Midterm #1 Study Guide
Chapter One:
- Science and the Scientific Method: Hypothesis and Theory
- Origin of the Solar System: Nebular Hypothesis
- Interior of the Earth: Core (inner/outer), Mantle, Crust (continental, oceanic)
- Lithosphere, asthenosphere
- Plate Tectonics: Divergent, convergent, transform boundaries
- History of Geology: James Hutton and Uniformitarianism, Charles Lyell
Chapter Two:
- Atoms: proton, neutron, electron
- Elements: OSiAlFeCaNaKMg
- Bonding: ionic, covalent, metallic, van der Waals
- Oxygen-Silicon Tetrahedron:
- Silicate Structures: isolated, single and double chain, sheet, framework
- Minerals: Silicate Rock Formers
- Rock cycle
Chapter Three:
- Magmas
- Bowens Reaction Series: discontinuous, continuous reactions
- Partial Melting, fractional crystallization, crustal assimilation, bimodal volcanism
- Igneous rock classification
- Plutons: discordant, concordant; tabular and massive, dike, sill, batholith, stock, laccolith
- Xenolith
- Metamorphic roof pendant
Chapter Four:
- Lavas: silica content, viscosity, explosiveness
- Lava flows: pahoehoe, aa, pillow
- Tephra: ash/tuff, cinders, blocks and bombs, volcanic breccia
- Constructive Volcanic Landforms: Lava plateaus, shield, stratovolcano (composite cone), plug dome (volcanic dome), cinder cone
- Destructive Volcanic Landforms: Maar, calderas, volcanic neck, inverted stream
- Historic eruptions: Vesuvius, Pelee, Krakatoa, Tambora, St. Helens, Pinatubo
Chapter Five:
- Physical Weathering: unloading: exfoliation and jointing, frost wedging, root wedging, fire spalling
- Chemical weathering: oxidation, hydrolysis, solution
- Regolith and soil
- Factors in soil formation: climate, time, parent material, organic activity, slope
- Soil horizons: O, A (zone of leaching), B (zone of accumulation), C
- Soil Types: laterite, pedalfer, pedocal
Chapter Six:
- Sedimentary classification system: Clastic, Biogenic (organic), Chemical
- Sedimentary textures: grain size, angularity, sorting, maturity
- Sedimentary structures: Ripples (asymmetrical/oscillation), crossbedding, mudcracks, bioturbation, graded bedding, geopetal indicators, paleocurrent indicators
- Lithification of sediments
- Sedimentary environments: terrestrial, transitional, marine
Chapter Seven:
- Factors in metamorphism: Heat, pressure, chemically active fluids
- Types of metamorphism: Thermal (contact), Dynamic (cataclastic), Dynamothermal (regional
- Foliated metamorphic rocks: Slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss
- Non-foliated metamorphic rocks: Quartzite, marble, greenstone, serpentine
Sample Essay Questions:
- Describe and explain the three kinds of plate boundaries
- Sketch a diagram showing the layers of the earth, their composition and relative thickness
- Explain the difference between continuous and discontinuous reactions in Bowen's Reaction Series
- Compare and contrast hypothesis and theory