ELS

• Big Bang Theory


  Most popular theory of our Universe's origin, born of the observation that other galaxies are moving away from our own at great speed, in all directions, as if they had all been propelled by an ancient explosive force
• Origin of the Big Bang Theory

  1. Smaller bodies became asteroids, meteors, and satellites of planets

  2. Dust Cloud Theory (1945) - formulated by Carl Friedrich Von Weizacken (German physicist) and Harold C. Urey (U.S chemist), nebula was assumed to have a composition mainly of hydrogen and helium, like the sun, with only 1% of heavier elements, mass of this "Dust Cloud" was originally 10 % of the sun's mass or about a hundred times as great as the present combined mass of the planets and satellites

  3. Protoplanet Hypothesis (1949) - proposed by Gerald P. Kuoper, the original nebula was so massive that on further contraction and flattening, it broke into separate clouds or protoplanets
• Subsystems of the Earth

  • Lithosphere
  • Hydrosphere
  • Biosphere
  • Atmosphere

  
• Lithosphere


  Rocky crust of the earth, inorganic and composed mainly of different kinds of minerals, the outer part of the earth, including both the uppermost mantle and the crust

  
• The Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, the oldest known organism first appeared on Earth about 3.5 billion years ago, meaning that life might conceivably evolve in 1.1 billion years or less, however, more complex forms of life did take longer to evolve
• Plate tectonics is vital for a world to host life - a planet whose shell is broken up into plates that constantly move around, for instance, carbon dioxide helps trap heat from the sun to keep Earth warm
• Our sun has little variation in its radiation compared with more volatile stars, and our planet has a magnetic field that protects us from any storms of charged particles from the sun, violent bursts of radiation could have scoured life from Earth in its early, fragile stages
• Conditions needed to make a planet habitable

  • The central star should not be more than 1.5 Mo (Solar mass) so that it will last long enough for substantiated life to evolve at least 2 billion years and will not kill evolving life with too much UV radiation which breaks down organic molecules
  • The central star should be at least 0.3 Mo to be warm enough to create a large orbital zone in which a planet could retain liquid water
  • The central star should not flare violently or emit strong x-rays, it should be on the main sequence in order to be stable, long enough to give its planet long-term climatic stability
  • The planet must orbit at the right distance from the star so that liquid water will neither evaporate nor permanently freeze
  • The planet's orbit must be circular and stable enough to keep it at a proper distance and prevent drastic seasonal changes
  • The planet's gravity must be strong enough to hold a substantial atmosphere
• Mineral


  Naturally occurring substance that is solid and stable at room temperature, representable by a chemical formula, usually abiogenic/inorganic, and has ordered atomic structure
• As of July, 2015, there are 5048 valid species of minerals in the list of International Mineralogical Association (IMA)
• Silicate minerals compose over 90% of the Earth's crust, silicon and oxygen constitute approximately 75% of the Earth's crust, which translates directly into the predominance of silicate minerals
• Common Distinguishing Characteristics of Minerals

  • Crystal structure and habit
  • Hardness
  • Luster
  • Diaphaneity
  • Color
  • Streak
  • Tenacity
  • Cleavage
  • Fracture
  • Parting
  • Specific gravity

  
• Additional Tests for Minerals

  • Reaction to acid
  • Magnetism
  • Taste or smell
  • Radioactivity
• Five Requirements for a Material to be Considered a Mineral

  • Naturally occurring
  • Inorganic/Abiogenic
  • Stable at room temperature
  • With a definite chemical composition
  • Has an ordered internal structure
• Regolith minerals can be used as indicators of past landscape position, but the interpretation is a combination of drainage and pale landscape evolution or substrate type
• Indicators of Temperature & Climate

  • Iron oxides and hydroxides, Magnetite (commonly found in globules within the soil and on the surface as ferruginous lag, is a likely indicator of forest-fires)

  
• Types of Regolith


  • Produced as a result of weathering of the basement rocks in situ
  • Produced due to the transportation processes, which is essence is surficial sediments

  
• Importance of Minerals


  Naturally occurring inorganic crystalline substances with physical and chemical properties with prescribed limits, Rocks are aggregates of a mineral or minerals, there are over 5000 minerals, however only a few are necessary to identify most of the rocks
• Resource


  Stock or supply of anything that can be drawn on by anyone to function effectively
• Mineral


  A solid, inorganic substance of natural occurrence, with the following characteristics: Naturally Occurring, Inorganic, Solid, Definite chemical composition, Ordered internal structure
• Mineral Classification by Composition

  • Silicates
  • Oxides
  • Sulfides
  • Sulfates
  • Halides
  • Carbonates
  • Natives / Native metals
• Mineral Classification by Crystal Structure

  • Isometric
  • Monoclinic
  • Orthorhombic
  • Tetragonal
  • Hexagonal
  • Triclinic

  
• Luster/Lustre


  Property of a mineral to reflect light, describes how brilliant or dull it is
• Specific gravity


  Measure of a mineral's density, the weight of a mineral relative to the weight of an equal volume of water
• There are over 5000 minerals
• The rock cycle is a fundamental concept that depicts the everchanging transition through geologic times of the three main types of rock: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
• Types of Metamorphism


  • Contact Metamorphism
  • Burial Metamorphism
  • Regional Dynamothermal Metamorphism
  • Hydrothermal Metamorphism
• Quartz is a compound called silicon dioxide found in abundance on Earth's crust and is the principal component of sand
• How the Quartz in the Clock Works

  The quartz oscillator receives an electrical charge from an integrated circuit (IC), which gets its power from the watch battery (or, in the case of a battery-less watch, the poser storage cell), the electricity makes the quartz vibrate, or oscillate at the rate of 32,768 times per second
• Advantages of Quartz Watches

  Quartz watches are much more accurate than the mechanical ones, the oscillator of a quartz watch, the little piece of quartz, is a much steadier oscillator than the wheel of a mechanical watch, decent quality quartz watches generally gain or lose no more than a minute or two a year
• Quartz


  A compound called silicon dioxide found in abundance on Earth's crust and is the principal component of sand
• How the Quartz in the Clock Works


  1. Quartz oscillator receives an electrical charge from an integrated circuit (IC)

  2. Electricity makes the quartz vibrate, or oscillate at the rate of 32,768 times per second

  3. Quartz crystals can be cut to vibrate at a huge range of frequencies, the bigger the piece the slower it vibrates
• Quartz Watches


  • Much more accurate than mechanical watches
  • The oscillator of a quartz watch, the little piece of quartz, is a much steadier oscillator than the wheel of a mechanical watch
  • Decentquality quartz watches generally gain or lose no more than a minute or two (2) a year
• Mineral


  A solid, inorganic substance of natural occurrence
• Rock


  A conglomerate of various minerals formed on Earth's surface
• Ore


  Naturally-occurring solid where valuable metals and/or minerals extracted for profit
• Common Rock-Forming Elements


  • Oxygen
  • Silicon
  • Iron
  • Magnesium
  • Calcium
  • Aluminum
  • Sodium
  • Potassium
  • Carbon
  • Hydrogen
  • Nickel
  • Sulfur
• Rocks are part of the Earth's lithosphere
• Lithosphere


  The rigid outer part of the Earth's subsystem, consisting of the crust and upper mantle
• Rocks are ever-changing in its form and composition, as shown in the rock cycle