Exam 2 Review Material -- Physical Geology

Terms:

angular unconformity cross-cutting relationships disconformity half-life isotope parent isotope daughter product (or isotope) nonconformity absolute (numerical) age unconformity uniformity (uniformitarianism) superposition radioactive decay angle of dip anticline brittle behavior compressive stress dip-slip fault ductile fault fold footwall hanging wall left-lateral (right-lateral) fault

normal fault oblique-slip fault reverse fault shear stress strike strike-slip fault syncline tensional stress aftershock body wave elastic rebound theory epicenter focus intensity magnitude moment magitude modified Mercalli scale P-wave surface wave tsunami continental drift asthenosphere

convection mantle plume plate convergent plate boundary divergent plate boundary plate tectonics subduction seafloor spreading transform plate boundary orogeny terrane craton isostasy Pangea amplitude

1. What are hot spots/mantle plumes?  What plate movement information do they give? (ex  Hawaii Island chain)

2. How do we learn about the topography of the ocean floor?

3. Tectonically, what is unique about Iceland?

4. What did Wegener use as evidence to support his theory of continental drift?

5. What mechanism did he propose to drive continental drift?

6. What information did Wegener lack to have a more complete theory?

7. What is the typical rate of seafloor spreading and plate movement?

8. How did magnetic anomalies on the seafloor provide evidence of plate movement?

9. Where is the youngest and oldest seafloor with respect to mid-ocean ridges and trenches?

10. What are the three basic types of plate boundaries?

11. What are two types of divergent plate boundaries;  What are specific geographic examples of these?

12. What are three types of convergent plate boundaries; what are specific geographic examples of these?

13. What are two examples of transform boundaries?

14. What is thought to be the principle mechanism of plate tectonics?  Explain how it works.

15. What is the supercontinent that included North and South America, Europe, and Africa?

16. What are geologic features associated with each type of plate boundary?

17. Where would you find volcanic activity?  And in which boundaries?

18. What type of stress is associated with each type of boundary?  What type of faulting would occur?

19. Where do we find the oldest portions of continents?  The youngest?

20. What are Benioff zones?  And what evidence did they contribute to plate tectonics?

21. What are five processes of mountain building?

22. What is the difference between catastrophism and uniformitarianism?

23. What was James Hutton’s contribution to understanding geologic time?

24. What is the difference between relative and absolute geologic ages?

25. What are some principles to follow when figuring out relative geologic ages?

26. How are absolute geologic ages calculated?

27. What are the three major types of geologic structures?

28. What is the difference between brittle & ductile behavior? What is an example of each?

29. What are the 2 measurements taken to establish the orientation of a rock layer in the field?

30. What are the 2 major classes of faults?  What type of fault is a combination of the two?

31. What are the two varieties of dip-slip fault?

32. What are the two varieties of strike-slip fault?

33. What are the three types of stress called?  What structures does each type of stress produce?

34. How do earthquakes occur?

35. What types of seismic waves do earthquakes generate? Which is fastest?  Which causes the most damage?

36. Which seismic waves help to pinpoint an earthquake’s location?

37. What is the difference in amplitude with each increment increase in an earthquakes magnitude?  The difference in energy?

38. What are major sources of damage in earthquakes?

39. How many seismic stations does it take to locate the epicenter of an earthquake?  Why?

40. How is the magnitude scale different from the Mercalli intensity scale?  How is each useful?

41. Name the geologic time periods in order from earliest to most recent.  Write out an original mnemonic device to help remember the order of the time periods.