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104 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What are the sciences that make up Earth Science |
Geology Oceanography Meteorology Astronomy |
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4 spheres of Earth |
Hydrosphere (mass of water) Atmosphere (life-giving gaseous envelope) Biosphere (life on Earth) Geosphere (beneath the atmosphere and ocean) |
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How much of Earth is covered by water?
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71% of the Earth's surface is the ocean 29% is land |
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What is a hypothesis |
Construction of a tentative untested explanation |
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What is a theory |
When hypothesis has survived extensive scrutiny and when competing hypotheses have been eliminated |
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Sphalerite
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Zink Smells of sulfer Pale Yellow streak Rhombus cleavage Softer than glass: 4 Mineral - Dark Metallic |
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Magnetite
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Iron ore to make steel Harder than glass: 6 Mineral - Dark Metallic |
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Hematite |
Red-brown streak Iron ore Harder than glass: 5-6 Mineral - Dark metallic |
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Limonite |
Iron ore Softer than glass: 1-6 Mineral - dark metallic |
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Galena
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Dense mineral Lead Glittery/shiny/silvery Softer than glass: 2.5 Mineral - dark metallic |
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Graphite
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Pencil lead/lubricant Softer than fingernail: 1 Mineral - dark metallic |
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Pyrite
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Brassy yellow color Paler than gold (fool's gold) Harder than glass: 6 Mineral - dark metallic |
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Plagioclase Feldspar
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Light grey color Harder than glass: 6 Mineral - non metallic |
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Quartz |
Hardness kit: 7 Mineral - non metallic |
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Biotite Mica
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Black in color Softer than glass, harder than fingernail: 2.5-3 Mineral - non metallic |
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Augite
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Can get mixed up with hornblende Harder than glass: 5-6 Mineral - non metallic |
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Hornblende
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Can get mixed up with Augite Elongated cleavage Harder than glass: 5-6 Mineral - non metallic |
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Olivine
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Small glassy grains Harder than glass: 6.5-7 Mineral - non metallic |
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Garnet
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Conchoidal fracture Harder than glass: 6.5-7.5 Mineral - non metallic |
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Calcite |
Hardness kit - 3 Concrete for some rocks Mineral - Light |
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Gypsum |
In sheets Hardness kit - 2 Wallboard, plaster Mineral - Light |
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Halite |
Cubic cleavage Table salt Softer than glass, harder than fingernail: 2.5 Mineral - Light |
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Flourite |
Hardness kit - 4 4 directions of cleavage Toothpaste/steel manufacture Mineral - Light |
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Potassium Feldspar (Orthoclase)
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Salmon pink color (orange/pink) Hardness kit - 6 Mineral - Light |
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Muscovite Mica
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In thin sheets Bronze colored mica Insulator in electrical applications Softer than fingernail: 2-2.5 Mineral - Light |
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Talc |
Hardness kit - 1 Paint/cosmetic Mineral - Light |
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Bauxite |
Has balls in it Contains spherical particles Aluminum Softer than fingernail: 1-3 Mineral - Light |
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Obsidian
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Glassy texture Light color Conchoidal fracture Igneous Rock |
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Scoria |
Vesicular (contains voids) texture Intermediate to dark color Not dense Igneous Rock |
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Tuff |
Pyroclastic texture (fragmental) Light color Not dense Igneous Rock |
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Pumice
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Bubbly looking texture Light color Not dense Igneous Rock |
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Basalt
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Fine grained texture Intermediate to dark color Igneous Rock |
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Andesite |
Fine grained texture Intermediate color Igneous Rock |
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Rhyolite |
Fine grained Light (salmon pink) color Fine grained granite Igneous Rock |
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Diorite
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Coarse grained texture Intermediate color (Dalmatian color) Has hornblende in it Igneous Rock |
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Gabbro
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Coarse grained texture Intermediate to dark color Looks like fine grained Igneous Rock |
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Granite
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Coarse grained texture Quartz and orthoclase minerals in it Igneous Rock |
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Conglomerate
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Rounded rocks in it Quartz and orthoclase composition Fizzes a little Sedimentary Rock |
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Breccia
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Angular rocks in it No fizz Sedimentary Rock |
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Quartz Sandstone |
Medium sand texture Quartz, with thermatite in it (turns red) No fizz, but with limonite cementing it can fizz a little Sedimentary Rock |
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Fossiliferous Limestone
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Fizzes
Shell imprints/fragments Sedimentary Rock |
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Crystalline Limestone |
Fizzes Mixed with fine to coarse grain for texture No fossils; have been crystallized Sedimentary Rock |
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Chert |
No fizz Smooth conchoidal fracture hardness: 7 Sedimentary Rock |
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Chalk |
Fizzes a lot Soft, fine grained Sedimentary Rock |
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Siltstone |
No fizz (some a little) Quartz and clay composition Fine grained silt/mud (feels gritty/soft) Metamorphic |
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Coquina |
Fizzes Made up of shells packed together Sedimentary Rock |
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Arkose |
No fizz Quartz and orthoclase pieces in it Medium - sand texture Angular Fragments Sedimentary Rock |
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Shale |
Very fine texture (clay/mud) May contain fossils Fizzes a little black, red, and green are most common colors Sedimentary Rock |
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Igneous rock |
Forms as magma or lava and cools and crystallizes |
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Sedimentary Rock |
Begins with weathering Then gravity uses erosion agents to remove the products of weathering and carry them to a new location Sediments may become lithified or "turned to rock" |
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Metamorphic rock |
Rocks produced from preexisting igneous, sedimentary, or even other metamorphic rocks |
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Bowen's Reaction Series for Igneous Minerals: The name of the left side of crysyallization and what minerals are in each composition type |
Discontinuous Series Ultramafic = Olivine Mafic = pyroxene and amphibole Intermediate = biotite mica Felsic = potassium feldspar, muscovite mica, and quartz |
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Key to identifying igneous rocks |
By texture Fine or coarse grained porphyritic vesicular glassy pyroclastic |
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What causes high explosive eruptions |
High silica Dissolved gasses Water |
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Rocks associated with explosive erruptions |
Pyroclastic (fragmental) textured rocks Ejected particles might be very fine ash, molten blobs, or large angular blocks torn from the walls of a vent during an eruption |
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Lahar |
Large composite cones that may generate a type of fluid mudflow |
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Caldera |
(cooking pot) large steep-sided depressions with diameters that exceed 1 kilometer across |
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Dike |
Discordant bodies that cut accross bedding surfaces or other structures in the country rock |
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Sill |
Nearly horizontal and concordant bodies that form when magma exploits weakness between sedimentary beds and other structures |
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Laccolith |
Igneous rock forcibly injected between sedimentary strata so as to arch the beds above while leaving those below relatively flat |
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Scientific Method |
The process where researchers gather facts through observations and formulate scientific hypotheses and theories Explanation that is not mathematically proven |
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Minerals that make iron ore (3) |
Magnetite Hematite Limonite |
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Bowen's Reaction Series for Igneous Minerals:
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Ultramafic (peridotite/komatiite) (comp of the mantle) Mafic (gabbro/basalt) Intermediate (diorite/andesite) Falsic (granite/rhyolite) |
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Bowen's Reaction Series for Igneous Minerals: Name of right side of crystalization and minerals in it |
Continuous Series of Crystallization Plagioclase Feldspar (calcium rich) Felsic = potassium feldspar, muscovite mica, and quartz (sodium rich) |
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Bowen's Reaction Series for Igneous Minerals: Temperature at high and low |
High: ~1200 degrees Celsius Low: ~750 degrees Celsius |
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What is a good source of fresh water |
Freshwater found underground and in streams, lakes, and glaciers Not ocean |
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What is the term Blue Planet used for? |
AKA Blue Marble Water makes up more than anything else on Earth |
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Quartzite |
Quartz sandstone Non-Foliated Medium to coarse grain size Metamorphic |
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Marble |
Limestone/dolostone (fizzes a little) Non foliated medium to coarse grain size Metamorphic |
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Serpentine |
Mafic or Ultramafic Non Foliated Fine grain size Metamorphic |
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Slate |
Shale or siltstone Foliated Very fine (clay) grain size Metamorphic rock |
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Schist |
Micas Foliated Medium to coarse grain size Metamorphic |
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Gneiss |
Shale, schist, granite, or volcanic rock Foliated Medium to coarse Metamorphic |
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Anthracite |
Bituminous coal Non-foliated Fine grain size Metamorphic |
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Where do you find things that are part of the biosphere |
Most life on land are found near the surface |
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Layers of Earth (Chemical Composition) Starting from middle and out |
Core (iron and nickle) Mantle (high density rock) Crust (low density rock) |
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Layers of Earth (physical properties) Starting from middle and out |
Inner core (solid) Outer core (liquid) Lower mantle (solid) Upper mantle (solid) |
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Hydrologic Cycle |
One familiar look of when the Earth's system has a nearly endless array of subsystems in which matter is recycled over and over |
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Characteristics of a Mineral |
Naturally occurring Generally inorganic Solid substance Orderly crystalline structure Definite chemical composition that allows for some variation |
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Cleavage |
The tendency of a mineral to break (cleavage) along planes of weak bonding |
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Streak |
The color of a mineral in powdered form |
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Luster |
The appearance of quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral |
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Hardness |
Resistance of abrasion of the mineral |
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Tenacity |
A mineral's resistance to breaking, bending cutting, or other forms of deformation |
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What is basalt made of |
Primarily composed of pyroxene, olivine, and plagioclase feldspar |
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Minerals that exhibit good cubic cleavage |
Sphalerite and galena |
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Cubic cleavage |
When there are 3 plains of cleavage intersecting at 90 degrees |
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Which mineral is the most common found in the crust of the earth |
Upper crust has an average composition of a granitic rock called granodiorite Feldspars Rock forming minerals |
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Fracture |
Minerals that have chemical bonds that are equally, or nearly equally, strong in all directions |
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What is the most unreliable property of light colored non metallic minerals |
Slight impurities in the common mineral give it a variety of colors |
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What are three agents for Metamorphism |
Heat
Confining pressure and differential stress Chemically active fluids |
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Intrusions |
AKA plutons Structures that result from the emplacement of magma into preexisting rocks Largest intrusive igneous body |
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What igneous structures make up the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California |
granite |
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Two types of basalt flows |
Pahoehoe: resemble twisted braids of ropes Aa: Surfaces of rough, jagged blocks with dangerously sharp edges and spiny projections |
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Which volcanic hazard is most dangerous to people |
Ash |
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What are two dominant minerals found in granite or rhyolite |
Quartz Potassium feldspar |
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2 categories of metamorphic rock |
Foliated: nearly flat arrangement of mineral grains or structural features within a rock (streaks in the rock) Non-Foliated: typically develop in environments where deformation is minmal and the parent rocks are composed of minerals that have a relatively simple chemical composition, such as quartz or calcite |
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Scistocity |
Describes the texture of a rock regardless of composition Aligned mica flakes |
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Slaty cleavage |
Aligned clay plates or microscopic mica flakes Breaks with slaty cleavage |
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Composition of Sedimentary Rocks |
Clay minerals Quartz Calcite Evaporite minerals Altered plant fragments |
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When sedimentary rock is subject to metamorphism, what does it form into? |
Metamorphic rock |
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Detrital Sedimentary Rocks |
May originate as solid particles from weathered rocks, such as igneous rocks Particles are called detritus |
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Chemical or Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks |
Derived from minerals (ions) that are carried in solution to lakes and seas |
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Strata |
AKA Beds Sedimentary rock layers Rocks form at Earth's surface, and as layer upon layer of sediment accumulates, each records the nature of the environment at the time the sediment was deposited |