Study Guide for Geology 10 Exam I
Disclaimer: This does not cover it all. The information on this page may or may not be on the midterm. The
midterm may cover material not on this page. Knowing this does not guarantee success on the midterm.
Intro to Geology: definition of geology, examples of surface or external processes and internal
processes, why do people study geology, list 7 or 8 careers in geology.
Mineralogy: mineral definition, all physical properties of minerals; what they are, how they work, how
they are used, how you might define them.
Basic Chemistry Introduction: know what matter is and the 3 basic types, define atomic number
and atomic mass. Know what all these are: ions, cations, anions and isotopes. Know the general
characteristics of bonding (ionic, covalent and metallic) and give some examples of each.
History of Mineralogy: Theophrastus, “On Stones”, Pliney the Elder, Georgius Agricola; what did he
do, “De Re Metallica”
More Mineralogy: Know all the nonsilicate families we talked about and examples of each. Know
your nonsilicate minerals from the trays / examples of each family. List the ferromagnesian and
nonferromagnesian minerals. Which ones are polymorphs and which ones are isomorphs?
Define polymorph, isomorph, list examples. What are Albite and Anorthite, Orthoclase, Microcline and
Sanidine? Know the silicate configuration and the ration of Si to O for each of the silicate minerals in the
Silicate Mineral Lab Trays. Understand the differences between Neso, Soro, Cyclo, Ino, Phyllo and Tecto
Silicate minerals.
Igneous Rocks and Activity: What are some general characteristics of igneous rocks, what are some
famous historic volcanic blasts? Define crater, caldera, pyroclastic. Know how volcanoes are classified
and what are the various types (Shield, Composite, Cinder or Tephra Cones). Give examples of each.
What are fissure flows (aka flood basalts) and where are some places where this occurs?
How are igneous rocks classified? Define felsic, intermediate, mafic and ultramafic and give examples,
both deep intrusive and extrusive of each. Know the mineral makeup of all igneous rocks we studied.
Practice the igneous rock chart and describe general trends of K, Na, Ca, Mg, % SiO, density, color; left
side vs right side (felsic vs mafic)
Go over shallow and deep intrusive bodies. Define Sill, Dike, Laccolith, batholith, xenolith. What are two
hypotheses that describe the origin of batholiths?
What is meant by magmatic differentiation by fractional crystallization? Define Bowens Reaction Series /
diagram Bowen’s Reaction Series showing all minerals and silicate configurations. What is the
relationship with silicate minerals and rates of chemical weathering?
Sedimentary Processes and Sedimentary Rocks: Define weathering, erosion, clastic,
lithification, friable. List several depositional environments. List several types of clastic sedimentary
rocks and several types of nonclastic organic and inorganic sedimentary rocks. Know the difference
between clastic and nonclastic sedimentary rocks. What are diatoms, forams and radiolarians and what
types of rock do they eventually form?
Define: Stratigraphy, formation, member, contact, type locality, facies. What is the difference between a
transgressive and regressive sequence of sediments. What is Walter’s Law? Describe some examples of
how this works.