Geology Exam Practice Questions and
Answers
Most important source for scientific data ✅empirical evidence because
touch andcan
everyone feel it
Historical geology vs other sciences ✅other sciences use deductive
reasoning and geology uses inductive reasoning (interpretation and story
telling off observable results)
How the process of science differs from other human pursuits (e.g.
Philosophy). ✅
World views change as we add new knowledge (e.g. 1800s age of earth
(millions of years+) ✅mind shift from myths and legends to
uniformitarianism to explain the unknown
•catastrophism ✅geological features explained by catastrophic events on
a scale not seen today (noah's flood)
•young earth usher - age of earth 6,000 yrs ✅archbishop usher added up
the "begats" in the bible and landed in 4004 bc (tracing the family tree back
to adam and eve) to date the earth to be 6,000 years old
•uniformitariansim (hutton) ~1800 ✅james hutton created the idea that "
the present is key to the past" "the past history of our globe can be
explained by what can be seen to happen now"
-recognized the significance of geological time
-earth is much older than 6,000 years old
•actualism vs. Strict uniformitarianism ✅strict uniformitarianism believes
the present is exactly what was in the past and actualism is the idea that
laws of nature are inviolable (recognizing climate change, tectonic spreading
rates, and volcanic intensity)
•timing of the origin of universe, solar system and earth ✅- the universe is
13.7 billon years old
- the solar system 4.6 -5 billion years old
- earth is 4.5 billion years old (part of the creation of the solar system
•characteristics of the universe (must be accounted for in a theory of its
origin) ✅- matter is not evenly distributed in the universe
- the universe is expanding and appears to be accelerating
1
, •characteristics of our solar system (must be accounted for in a theory of its
origin) ✅- planets orbits are: in about the same plane , relatively circular,
and near sun's plane of rotation
- most planets rotate and revolve counter clockwise
- each successive planet is 2x the distance to the sun than the next
- the sun is 99.9% of the mass of the system
•five basic steps in the origin of the solar system (preexisting super nova,
rotate and flatten, aggregation, ignition, clearing of inner light particles).
✅1) cold cloud of dust and gas (nebula from super nova)
2) begins to condense and rotate disk with mass concentrated in the
center, matter in arms
3) accretion (adding on) of proto planets
4) dense cloud in center collapses and ignites (the sun)
5) solar wind blows away original gas atmosphere of inner planets
•age of the solar system and how we know ✅4.6- 5 billion years old.
There are no rocks on earth that date back to 4.6 billion years ago but
pieces from the asteroid belt help date the solar system
•origin/source of heavy elements in the universe ✅they were produced
inside of stars (fusion) and require second generation stars
•formation of layers of the early earth. ✅1) compositional layering
- originally homogeneous
-melting (heavy sinks to the bottom, light floats to the top)
-results in layers (crust, mantle, and core)
•current theory for the origin of moon and evidence that supports it. ✅moon
created by a catastrophic collision
-caused earth to spin faster
- tilt to earth's axis
- moon's orbit at an angle to planet's around the sun
- earth got most of the core and atmosphere
•earth's four "spheres" and their broad relationships with each other.
✅hydrosphere (water)
Atmosphere
(air) Lithosphere
(crust)
Biosphere (life)
- all interconnected/ influence each other
•what is an "eon" in a geologic definition? Name the four eons in order from
old to young and which are "precambrian" ✅eon is the largest division of
time on a geological time scale
2
Answers
Most important source for scientific data ✅empirical evidence because
touch andcan
everyone feel it
Historical geology vs other sciences ✅other sciences use deductive
reasoning and geology uses inductive reasoning (interpretation and story
telling off observable results)
How the process of science differs from other human pursuits (e.g.
Philosophy). ✅
World views change as we add new knowledge (e.g. 1800s age of earth
(millions of years+) ✅mind shift from myths and legends to
uniformitarianism to explain the unknown
•catastrophism ✅geological features explained by catastrophic events on
a scale not seen today (noah's flood)
•young earth usher - age of earth 6,000 yrs ✅archbishop usher added up
the "begats" in the bible and landed in 4004 bc (tracing the family tree back
to adam and eve) to date the earth to be 6,000 years old
•uniformitariansim (hutton) ~1800 ✅james hutton created the idea that "
the present is key to the past" "the past history of our globe can be
explained by what can be seen to happen now"
-recognized the significance of geological time
-earth is much older than 6,000 years old
•actualism vs. Strict uniformitarianism ✅strict uniformitarianism believes
the present is exactly what was in the past and actualism is the idea that
laws of nature are inviolable (recognizing climate change, tectonic spreading
rates, and volcanic intensity)
•timing of the origin of universe, solar system and earth ✅- the universe is
13.7 billon years old
- the solar system 4.6 -5 billion years old
- earth is 4.5 billion years old (part of the creation of the solar system
•characteristics of the universe (must be accounted for in a theory of its
origin) ✅- matter is not evenly distributed in the universe
- the universe is expanding and appears to be accelerating
1
, •characteristics of our solar system (must be accounted for in a theory of its
origin) ✅- planets orbits are: in about the same plane , relatively circular,
and near sun's plane of rotation
- most planets rotate and revolve counter clockwise
- each successive planet is 2x the distance to the sun than the next
- the sun is 99.9% of the mass of the system
•five basic steps in the origin of the solar system (preexisting super nova,
rotate and flatten, aggregation, ignition, clearing of inner light particles).
✅1) cold cloud of dust and gas (nebula from super nova)
2) begins to condense and rotate disk with mass concentrated in the
center, matter in arms
3) accretion (adding on) of proto planets
4) dense cloud in center collapses and ignites (the sun)
5) solar wind blows away original gas atmosphere of inner planets
•age of the solar system and how we know ✅4.6- 5 billion years old.
There are no rocks on earth that date back to 4.6 billion years ago but
pieces from the asteroid belt help date the solar system
•origin/source of heavy elements in the universe ✅they were produced
inside of stars (fusion) and require second generation stars
•formation of layers of the early earth. ✅1) compositional layering
- originally homogeneous
-melting (heavy sinks to the bottom, light floats to the top)
-results in layers (crust, mantle, and core)
•current theory for the origin of moon and evidence that supports it. ✅moon
created by a catastrophic collision
-caused earth to spin faster
- tilt to earth's axis
- moon's orbit at an angle to planet's around the sun
- earth got most of the core and atmosphere
•earth's four "spheres" and their broad relationships with each other.
✅hydrosphere (water)
Atmosphere
(air) Lithosphere
(crust)
Biosphere (life)
- all interconnected/ influence each other
•what is an "eon" in a geologic definition? Name the four eons in order from
old to young and which are "precambrian" ✅eon is the largest division of
time on a geological time scale
2
