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EARTH SCIENCE – FINAL REVIEW – MS. BELL
Chapter 5 – Minerals
The mineral property that is illustrated by the peeling of mica into thin, flat sheets is cleavage.
A native mineral is an element on the periodic table that occurs naturally as a mineral. Ex: Copper
The mineral property that is determined by scratching a mineral against a glass plate is hardness.
Color is the property of a mineral that is least useful when identifying minerals.
A silicate always contains silicon and oxygen.
The 5 characteristics of a mineral are: occurs naturally, solid, definite chemical composition, inorganic, and has a
crystalline structure.
The two elements that are most abundant in the Earth’s crust are silicon and oxygen (silicates).
Streak is the color of a mineral’s powder.
Chapter 6 – Rocks
The processes that are involved in Sedimentary Rock formation are weathering & erosion, deposition, cementation &
compaction.
The process that is involved in Igneous Rock formation is solidification.
Layering is a characteristic of sedimentary rock.
An intrusive igneous rock formed from magma.
When magma cools slowly is forms large crystals or grains. When magma cools fast is forms small crystals or grain.
When magma cools extra fast it forms no crystals.
Organic sedimentary rock consists of shells of marine animals.
An extrusive igneous rock formed from lava.
One thing that igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks have in common is that they are all made of minerals.
Obsidian is an igneous rock.
Fossils are most likely to be found in sedimentary rock.
The processes that are involved in Metamorphic Rock formation are heat & pressure.
In the rock cycle, rocks are classified by how they are formed.
A clastic rock texture is a sedimentary rock made of fragments or pieces of rock cemented together.
Chapter 8 – Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes & Mountains
The process that broke up Pangea is still continuing today.
The Richter scale measures earthquake magnitude.
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was not accepted because he could not explain how the continents moved.
Chains of volcanic islands form when one ocean plate subducts beneath another ocean plate.
With increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge, sea-floor rocks become older.
Synclines are down folds in rock where anticlines are up folds in a rock.
Magma exists below the Earth’s surface. Lava exists above the Earth’s surface.
Lithospheric plates are rigid and move over the asthenosphere.
The theory of plate tectonics helps explain the locations of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Both collision boundaries and subduction boundaries are types of convergent boundaries.
The remains of Mesosarus have been found in similarly aged bedrock in South America and Africa. This evidence
supports the theory of continental drift.
An igneous intrusion forms dome mountains.
The observation that the present continents appear to fit together as pieces of one large lands supports the theory of
continental drift.
The shapes of South America and Africa’s coastlines led to early suggestion they had been joined at one time.
The minimum number of seismograph stations needed to locate an epicenter is 3.
The conclusion that outer core of the Earth is a liquid is supported by studies of earthquake waves passing through
the earth.
The rift valley along a mid-ocean ridge marks a boundary between two ocean plates.
The San Andreas Fault is an example of a strike-slip fault.
A deep ocean trench and a large volcanic mountain range along the coast forms where continental crust converges
with oceanic crust.
Striations provide an indication of a glacier’s direction of movement.
P waves are also called primary waves. They squeeze and stretch rock and can travel through any material.
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Chapter 12 – Weathering & Erosion
Talus is eroded material found at the base of a rocky cliff
The main cause of mass movements (erosion) is gravity.
The cracking of concrete sidewalks is an example of mechanical weathering.
Iron changes to iron oxide when it is exposed to the atmosphere. This is an example of chemical weathering.
Bedrock is changed to soil primarily by the process of weathering
Bedrock is located beneath soil layers.
The layer with the greatest humus content is A-horizon.
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Chapter 13 – Surface Water
Streams of mountain regions and high plateaus are likely to contain young rivers.
When a river empties into the ocean, it deposits all of its sediments.
A curved body of water that forms when deposits separate a meander from its river is called an oxbow lake.
The material suspended in water tends to make the river water muddy.
The western divide for the Mississippi River system is in the Rocky Mountains.
A river will deposit its sediments when flowing into a lake because its velocity decreases.
An alluvial fan forms when a steep mountain streams meets dry, level land.
The part of a river’s valley that is underwater when the river overflows it banks is called the floodplain.
All of the land drained by a stream and its tributaries is called a watershed.
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Chapter 14 - Groundwater
Pressure causes the water in an artesian well to spout upwards.
The water table is located at the top of the zone of saturation.
Oxbow lakes are characteristic of old rivers.
Permeable layers of rock that store and carry enough groundwater to supply wells are called aquifers.
Springs occur on a hillside where the water table meets the surface.
In the Valley and Ridge province of VA, you would find Karst Topography (caves).
Sinkholes and caves are features you would expect to find in a region that has Karst topography.
Limestone is the type of bedrock that is dissolved most easily by running water.
The open spaces between rock or soil particles is called pore space
Rocks and soils with spaces between the grains that allow water to pass through are called permeable.
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Chapter 29 – Geologic Time, Dating & Resources
Gasoline is a non-renewable resource.
Fossil fuels include coal, petroleum and natural gas.
The sun, wind and water are all renewable resources.
Hydroelectric power generates electricity with water.
The Virginia province that contains the youngest rocks is the Coastal Plain.
Using radioactive elements to determine the age of a rock describes absolute dating.
The statement that the oldest layer will be at the bottom in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary strata is called
the Principle of Superposition.
Comparing ages of layers of rock describes relative dating.
The principle of cross-cutting relationships sates that an igneous intrusion is always younger than the rock it cuts
across.
An index fossil helps identify relative ages of rock. An index fossil must have a wide geographic distribution, be easily
recognized and have existed only a short geologic time.
Scientists use radioactive decay to measure absolute time.
Older rocks contained within newer rocks are called embedded fragments.
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