Review for Final Exam
Notes: The final exam will cover all of the material since the last exam. The exam will
also cover important information from the first exam, so it is a good idea to go over
notes from earlier in the quarter. The exam will include mainly multiple choice
questions, a few fill in the-blank, and maybe a diagram or two.
Topics
Geologic Time
 Know the difference between relative and absolute dating
 What is the stratigraphic record?
 Know the stratigraphic rules and laws we discussed:
o Superposition
o Original Horizontality
o Inclusions
o Cross-cutting relations
o Lateral continuity
o Unconformities
 There are 3 types!
o Faunal succession
 How do we use fossils in stratigraphy? What is an index fossil?
 Understand how radiometric dating works and know the basic concepts (halflife, parent + daughter isotopes)
 Given a basic sample analysis of a rock, be able to calculate the age of the rock
using the above method (just like was shown in the class lecture notes)
 What are the problems with radiometric dating?
 What is the geologic time scale? Know how it is structured (eon, era, etc.)
Geologic Structures
 Know the types of deformation (ductile, brittle, elastic) and the forces involved
(compression, shear, extension)
 Know the structures that result from different combinations of the above
 Understand the various components of folds and faults
 Know the 2 types of folds (anticline, syncline) and 3 types of faults (normal,
reverse, strike-slip)
 Be able to recognize different types of folds and faults in a diagram
 Be able to recognize if a fold is upright or plunging on a map
 Domes and basins = circular structures resulting from ductile deformation
 Understand what strike and dip is and what it tells us
Earthquakes and Tsunamis
 What is an earthquake?
 What’s the difference between focus and epicenter?
 What are the different types of waves involved in an earthquake?
 How do we measure and record earthquakes?
 What are the different scales used in quantifying earthquakes (Richter, Mercalli,
Moment Magnitude) and how do they differ?
 Where are most earthquakes occurring on Earth?
 What is a tsunami? How does a tsunami form? (what generates tsunamis?)
Weathering and Mass Wasting
 Know the two types of weathering: physical and chemical, and how they work.
 What is soil? What are the components of soil
 Why is soil important to society?
 How is physical weathering different from chemical weathering?
 How do we classify mass wasting events?
 Know how these mass wasting events are different: Slump, Creep, Rockslide,
Rockfall, Debris flow, Earth flow, Mud flow, and Lahar
 Terms to know
o Angle of repose
o Turbulent/Laminar flow
o Subsidence
Water
 Know the four largest reservoirs of water on the earth (oceans, etc.)
 Understand the hydrologic cycle, its components and how it works
 What is a drainage basin?
 What is a drainage divide?
 What are the important factors in stream flow that determine velocity?
 Know these terms and be able to use them: floodplain, oxbow, channel, meander
 What is a flood? What is recurrence interval?
 How does urbanization affect flooding?
 Know these terms and be able to use them: unsaturated zone, saturated zone, water
table, unconfined aquifer, confined aquifer, aquitard, discharge and recharge.
 What is the difference between porosity and permeability?
 Know what factors affect porosity and permeability in an aquifer.
 What is an aquifer?
 Know the difference between a confined aquifer and an unconfined aquifer.
 What is a cone of depression?
 Why does subsidence occur?
 What is saltwater intrusion and why does it occur?
 What is karst? How is it related to groundwater? How do caves form?
1. What is a sinkhole and why does it happen?
Glaciers and Climate Change
 What are some natural causes of climate change?
 What are Milankovitch Cycles?
o Know the three variations in the Milankovitch Cycles:
 Eccentricity (shape) of orbit
 Change in axis tilt (obliquity)
 Precession (wobbling of the axis)
o Why do these changes in Earth’s orbit affect climate?
 What is the greenhouse effect? Be able to describe what is happening.
 What are some of the present-day climate issues? Why are they happening?
 Why are increasing concentrations of CO2 an issue?
 What are some of the potentially negative outcomes associated with climate
change/global warming?
Energy and sustainability
 What is a fossil fuel? What are the 3 types of fossil fuels?
 What are some environmental issues associated with fossil fuels?
 What is ecological overshoot and how is it associated with population?
 What can YOU do to live more sustainably? Why should you?