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Rock Layers Law of Superposition Law of crosscutting relationships Law of Inclusions Faunal Succession
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1. Comparing properties of rock strata Color Texture—sand, silt, or clay combinations Composition—look for elements or for ratios of materials Fossils—look for fossils of organisms that only existed for a short period of time
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2. Principle of Original Horizontality Generally most sediments or lava flows solidify as horizontal layers These horizontal layers are called strata. One layer is called stratum.
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3. Syncline and Anticline Syncline—rock formations that form a downward pointing arch or a trough Anticline—upward pointing arch or peak
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4. Law of Superposition In a sequence of sedimentary rock layers, each layer of rock is older than the layer above it and younger than the rock layer below it Can be applied to surface geological events such as lava flows and ash from volcanic eruptions Nicolaus Steno (1636-1686) observed the changes in sequence of rock layers while working in the mountains of Italy.
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Superposition
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5. Faults and Folds Faults— cracks in the rock layers where some movement has taken place; produce offset layers Folds—bends in the rock layers; They occur after the rock layers formed
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Faults
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Folds
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Folds (cont.)
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6. Intrusion Sometimes a rock formation will be penetrated by molten rock that forces its way through weakness in the formation. The new rock that forms in this way is called an intrusion Would this intrusion rock be older or younger than the rock it forms in? Younger although it may appear to go through older layers of rock.
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Intrusions
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7. Law of Crosscutting Relationships If a fault or other body of rock cuts through another body of rock, then it must be younger than the rock through which it cuts and displaces Originally described by James Hutton (1726-1797)
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Crosscutting Relationships
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8. Law of Inclusions If a rock body (Rock B) contained fragments of another rock (Rock A), it must be younger than the fragments of rock it contained. The intruding rock (Rock A) must have been there first to provide the fragments First described by James Hutton
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Inclusions—Which rock is older?
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9. Law of Faunal Succession Fossils of invertebrate (no backbone) animals found in the rock layers appeared in a predictable sequence Fossils occur in a definite, invariable sequence in the geologic record First described in 1790, by William Smith a British engineer
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Faunal Succession
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Put the letters in order from oldest to youngest
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Plate Tectonics Earth’s interior and exterior
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10. Crust Topmost layer of the earth
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11. Mantle A layer of rock that is denser than the crust Beneath the crust
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12. Core Center of the earth Composed of iron and nickel Inner core—solid metal Outer core—liquid (molten) metal
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Earth’s Interior
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13. Lithosphere Approximately 60 miles thick Made up of the crust and upper portion of the mantle
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14. Plate Tectonics Many forces change the faces of the earth over time The largest force that changes our planet’s surface is movement The movement of the outer layer is a process called plate tectonics
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Plates of the lithosphere
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15. Why do the plates move?— read through then summarize Plates at our planet’s surface move because heat in the Earth’s core causes molten rock in the mantle layer to flow.core We used to think the Earth’s plates just surfed on top of the moving mantle, but now scientists believe that plates help themselves to move.Earth’s plates
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15. (cont.) How can plates help themselves move instead of just surfing along? Just like convection cells, plates have warmer, thinner parts that rise, and colder, denser parts that sink. New parts of a plate rise because they are warm and thin, pushing the rest of a plate out of its way at spreading ridges.spreading ridges Old parts of a plate sink down into the mantle at subduction zones because they are colder and thicker than the warm mantle underneath them.subduction zones
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Movement of plates
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Review of Waves Earthquakes Wave types
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16. Earthquakes Focus—exact point inside earth where an earthquake originates Epicenter—point on the surface immediately above the focus Waves from the earthquake travel in all directions from the focus and epicenter
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17. Longitudinal Wave Originate from an earthquake’s focus Move faster through rock than the other waves First to reach recording stations Travels by compressing the Earth’s crust in front of it and stretching the crust in back of it
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Longitudinal Waves
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18. Transverse Waves Move more slowly than longitudinal waves Called S waves or secondary waves
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Transverse Waves
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19. Surface Waves Moves only across Earth’s surface Result of Earths’ entire mass shaking like a bell that has been rung Rolling action of these waves with their longer wavelengths can cause buildings to collapse
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Earthquake effects
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Earthquake Effects
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20.Richter Scale A measure of the energy released by an earthquake Assigns a single number to signify the significance and damage of the earthquake
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Richter Scale
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