Name_________________________________________
Study Guide, Quarters One and Two
1. Write a question that can be tested. For example: Does calorie intake affect weight gain
in gerbils? Scientific questions must be able to be tested!
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2. What is the purpose of a hypothesis/Why do scientists use them?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. Write a hypothesis. For example: If I increase my gerbil’s calorie intake, then he will
gain weight. Make sure it is an IF/THEN statement.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Why do scientists use the scientific method?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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*Don’t forget that all hypotheses must be testable and able to be proven or disproven.
They are used to find relationships between observable phenomena (Things that we see
going on in the world, like why are the rocks in Sedona red?) or to explain what we see.
(The rocks in Sedona are red because they have a high iron content.) This is a testable
question because we can test the rock and see what it is made of.
5. If you were a geologist, what are some items/things that you would need to keep you
safe? Circle them. Closed toe shoes/sunscreen/safety goggles/pen/hard
hat/notebook/clip board.
o
o
o
o
fingernail (hardness = 2.5)
copper penny (hardness = 3)
glass plate or steel knife (hardness = 5.5)
steel file (hardness = 6.5)
6. A mineral will scratch topaz. What number must the mineral be at the least?
________________________________________________________________________
7. A mineral can be scratched by quartz, but the same mineral will scratch calcite. What
numbers must this mineral be between?
________________________________________________________________________
8. Based on the above information, is this true? A penny will scratch gypsum, but not
fluorite. Yes/no_____________ Why? _________________________________________
9. Minerals that are above an 8 on the hardness scale, colorful and rare are called what?
________________________________________________________________________
10. Define:
Alloy____________________________________________________________________
Ore_____________________________________________________________________
Gemstone_______________________________________________________________
11. What are the following and what do they measure? (Mass, length, etc)
Triple beam balance_______________________________________________________
Graduated cylinder________________________________________________________
Beaker__________________________________________________________________
Spring scale______________________________________________________________
12. What do the following stand for & what do they measure? (length, weight, mass,
volume?)
mL_____________________________________________________________________
m______________________________________________________________________
mm_____________________________________________________________________
g_______________________________________________________________________
13. Describe the following rocks/minerals and tell if they are a rock or mineral.
Obsidian_________________________________________________________________
Quartz__________________________________________________________________
Coal____________________________________________________________________
Magnetite_______________________________________________________________
14. Describe the following:
Foliated: A rock that has a layered structure.
Foliated metamorphic______________________________________________________
Intrusive igneous__________________________________________________________
Extrusive igneous__________________________________________________________
*What type of the above rocks will have large grains due to slow underground
cooling?
________________________________________________________________________
15. How does the rate of cooling affect the size of the grains? Faster cooling=less time for
the grains to form. (Think back to the crystals we grew in class and how fast they grew
based on how quickly they cooled.)
Intrusive_________________________________________________________________
Extrusive________________________________________________________________
16. Explain how the following rocks are formed:
Sedimentary_____________________________________________________________
Igneous _________________________________________________________________
Metamorphic____________________________________________________________
Don’t forget the rules below:
THE LAW OF ORIGINAL HORIZONTALITY
This law of science tells us that dirt, mud, sand and other sediments are almost always
deposited in horizontal layers. As these sediments stack up, they often harden, forming
rock layers.
THE LAW OF SUPERPOSITION
Rock layers are usually ordered with the oldest layers on the bottom, and the most recent
layers on top. The Law of Faunal Succession explains that fossils found in rock layers are
also ordered in this way.
17. What layer was deposited first? Top/middle/bottom? (Circle one) How do you know
this?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
18. If there was a volcanic eruption between two of the above layers, what would that do to
the rocks and the fossil record?
________________________________________________________________________
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19. What would that eruption do the climate and the organisms living on the surface of the
Earth?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
20. Describe the layers of the Earth:
Crust___________________________________________________________________
Mantle__________________________________________________________________
Inner core _______________________________________________________________
Outer core_______________________________________________________________
Lithosphere______________________________________________________________
Asthenosphere___________________________________________________________
21. Compare and contrast the components of earth's inner and outer cores.
Inner core_______________________________________________________________
Outer core_______________________________________________________________
22. Identify the stages of erosion and deposition. Define the following:
Weathering______________________________________________________________
Erosion__________________________________________________________________
Transportation____________________________________________________________
Deposition_______________________________________________________________
23. Identify how plants affect the rate of erosion. Do they slow it down or speed it up?
Why?
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
24. Describe what is going on in this picture. Remember, convection drives the movements
of plates.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Where do convection currents occur?
_______________________________________________
25. . How could erosion affect the fossil record?
________________________________________________________________________
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26. When scientists study fossil records, they see that tropical fossils can be found in nontropical environments. How can this happen?
________________________________________________________________________
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27. Why do plates in the lithosphere move?
________________________________________________________________________
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Label the pictures with the proper plate movement.
28. What evidence did scientists like Wegner have that the plates moved?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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*Hint-fossils, rock layers, sea floor
29. Identify/describe these types of volcanoes based on how they are formed.
Cinder__________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Shield___________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Composite_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
30. Define the following things related to earthquakes:
Describe the waves, which one is fastest and what they travel through:
P Wave__________________________________________________________________
S Wave__________________________________________________________________
Surface Wave_____________________________________________________________
Seismograph_____________________________________________________________
Richter scale_____________________________________________________________
What does a seismograph measure __________________________________________
What is this?__________________________________________
31. How does plate movement affect the following landforms? How does the movements of
the plates make these landforms?
Folded mountains_________________________________________________________
Faults___________________________________________________________________
Rift Valleys_______________________________________________________________
Volcanoes_______________________________________________________________
Deep oceanic trench_______________________________________________________
32. What type of plate movement formed the Himalayas?
__________________________________
Hint: Ocean-ocean? Ocean-continent? Continent-continent?