Geology Midterm Review
Introduction to Geology GEOL-101
Midterm 1 Review
Based on the textbook: Understanding Earth, 6th Edition, by Grotzinger and Press
CH 1: earth system
Summary
The human creative process, field and lab observations, and experiments help geoscientists formulate testable hypotheses (models) for how the Earth works and its history. A hypothesis is a tentative explanation focusing attention on plausible features and relationships of a working model. If a testable hypothesis is confirmed by a large body of data, it may be elevated to a theory. Theories are abandoned when subsequent investigations show them to be false. Confidence grows in those theories that withstand repeated tests and successfully predict the results of new experiments.
A set of hypothesis and theories may become the basis of a scientific model that represents an entire system too complicated to replicate in the laboratory. Often models are tested and revised in a series of computer simulations. Confidence in such a model grows as it successfully predicts the behavior of the system.
The elevations of Earth topography averages 1–2 kilometers above sea level for land features and 4–5 kilometers below sea level for features of the deep ocean.
The principle of uniformitarianism states that geological processes have worked in the same way throughout time.
Earth’s interior is divided into concentric layers (crust, mantle, core) of sharply different chemical composition and density. The layered composition of the Earth is driven by gravity. Only eight of the 100 or so elements account for 99 percent of Earth’s mass. The lightest element (oxygen) is most abundant in the surface crust and mantle, while the densest (iron) makes up most of what is found deep in the core.
Earth’s major interacting systems are the climate system, the plate tectonic system, and the geodynamic system. The climate system involves interactions among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. The plate
Midterm 1 Review
Based on the textbook: Understanding Earth, 6th Edition, by Grotzinger and Press
CH 1: earth system
Summary
The human creative process, field and lab observations, and experiments help geoscientists formulate testable hypotheses (models) for how the Earth works and its history. A hypothesis is a tentative explanation focusing attention on plausible features and relationships of a working model. If a testable hypothesis is confirmed by a large body of data, it may be elevated to a theory. Theories are abandoned when subsequent investigations show them to be false. Confidence grows in those theories that withstand repeated tests and successfully predict the results of new experiments.
A set of hypothesis and theories may become the basis of a scientific model that represents an entire system too complicated to replicate in the laboratory. Often models are tested and revised in a series of computer simulations. Confidence in such a model grows as it successfully predicts the behavior of the system.
The elevations of Earth topography averages 1–2 kilometers above sea level for land features and 4–5 kilometers below sea level for features of the deep ocean.
The principle of uniformitarianism states that geological processes have worked in the same way throughout time.
Earth’s interior is divided into concentric layers (crust, mantle, core) of sharply different chemical composition and density. The layered composition of the Earth is driven by gravity. Only eight of the 100 or so elements account for 99 percent of Earth’s mass. The lightest element (oxygen) is most abundant in the surface crust and mantle, while the densest (iron) makes up most of what is found deep in the core.
Earth’s major interacting systems are the climate system, the plate tectonic system, and the geodynamic system. The climate system involves interactions among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. The plate