Study Guide for Earth Systems Semester A Final KEY
1. List 5 areas of study found in Earth Science. geology, astronomy, oceanography,
meterology, climatology
2. How were the inner planets formed? repeated collisions of asteroid-sized debris
3. According to the nebular hypothesis the solar system was formed by a a rotating cloud
made of what 2 gases? helium and hydrogen
4. Name the 4 major spheres of the Earth.hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, biosphere
5. Which of Earth’s spheres include oceans, groundwater, and glaciers?hydrosphere
6. Look in your textbook at the diagram of the Earth layers on p.8. Study the layers you will
have a picture of this diagram on the test.
7. What are the 3 main parts of the geosphere?crust, mantle, core
8. The crust and uppermost mantle make up the rigid outer layer of Earth which is
called?lithosphere
9. The theory of plate tectonics helps scientists explain what?how eqrthquakes and
volcanic eruptions occur
10. What is the driving force for the movement of lithospheric plates?unequal distribution
of heat within Earth
11. According to the plate tectonics model what layer of Earth forms the rigid plates?crust
and uppermost mantle
12. What are lines of longitude?distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in
degrees
13. What are lines of latitude?distance north or south of the equator, measured in dgrees
14. On the global grid , the prime meridian is at what degrees longitude?0 degrees longitude
15. What type of map shows the differences in elevation best? Topographical map
16. Look on pages 14-15 for an example of a topographic map. Study the map and make sure
you understand how to read the map. There will be one on your final exam.
17. On a topographic map, contour lines that form a circle represent what feature?hill
18. What does a map with a scale of 1:24,000 mean? 24000 units on the ground
19. What are the two sources of energy for an Earth system?sun and Earth’s interior
20. The sun’s energy drives what 2 processes? Weather and ocean circulation
21. List an environmental hazard created by humans.air pollution, water pollution,
deforestation
22. What is a renewable resource? resource that is virtually inexhaustible or that can be
replenished over relatively short time period
23. List 3 renewable resources. Sun, water, plants, wind
24. What is a nonrenewable resource? Resources that take millions of years to form
25. List 3 nonrenewable resources? Coal, oil, natural gas
26. What is a hypothesis? Preliminary untested explanation of something observed
27. What is a scientific theory? Scientific idea that is widely tested and accepted
28. What is the most abundant element in the Earth’s continental crust? Oxygen
29. What are the building blocks of minerals? elements
30. The central region of an atom is called what? nucleus
31. What is an ion? An atom that has lost or gained electrons
32. What is an isotope? The same element that has a different number of neutrons
33. What is a compound?two or more elements bonded together in a definite proportions
34. What subatomic particle is involved in chemical bonding? electrons
35. What is a mineral? Naturally occurring, inorganic solid with an orderly crystalline
structure and a definite chemical composition
36. What is the process of mineral formation from magma?crystallization
37. Mineral formation caused by high temperature and high pressure occurs in what type
environment?deep within the Earth
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How are minerals classified?composition of the mineral
Minerals in the sulfate and sulfite groups contain what element? sulfur
What mineral group is the most common in the Earth’s crust? silicates
List 4 properties that are used to identify minerals.hardness, streak, cleavage, color
The color of a mineral can change due to what?small amounts of different elements
added
What is luster?appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface
What is the Mohs scale and what does it test? hardness
What is cleavage? Tendency of minerals to break along smooth flat surfaces
What is fracture? Uneven breakage of a mineral
What is density? Mass divided by the volume
If a mineral has a mass of 8 grams and a volume of 2 mL, what the density?4g/ml
What determines the properties of minerals? composition and structure
What is a rock and how is it different from a mineral? Minerals are uniform in
composition and the rocks are a mixture of minerals
How are rocks classified? How they are formed
Look in your textbook at the diagram of the rock cycle on p.67. Study the cycle and
stages. You will have a picture of this diagram on the test.
What is a sedimentary rock? Rocks formed from the weathered products of
preexisting rocks that have been transported, deposited, compacted, and cemented
What is a metamorphic rock? Rock formed by the alteration of preexisting rock deep
within Earth(but still in the solid state) by heat, pressure, and/or chemically active
fluid.
What is an igneous rock? Rock formed by the crystallization of molten magma
All energy that drives the Earth’s rock cycle comes from where? Earth’s interior and
the sun
Fossils are only found in what type of rock? Sedimentary rocks
What type of fuel is used in nuclear reactors? uranium
Look in your textbook at the diagram of the soil layers on p. 138. Study the layers, you
will have a picture of this diagram on the test.
What is mechanical weathering? The physical breakdown of rock, resulting in smaller
fragments.
What is frost wedging? Mechanical break up of rock caused by expansion of freezing
water in cracks and crevices.
What happens to water as it freezes? Volume expands
What happens as a result of chemical weathering? The internal structure of the
mineral is altered by adding or removing elements.
What 3 factors affect the rate of weathering? Chemical composition of the rock, the
surface area of the rock that is exposed and the climate
What factor has the greatest effect on soil formation? Climate
What is a glacier? Thick ice mass that forms over the land from the accumulation,
compaction, and recrystallization of snow.
What percentage of the Earth’s land surface is covered by glaciers? 10%
What is till? Material deposited directly by a glacier
What is the name of the process of producing icebergs? Calving
Describe the elastic rebound hypothesis. It says that most earthquakes are produced
by the rapid release of energy stored in rock.
Earthquakes usually occur along faults.
What is the most effective way to measure the intensity of an earthquake? Moment
magnitude
73. How are travel-time graphs used to find the epicenter of an earthquake? They tell the
distance from each seismic station to the earthquake.
74. Label and define:
Epicenter- the point on the earth's surface vertically above the focus of an
earthquake
Focus- is the point beneath Earth's surface where rock breaks under stress and the
plates shift-this causes the earthquake
Fault-a fracture along which the Earth’s crust on either side have moved relative to
one another.
75. What is the minimum number of seismic stations that is needed to determine the location
of an earthquake’s epicenter? 3
76. Which seismic waves travel slowest? Surface waves Fastest? Body waves Cause the
most destruction? Surface waves (p.223)
77. How many continents did Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis state? 1 major
supercontinents
78. What is the name of Wegener’s super continent? Pangaea
79. What is continental drift? Hypothesis states that the continent were once joined to
form a single supercontinent
80. What is plate tectonics? Lithosphere is divided into 7 major plates and many smaller
plates that move
81. How far does the lithospheric plates move on the average each year? 5 centimeters a
year
82. A tectonic plate consists of what parts of the Earth? Crust and uppermost mantle
83. What results when divergence occurs between two oceanic plates? Seafloor spreading
84. What forms when one oceanic plate is forced beneath another plate? A subduction zone
85. The age of rocks in the ocean basins is determined by what? Ocean drilling