Review Questions

How do you think the principle of uniformitarianism accounts for occasional catastrophic events such as meteorite impacts, huge volcanic eruptions, or great earthquakes? By using the principle of uniformitarianism, we can study the way rocks are formed and look at the same rock that is designed today. Same goes for the way the wind placed the sand grain and made sand dunes that were spotted in Arizona. The lithosphere theory of earth contains many different plates that float around on the upper part of the earth. This could explain how the formations of volcanoes erupt and how earthquakes happen. 5. In what ways do geologic processes affect your daily life? Living here on Earth, we use a lot of Earth’s resources, such as oil, coal and minerals. The geologic process will help us better understand on how Earth provides us with necessary things that we need to live on our plant.

1. When astronauts brought back rock samples from the Moon, the minerals present were mostly the same as those found on Earth. Can you think of reasons why this might be so? Would you expect minerals on Mars or Venus to be the same, or at least very similar, to those on Earth? Seeing that the Moon and Earth’s rocks were created by dust revolving around the sun, which then became the planets we know today, it is very likely they are composed of similar or the same materials. The same could be said for Mars and Venus because they are known as the rocky planets; therefore they evolved from rock just like Earth and the Moon. 3. Which of the following materials are minerals, and why (or why not)? Water; beach sand; diamond; wood; vitamin pill; gold nugget; fishbone; emerald. Water is not a mineral because it is not a solid.

Beach sand can be considered a mineral because it is often made of broken down rocks which do contain minerals, however, not all see it this way as sand itself does not contain actual minerals. Diamond is a mineral because it is a native element.

Wood is not a mineral because it is an organic material.
Like wood, vitamins are organic supplements and cannot be considered minerals. Gold is a mineral in the form of a metal. It is also a native element like a diamond. A fishbone is not a mineral because it is formed by organic processes. Emerald is a mineral because it is the green type of beryl.

3. How old are the rock formations in the area where you live and attend college or university? How can you find out the answer to this question? The rocks here in Florida are called sedimentary rocks; they are made up of limestone, clay and sandstone. These rocks are the most common type of rocks in Florida. Some of these rocks estimate to be about 550 million years old. How I found this information on rocks in Florida is by Googling the information which then lead me to a website called The Geological History of Florida. 4. Choose one of the geologic periods or epochs listed in figure 3.8 and find out all you can about it: How are rocks from that period identified? What are its most characteristic fossils? Where are the best samples of rocks from your chosen period found? The Jurassic period, which began in 200,000,000 and lasted 65,000,000 years; the Jura Mountains are where most of the rocks are formed and found. The rocks formed are marine deposits, such as shale, sandstone and limestone. These rocks can be found in every continent in the United States.

1. Recall from chapter 1 (see Table 1) that Earth and Venus are so similar in size and overall composition that they are almost “twins”. Why did these two planets evolve so differently? Why is Earth’s atmosphere rich in oxygen and poor in carbon dioxide, whereas the reverse is true on Venus? What would happen to Earth’s ocean if Earth’s oceans were a little bit closer to the sun? The reason why Earth and Venus evolve so differently is because Venus rotates around itself and is closest to the sun, which makes the planet very hot. If the sun was any closer to Earth all of the oceans would dry up, we need water to help our plants grow, without plants we would not have oxygen. Plants help with oxygen and with oxygen comes carbon dioxide. Venus is too close to the sun; this makes the planet too hot. Water would dry up on Venus and make it impossible for plants to grow. If there are no plants for oxygen then carbon dioxide will not exist. 4. What do you think might have happened to mammals if the end-of-cretaceous extinction had not wiped out the dinosaurs? If the end-of-cretaceous extinction happened, I believe that mammals would still exist on earth. Mammals are very intelligent beings. They have survived many years of different changes and survived.

References

Murck, B., Skinner, B. & Mackenzie, D. (2010). Visualizing geology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. The Geological History of Florida. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.academic, emporia.edu Howstuffworks. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.science.howstuffworks.com

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