Last Minute "House Keeping" - KEY Earth Systems 3209

Last Minute House Keeping - KEY
Earth Systems 3209

Consider these questions to be what I call some last minute house
keeping before the midterm examination. You all have the notes on
everything from units 1, 2, and 3; however, I want to take this
opportunity to simply ask you a few more crucial questions and to also
provide answers to those questions (either done by me or my
substitute).
1. Phaneritic texture means coarse-grained igneous texture, which means it
cooled slowly from a magma. Aphanitic texture means fine-grained igneous
texture, which means it cooled quickly from a lava. Glassy texture means it
cooled almost instantaneously from a lava and therefore, crystals had no
time to even start growing. Vesicular texture simply means that there are
holes in the rock, which formed as a result of gases escaping into the
atmosphere from a lava.
So what does a porphyritic texture mean and how does it form?
Means two-stage cooling.
First stage was cooling slowing from a magma giving large crystals
called phenocrysts.
Then the magma erupts meaning the volcano erupts and the magma
comes out as lava.
Second stage was cooling quickly from a lava giving small crystals
called groundmass.
2. If you find a mineral, describe how you would test for streak, hardness,
specific gravity, and cleavage?
Streak rub the mineral on a piece of unglazed porcelain and observe
the colour of the resulting powder.
Hardness compare the unknown mineral to minerals (e.g. quartz) or
utensils (e.g. piece of glass) in Mohs Scale for which we know their
hardness values. Harder minerals scratch softer minerals.
Specific gravity divide the mass of a mineral in air to the mass of an
equal volume of water.
Cleavage count the number of planes or directions and assess the value
at which the planes meet. E.g. Feldspar has 2 @ 88 degrees.
3. Why is colour limited for use in identifying minerals?
A mineral can come in a variety of different colours. Quartz can be six
or more different colours.
Impurities in a mineral, which are trace amounts of different elements,
can cause minerals to vary in terms of colour.
Minerals on Earths surface and their colours can be altered by
oxidation.
4. Diamond and graphite are both made of pure carbon. Explain how they are
different in terms of cleavage and hardness.
Diamond is very hard and graphite is very soft.
Diamond has no cleavage due to strong bonding and graphite has cleavage
since it exists in sheets.
5. State the process that is responsible for turning sediment into sedimentary
rock. _______________ Lithification that includes both compaction and
cementation.
6. Explain why specific gravity is better for identifying minerals than colour
and luster? Note that luster means if a mineral shines like a metal or a
non-metal.
Each mineral has a fixed specific gravity value that never differs.
A certain mineral can exist in various colours.
Several minerals can have a metallic luster or non-metallic luster.
7. Which mineral is mined on Bell Island, is used to obtain iron ore, and has a
red streak when rubbed across a piece of porcelain? _____________
Hematite
8. What is one difference in terms of crystal size between igneous rocks that
come from a magma and those that come from a lava?
Magma cools slowly so the crystals are large. Lava cools quickly so the
crystals are small.
9. If the sedimentary rock gets metamorphosed into slate (low-grade), which

other metamorphic rocks would result if heat, pressure, and hot chemical
fluids were increased?
Slates goes to phyllite (medium grade), which goes to schist (high
grade), which goes to gneiss (extremely high grade).
10. Besides hornblende, which other two minerals are dark and therefore, makes
rocks dark/mafic? _______________ and _______________. Pyroxene
and olivine.
11. Remember that harder minerals scratch softer minerals. So will diamond (10)
scratch calcite (3)? _________ Yes
12. Cleavage of minerals is described by the number of cleavage planes or
directions and the angles at which those planes meet. For example, mica is a
sheet so the cleavage would be described as 1 @ 180 degrees. Pyrite, galena,
and halite are cubic so the cleavage of these three would be 3 @ 90 degrees.
NOT A QUESTION! JUST INFORMATION!
13. Give two ways that quartz differs from calcite.
Quartz is harder than calcite. Quartz is hexagonal and calcite is
rhombohedral in terms of crystal form. Quartz fractures and calcite
cleaves. Calcite reacts with acid and allows for double refraction.
14. Give one way that galena is different from pyrite and one way that both are
the same.
Come in different colours and have different economic uses. Both exist
as cubes and therefore, have cleavage at 3 @ 90 degrees.
15. Which process is responsible for the layers of the Earth?
_______________ Segregation.
16. Dinosaurs went extinct due to a meteorite impact. Which law helps us
determine that more species will go extinct due to meteorite impacts?
_____________________ Law of Uniformitarianism.
17. Just so you know, the following things relate to Mohs Scale of hardness.
18. List three ways of conducting absolute dating?

Glacial varves (1 varve = 1 year = 2 sedimentary layers)
Radiometric dating
Tree rings
19. List four ways of conducting relative dating?
Law of Superposition
Principle of Inclusions
Principle of Cross-cutting Relations (intrusions and faults)
Fossils and knowing the evolutionary sequence. IFLARMBH
20. The following minerals have the following uses just so you know.
Mineral
Talc
Quartz
Barite
Chalcopyrite
Pyrite
Hematite
Magnetite
Galena
Graphite
Halite
Sphalerite
Use
Baby Powder
Glass
Drilling Mud
Copper Wire
Iron
Lead
Pencil Lubricant
Salt
Zinc for galvanizing
A Couple Questions Relating To Radiometric Dating

A rock sample was found and dated at 4, 991 Ma. It was thought to be a
meteorite was landed on Earth from outer space. If someone was to tell you
that there was 655 grams of uranium-235 in the rock initially and that the
half life value of uranium-235 to lead-207 is 713 Ma, how many grams of the
parent isotope could you determine to be remaining in the rock?
4, 991 Ma divided by 713 Ma = 7 half lives
655 grams divided by 2 7 times
5.1171 grams of the parent isotope remaining after seven half lives.
A geologist discovered that there are 99 grams of parent isotope (i.e.
potassium-40) remaining in a rock, which was picked up on another planet
during a space mission. Knowing that the rock is 7.86 Ba and that the halflife value for the radioactive isotope is 1.31 Ba (i.e. K-40 Ar-40), how many
grams of the parent isotope were present in the rock initially?
7.86 Ba divided by 1.31 Ba = 6 half lives
99 grams x 2 6 times
6336 grams of parent isotopes in the rock initially.

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Last Minute House Keeping - KEY

Earth Systems 3209

9. If the sedimentary rock gets metamorphosed into slate (low-grade), which

18. List three ways of conducting absolute dating?

A Couple Questions Relating To Radiometric Dating

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