EESC1180 The Living Earth
Exam 1 Study Guide
Exam 1 will be a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions (true/false, fill-in-the-blank,
free response, etc.). It will cover Chapters 1-6, the Prelude, and Interludes A, B and D. All the class notes
are posted on Canvas. There are review questions at the end of each chapter of the textbook, specific
recommended questions are highlighting in the Modules on Canvas. Your homework assignments and
chapter quizzes are also available for review on Canvas.
This study guide is intended to give you a jumping off point to begin your reviewing.
Updated as-of 10/7, anything changed from previous upload is in italics

Intro to Earth Science (Prelude)
o Scientific method
o The Earth system

The Earth in Context (Chapter 1, Interlude D)
o Formation of the universe, Big Bang Theory
o Formation of the Solar system
o Formation of the Moon
o Interior Layers of the Earth
 Physical Layers
 Chemical Layers
o How do we know the interior of the Earth is layered?

Plate Tectonics (Chapter 2)
o Discovery of Plate Tectonic Theory
 Alfred Wegener
 Sea-floor Spreading
 The mechanism: Mantle Convection
o Plate boundaries types, stresses and features
 Convergent boundary
 Divergent boundary
 Transform boundary
o Examples of each boundary on Earth (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Peru-Chile Trench, etc.)

Minerals (Chapter 3)
o Definition of a mineral
o Types of bonds
o Mineral formation
o Common rock-forming minerals (silicates, etc.)
o Properties of minerals (luster, color, cleavage, etc.)
o Minerals with special diagnostic properties (calcite, magnetite, halite etc.)
o Other vocab terms (crystal, lattice, polymorph, etc)

Classifying Rocks (Interlude A)
o Definition of a rock
o Types of rocks
o The Rock Cycle

Igneous Rocks (Chapter 4)
o How and where melts form
o What contributes to a melt’s composition
o Felsic vs mafic igneous rocks and minerals
o Bowen’s Reaction Series
o Extrusive vs intrusive igneous settings
o Igneous features (lava flows, types of intrusions, xenoliths, etc.)
o Characteristics of igneous rocks (texture, composition, etc.)
o Common igneous rocks

Volcanoes (Chapter 5)
o Types of magma and melting
o Types of eruptions
o Types of volcanoes (including examples of each)
o Tectonic locations of melting and volcanoes
o Volcanic hazards

Sedimentary rocks, weathering and sediments (Chapter 6, Interlude B)
o Types of weathering
 Physical weathering
 Chemical weathering
o Types and classifications (clastic, chemical, etc.)
o Formation
 Weathering, erosion and transport
 Lithification
o Depositional environments
o Sedimentary structures (ripples, beds, etc.)
o Common sedimentary rocks