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Earths Catastrophes Test
1
45
Science
Undergraduate 1
10/19/2009

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Term
K-T Impact Hypothesis Summary
Definition
Iridium anamoly
Shocked quartz
tektites
global soot layer
mega tsunami deposits
candidate impact crater on Yucatan peninsula at Chicxulub
Term
fusion occurs at what temp
Definition
10,000,000 K
Term
Supernova
Definition
the iron core of a star collapses
Term
milky way
Definition
100,000 light years across
200,000 light years away from another galaxy (Andormeda Nebula)
Term
Speed of light is?
Definition
300,000 km/s
Term
doppler shift
Definition
red = away = longer wavelength
blue = toward = shorter wavelength
Term
earths first formation
Definition
6 hour days
no atmosphere
no oceans
Term
Catastrophism
Definition
In a second everything can change
Term
oldest life
Definition
cynobacteria 3.5 billion years ago
Term
aerobic respiration
Definition
the release of energy from glucose or another organic substrate in the presence of Oxygen
Term
sexual reproduction
Definition
1.2-.7 years ago
Term
Nicolaus Steno (1638-1686)
Definition
Lava flows and sediments form from flowing material (lava or flowing water) that spreads out.
Term
Original Horizontality
Definition
layering in sediments and lavas formed within a few degrees of horizontal
Term
Lateral Continuity
Definition
a layer may change in thickness, but will be continuous. Thus a bed that looks the same and is the same age can be correlated
Term
Superposition
Definition
younger rocks on top of older rocks (except in the case of magma injected into other rocks
Term
Igneous/Metamorphic/Sedamentary
Definition
Igneous - from magma/lava
Metamorphic - cooked/squeezed rocks
Sedimentary - from erosion of other rocks,
fossils, or chemical deposition.
Term
James Hutton (1726-1797)
Definition
Scottish
Plutonism vs. Neptunism
Grand-daddy of Uniformitarianism
Term
Condensation
Definition
idea that the sun and planets cooled from a hot nebula in the interstellar medium (Descarte and Laplace)
Term
Encounter
Definition
Idea that star formed first then close passage of another star ripped material out which cooled to make planets (de Buffon 1785)
Term
Nebular Turbulence
Definition
hybrid of condensation ideas, recognize the great heterogeneity and turbulence in a condensing spinning nebula
Term
heterogeneous accretion
Definition
as the nebula cooled, the refractory materials accreted into a single core and later less refractory materials added on to give an iron rich core overlain by silicates
Term
homogeneous accretion
Definition
planitessimals accreted into a larger body such that the initial distribution of materials was fairly uniform
Term
stromatolites
Definition
mounds of laminated calcium carbonate and chert found 3.5 bya in australia and africa
Term
Life activites: replication, metabolism, regulation
Definition
replication: reproduction/birth and maybe death
metabolism: intake energy, build body, waste elminiation of materials
Regulation: Chemical control on the biochemical system: maintaining functions
Term
primordial soup experiment
Definition
1953, Stanley Miller and Harold urey, made of steam, ammonia, methane, hydrogen, and water
Term
autotrophs
Definition
capture energy from light of chemical reactions.
Term
heterotrophs
Definition
obtain energy by consuming organic compounds
Term
photo-autotrophs
Definition
absorb light energy using molecules with organic-metal complexes like chlorophyll, enegry charges up ATP and makes sugar
Term
world went to hell
Definition
250 mya boundary between permean and triasic period...environmental meltdown, stopped photosynthesis and oxygen, planet cools
Term
Unconformities
Definition
represent gaps in the rock record during which erosion took place. Rocks below an unconformity could have been uplifted, tilted, folded, overturned, etc. then eroded, followed by renewed deposition.
Term
Uniformitarianism
Definition
Doctrine that processes observed today, operating
n over great spans of time give rise to large-scale
n changes in the Earth
Term
Catastrophism
Definition
Doctrine that changes in the Earth have often
n involved sudden events caused by physical
n forces operating in ways not routinely observed today. Early catastrophism was bible-based.
Term
STRATIGRAPHY
Definition
The study of the lateral variation or vertical succession of strata (rock layers)
Term
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY
Definition
Correlation based on similarity of composition or position of rock types.
Assumes strata are deposited synchronously in different regions
Term
William ÒStrataÓ Smith
Definition
1769-1839): worked on canals in S.E. England and made the first geological map
Term
George Cuvier ( 1769-1832)
Definition
Used this approach to map the sediments of the Paris Basin. Big time Catastrophist
Term
Good index fossils often...
Definition
1) are oceanic because they can easily migrate around the world, 2) have shells or bones, 3) are low on the food chain (thus lots of them).
Term
Archbishop Ussher
Definition
produced a biblical estimate of the origin of the Earth of October 22
Term
Steno
Definition
1638-1686, and is the essence of the Law of Superposition, the notion that rocks are laid down on top of preexisting rocks
Term
Eras / their order
Definition
Cenozoic/Mesozoic = 65 Million Years

Mesozoic/Paleozoic = 225 Million Years

Paleozoic/Precambrian = 570 Million Years
Term
Plato's ideas
Definition
There is a Great Chain of Beings from simplest to most complex. Complexity reflects the more perfect form. All life imbued with an immutable essence
Term
Jean-Baptise Lamarck
Definition
(1744-1829)
Presented the first general theory of evolution. Life spontaneously generates from dirt to form lower plants. No extinction occurs, so all forms that have arisen exist today. Traits are inherited from parents to offspring, and there is a long-term response to use or non-use of organs
Term
George Cuvier
Definition
1769-1832). An expert in comparative anatomy and the 'father' of Catastrophism. He argued that extinction does take place. This is largely a consequence of catastrophic environmental disruption
Term
Charles Darwin.
Definition
Evolution occurs by very gradual transformation upon descent from earlier organisms. The relationship between parent and offspring is key to all diversity (genetic nature of reproduction was not yet known). Variation in species or subspecies lead to divergence.
Term
conditions of evolution
Definition
Variation: Populations must vary in traits

Fitness Difference: There must be a relationship between variation in traits and mating ability, fertility, fecundity, and/or survivorship that affects viability of offspring

Inheritance: Offspring acquire (somehow) traits from their parents that will activate fitness differences.
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