Download Geology Assessment Study Guide

Name___________________________
Geology Assessment Study Guide
Test on ____________________
Part 1: History of the Earth
● How old is the earth? ____________________
● Why did it take so long for living organisms to thrive on Earth?
● Put these events in order from earliest to most recent:
○ First soft-bodies metazoans ____________________
○ The dinosaurs were wiped out.
____________________
○ The first land plants appeared. ____________________
○ Human beings could be found on Earth. ____________________
○ Pangaea begins to break apart. ____________________
○ Earth was bombarded with asteroids. ____________________
● Was the first life on Earth in oceans or on land?
____________________
● Were humans and dinosaurs ever around at the same time?
____________________
● How many ice ages has the Earth had?
____________________
● What kinds of events mostly took place during the first billion years of Earth’s history:
Geologic or Biologic?
____________________
● How many major extinctions have there been in Earth’s history?
____________________
Part 2: Earth’s Structure
● Be able to ​
describe and locate​
the following:
○ Lower Mantle __________________________________________________________
○ Inner Core ____________________________________________________________
○ Upper Mantle __________________________________________________________
○ Convection Currents ______________________________________________________
○ Middle Mantle __________________________________________________________
○ Continental Crust ________________________________________________________
○ Outer Core ____________________________________________________________
○ Oceanic Crust __________________________________________________________
● Know the difference between the densities of continental crust and oceanic crust.
● Understand what happens when oceanic crust and continental crust collide.
● What force allows tectonic plates to move?
Part 3: Plate Tectonics
● Vocabulary:
○ lithosphere ____________________________________________________________
○ asthenosphere __________________________________________________________
○ convection current _______________________________________________________
● Who was the scientist who came up with the continental drift theory? ____________________
● What is Pangaea? When did it form ​
and​
break up?
____________________
____________________
____________________
● Understand how fossils act as evidence of continental drift.
● Be able to identify the following plate boundaries ​
and​
give an example of each:
○ transform _____________________________________________________________
○ divergent _____________________________________________________________
○ convergent ____________________________________________________________
● What forms in subduction zones?
● What is the theory of plate tectonics?
Part 4: Faults and Folding
● Vocabulary:
○ fault _________________________________________________________________
○ fold _________________________________________________________________
○ plateau _______________________________________________________________
○ tension _______________________________________________________________
○ shearing ______________________________________________________________
○ compression ___________________________________________________________
● Understand the differences in ​
hanging wall and footwall ​
movement in reverse faults and normal faults.
● Understand slab movement at a strike-slip fault.
Part 5: Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition
● Vocabulary:
○ weathering ____________________________________________________________
○ deposition _____________________________________________________________
○ mechanical weathering ____________________________________________________
○ chemical weathering ______________________________________________________
○ water erosion __________________________________________________________
○ glacial erosion __________________________________________________________
● What are the effects of weathering on mountains?
● How long does it take for weathering to occur? ________________________________________
● How long does it take for glacial erosion to take place? ____________________________________
● What are some ways to prevent erosion?
● Be able to describe the ​
steps​
of glacial “plucking.”
Part 6: Geology of Connecticut
● Vocabulary:
○ watershed _____________________________________________________________
○ drainage basin __________________________________________________________
○ tributary ______________________________________________________________
○ valley ________________________________________________________________
○ divide ________________________________________________________________
○ base _________________________________________________________________
○ source _______________________________________________________________
○ coastal river ___________________________________________________________
● Are there faults in CT? ____________________
● What caused CT’s land to change in the past?
____________________
____________________
● What causes CT’s land to change in the present? ____________________
● What are two factors that cause water to flow downward?
____________________
____________________
● How does water erosion affect soft rock vs. hard rocks?
● What are the characteristics of a drainage basin?
● Where is the base of the three major rivers in CT? ____________________
● What is the base level of all three rivers? ____________________Why? ____________________
_________________________________________________________________________
● How is the base level of a river determined?