of Earth materials one rock type to another is the
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Rock cycle
