Study Guide – Geology 104
Scientific Method
Steps of the scientific method from flow chart in power point
 observation
 hypothesis
 predictions and testing (experimentation)
 acceptance/modification of hypothesis
Attributes of the Scientific method (repeatable, unprejudiced, falsifiable)
The process used in following the scientific method
Why Intelligent Design is NOT considered a scientific theory by scientists
The accepted age of the Earth
Minerals
Defining characteristics of a mineral (inorganic, naturally occurring, solid, crystalline
structure, chemically unique)
Identifying properties of a mineral (e.g. luster, hardness, cleavage, etc)
Composition of the Silicate Ion
The most abundant mineral group
Factors that control the shape and size of a well-formed crystal
 rate of cooling (controls size)
 space to grow (controls whether crystal is well-formed)
Why coal, and oil are/are not considered minerals
Identifiable minerals by color:
 potassium feldspar
 olivine
Identifiable mineral by shape – calcite
Identifiable mineral by hardness scale – gypsum
Rocks
3 main categories of rocks
The Rock Cycle
difference between magma and lava
Criteria used to classify igneous rocks – texture, mineral composition
Textures – coarse-grained vs. fine-grained
Why crystal size determines origin of igneous rocks
difference between plutonic (intrusive) and volcanic (extrusive) igneous rocks
identifiable igneous rocks by crystal size
 volcanic (crystals too small to see) – basalt
 plutonic (large crystals) – granite
how sediment is lithified
common types of sedimentary rocks: shale, sandstone, limestone
identifiable sedimentary rocks – sandstone, shell limestone
what is metamorphism
what factors cause metamorphism
identifiable metamorphic rock - quartzite
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Plate Tectonics
Alfred Wegener’s observations supporting Continental Drift
Differences between Plate Tectonics and Continental Drift
Features of divergent, convergent, transform fault boundaries
Layers of the Earth and their features, based on physical properties
 lithosphere (includes both crust and upper mantle)
 asthenosphere
 mesosphere (lower mantle)
 core (inner and outer)
Sea floor spreading
 where it is occurring in the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean
 where it is occurring on land
Subduction
 oceanic – continental
 oceanic – oceanic
What happens when 2 continental plate boundaries converge
the difference between ocean crust and continental crust
San Andreas Fault and what tectonic plates are separated by it
Earthquakes
Definition of an earthquake
How rocks store elastic energy
What causes the release of the energy
Difference between P and S waves
How to use P and S waves to find the epicenter
What is S-P interval
how to read a seismogram to find S-P interval
How to use S-P graph to find distance to epicenter
Where Earthquakes are most likely to occur
how a seismograph works
How to find Earthquake magnitude using the Richter Nomogram
Differences between Richter and Moment Magnitude
Volcanoes
3 processes that generate magma in the asthenosphere
Where volcanoes are most likely to occur
Where is the Ring of Fire
Differences between shield cones, cinder cones and composite cones
The difference between granitic and basaltic magma; including composition and origin
what is a caldera
what is a dike, sill, batholith
Identifiable volcanoes – from the presentations
Oceans
Ocean crust and continental crust (differences)
Why ocean floor is so young compared to continental rocks
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Origins of the Earth’s ocean waters
Remote sensing methods for the ocean floor
Tides
Properties of surface currents, gyres
Thermohaline Circulation (deep water currents)
Atmosphere
composition of modern atmosphere
how a barometer works
properties of the troposphere, temperature, density changes w/ altitude
the dew point
Energy
specific heat capacity of water vs land
latent heat – energy released when water condenses
Solar Energy (radiation)
shortwave radiation vs longwave radiation
the difference between solar radiation and atmospheric gases!
Earth’s interaction with solar radiation – the difference between absorption and reflection
Weather
Air lifting mechanisms: orographic lifting, frontal wedging, convection-convergence
Air cooling mechanisms: adiabatic cooling, contact cooling, radiation cooling
How % saturation and relative humidity change with temperature
conditions for condensation and rain
warm, moist air
lifting mechanism (or other method of cooling
condensation nuclei
Storm surge
Climate Change
Global Warming – observation that the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface is warming, without
implications for cause or magnitude.
Greenhouse Effect – term which refers to the way in which some gases in the atmosphere trap
heat in the same way as a greenhouse,
Greenhouse Gases: CO2, water vapor, methane, and to a lesser extent, chlorofluorocarbons
(CFC’s) and ozone.
Methods of studying Global Warming
 Instrumental temperature measurements (using thermometers, rain gauges, barometers
etc) since about 1860, shows mean annual surface air temps have risen about .5 deg C
(almost 1 degree F) since then.
 Paleoclimatic data – can indicate climatic changes in the context of the last several
centuries to the past millennia
Paleoclimatology - the study of past climates, those that existed before humans collected
instrumental weather data.
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Proxy Climate data – environmental data taken from natural recorders of climate variability. If
you can reliably date the material in question, you can use it to match climate changes with time
periods in the recent and not-so-recent past.
Oxygen Isotope Analysis - based on the ratio between O16(common) and O18 (heavy).
 Glacial ice composed of snow that originated as water vapor from world ocean.
 Warmer global temperatures cause more O18 to evaporate than colder temps
 Warmer global temps mean ocean is relatively depleted of O18 (since more of it
evaporated
 Ice cores – increase in O18 indicates warmer temps
 Coral reefs - O2 source is the ocean - decrease in O18 indicates warmer temps
Other proxy climate data
 Amount of CO2 in gas bubbles trapped in ice cores
 Sediments, Fossil pollen, in lakes or in the ocean
 Tree rings
 Historical documents
 Rocks and their fossils
Other issues
 what is a fossil fuel. Some examples
 why can global warming trigger global cooling
 Climate change through geologic time
 how photosynthesis affects carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere
 consequences of global warming
 Kyoto Protocol
Earthly and Heavenly Motion
heliocentric and geocentric models
apparent retrograde motion of planets
constellations
The North Star
Aristotle’s support of geocentric model
Copernicus – proposes heliocentric model
Kepler – elliptical orbits
Gallileo – defense of heliocentric model
Consequences of Earth’s rotation about its axis, (e.g. day, night,)
Consequences of Earth’s revolution or orbit around the Sun, (e.g. seasons, when we see
constellations etc.)
Consequences of Moon’s revolution or orbit around the Earth ( e.g. why the moon rises
later each evening)
phases of the Moon
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