Earth Science no. 1

• UNIVERSE


  The space where matter, time, and energy exist altogether
• BIG BANG THEORY

  • The emerging theories that explain the origin of the universe
  • The most plausible and widely believed by the scientific community
  • The universe originates from a very hot and dense primeval (ancient) matter that undergoes very fast rapid inflation or expansion, 14 billion years ago, that cooled over time and became the present universe
  • Associated with the explosion of primeval matter in other references
  • The remnants of the explosion were developed through time and are now the space bodies including our planet
• BIG BANG THEORY TIMELINE

  1. Electroweak Era (10^-38 s to 10^-10 s): Occurrence of inflation, Formation of elementary particles (photons, gluons, and quarks), electromagnetic, and weak forces

  2. Particle Era (10^-10 s to 0.001 s): Creation of matter and antimatter

  3. Nucleosynthesis Era (0.001 s to 3 minutes): Domination of elementary particles over antimatter

  4. Nuclei Era (3 minutes to 500,000 years): The universe is composed solely of hydrogen and helium

  5. Atoms Era (500,000 years to 1 billion years): Formation of atoms (elements)

  6. Galaxy Era (1 billion years and up to present time): Formation of galaxy via coalescence of universe debris from big bang
• • Edwin Hubble and Milton

  Humason discovered that the

  universe is continuously expanding.
• Sedimentary rock is a great source of water and fossils
• Carbon dioxide is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere
• Folds, Mountains and Earthquakes happen in the collision of two continental plates
• The Pacific Ocean is the deepest ocean in the world with the depth of 14,000 ft
• Air expands and rises when heated
• The sun rises in the east and sets in the west
• The earth is closest to the sun at Perihelion
• Earth's tilt causes the changes in the length of day
• Summer solstice is the day in which the sun reaches its greatest altitude at noon
• Rotation is the Earth's movement around it's axis
• Biosphere is the entire region of the world where living things are found
• Incineration- Process of volume reduction that can cause air pollution
• Composting- Best describes the biochemical process in which solid organic wastes are decomposed by aerobic organism
• Minerals


  naturally occurring inorganic solid material that possesses an orderly crystalline structure and can be represented by a chemical formula
• Properties of minerals


  crystal shape (habit), luster, color, streak, tenacity, hardness, cleavage, fracture, density
• Most common element composition of minerals


  oxygen (O), silicion (Si), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg)
• Silicates


  most common group of minerals, contain -SO2 groups that have a tetrahedral crystal shape
• Carbonates


  minerals that contain carbonate ions that exhibit effervescence (foaming reaction to acids)
• Ore


  naturally occurring concentration of mineral deposits that can be extracted economically
• Rocks


  consolidated mixtures of minerals
• Igneous Rocks


  formed from cooling magma that solidified through crystallization
• Igneous Rocks


  classified by texture and mineral composition
• Igneous Rocks


  size of solidified crystals dependent on rate of cooling of magma
• Intrusive Igneous Rocks


  large crystals formed from slow cooling of magma below Earth's surface (e.g. Granite)
• Extrusive Igneous Rocks


  small crystals formed from quick cooling of magma at the earth's surface (e.g. Basalt)
• Sedimentary Rocks


  formed from the lithification (compaction) of sediment
• Detrital Sedimentary Rocks


  originate as solid particles derived from weathering and are transported (e.g., shale, sandstone)
• Chemical Sedimentary Rocks


  originate from soluble materials produced by chemical weathering (e.g., limestone, chert)
• Metamorphic Rocks

  formed from previous rocks that were subjected to extreme pressure and heat
• Metamorphism


  rocks are subjected to extreme heat and pressure
• Effects of Metamorphism


  increased density, recrystallization (formation of larger crystals), reorientation of mineral gains (foliation), formation of new minerals
• Continental Drift


  hypothesis proposed by alfred wegener of the breaking apart of a supercontinent (pangaea) into smaller continents, then drifting into their current positions; no scientific explanation for the drifting mechanism was proposed
• Plate Tectonics


  provides the mechanism for the continental drift hypothesis; proposes that the earth is divided into a solid and liquid layer
• Lithosphere


  outer solid layer of the earth, divided into segments called plates
• Plates


  move uniformly and are deformed across their boundaries
• Asthenosphere


  weaker inner liquid layer of the eartg