Geology 2009 Final Study Guide
Vocabulary:
Asthenosphere
Astronomy
Atmosphere
Geology
Lithosphere
Mantle
Theory
Crystal
Magma (3 types)
Igneous rock
Instrusive
Extrusive
Lava
Sediment
Metamorphism
Rock cycle
Chemical weathering
Erosion
Exfoliation
Frost wedging
Mechanical weathering
Weathering
Soil
Continental Drift
Pangaea
Paleomagnetism
Seafloor spreading
Convergent boundary
Divergent boundary
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Deep Sea Trench
Rift Valley
Subduction
Plate tectonics
Transform boundary
Ridge push
Slab pull
Batholith
Dike
Laccolith
Pluton
Sill
Caldera
Cinder-cone
Composite Volcano
Crater
Hot spot
Shield volcano
Pyroclastic Flow
Epicenter
Fault
Focus
Primary wave
Secondary wave
Magnitude
Richter scale
Mercalli Index
Tsunami
Fault-block mountain
Folded mountain
Superposition
Radiometric Dating
Period, Era, and Eon
Ecliptic
Solstice
Equinox
Chapter 1
 Four major areas of Earth Science, Astronomy, Meterology, Geology, and
Oceanography.
 Steps of Scientific Method, Identify Problem, ask question; State Hypothesis; Test the
hypothesis; analyze results; draw conclusions
 A scientific theory is an explanation based on many observations during repeated
experiments.
 Basic Units in SI (International System) include liter(volume), Meter (length), Second
(time), kilogram (mass), and Degrees Celsius(temperature).
 A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a specific chemical composition
and a definite crystalline structure.
 A crystal is solid which atoms are arranged in repeating patterns.
Chapter 2
 Igneous rocks are formed by cooling magma
 Intrusive rocks form inside the crust, extrusive rocks form by cooling rapidly on the
surface and are more fine grained
 Sediment is deposited and through lithification become sedimentary rocks
 When rocks go through intense heat and pressure they become metamorphic rocks
Chapter 3
 Rocks can be broken down by chemical and mechanical weathering
 Erosion is the process which moves weathered material
 Moving water, glaciers, wind and gravity cause erosion. Gravity is the driving force of
all erosion
 Soil is made of weathered rock and decaying organic matter
Chapter 7
 Matching coastlines of continents suggest continents were joined in a single land mass
called Pangea
 Wegener supported continental drift hypothesis with rock, fossils, and ancient climatic
data. He could NOT explain HOW they moved
 During Sea Floor Spreading, magma rises and cools to form new crust. This crust is
then separated and new magma rises forcing the older crust away from the ridge
 Convection is energy moving from the hot interior and rising to the cooler exterior which
drives plate tectonics.
 Plate Tectonics states that Earth’s crust and rigid upper mantle are broken into plates and
move over Earth’s surface
 The three major types of boundaries are divergent, convergent, and transform.
 You will need to be familiar with how they move, which crusts are involved and what
features are associated with each!
 Understand Ridge push and slab pull
Chapter 8
 Understand the three types of volcano: cinder cone volcano, composite volcano, and
shield volcano
 Understand the magma involved: Basaltic, Andesitic, and Rhyolitic
 Know the differences where the volcanos form, their lavas’ viscosity, silica content, gas
content, and explosiveness.
 Igneous intrusions are called Plutons. These include Dikes, sills, batholiths, laccoliths
and stocks. Be able to identify them in a diagram
 Know what causes a Hot Spot volcano
Chapter 6
 Understand how Stress, strain, and faults are related
 Understand p-waves and s-waves and the interactions of these waves with the interior of
Earth.
 An Earthquake’s damage and intensity is measured by the Modified Mercalli Scale
 A wave generated by an earthquake in the ocean is called a tsunami.
 The probability of an earthquake is based on history and the places on a fault that have
not experienced a quake for a while is called a seismic gap.
Chapter 9
 All mountains are formed by a process called orogeny.
 Crust getting uplifted can cause Uplifted Mountains
 If large pieces of crust are tilted or dropped between normal faults it forms Fault block
mountains
 Rocks made at ocean ridges include pillow basalts.
Chapter 10
 Absolute age of rocks is found by radiometric dating
 The time it takes for 1/2 of the original material in an isotope to decay is called a half life
 Index Fossils are widely distributed and easily recognized. They lived a short period of
time and are useful for geolgists.
 The oldest rock layer in a sequence is on the bottom
 A gap in a rock sequence is called an unconformity
 Periods are defined by life forms in either abundance or extinction at the time.
Chapter 19
 Our sun’s position changes through the year and our seasons are caused by the Earth’s
tilt.
 The solstices are the highest and lowest positions of the sun in the sky
 Understand what causes solar and lunar eclipses
 The moon is in synchronous rotation with the earth
 The earth moves around the sun in the shape of an ellipse