Santa Monica College Earth Science

mber 30, 2018
GEOL 1 - Physical Geology

Exam # 3: Study Guide - Fall 2018

exam date: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 - 5:45 PM

Professor: Dr. Alessandro Grippo, Ph.D.
 
General InformationLast Updated  •  November 30, 2018
PLEASE NOTE:
Cellular phones, iPods, Blackberries, Bluetooth, headphones, computers, pocket calculators, dictionaries, translators or, in general, ANY KIND of electronic device CANNOT be used during the test.

All electronic devices MUST BE TURNED OFF: if a cell phone rings, if a light is visible, or a device is on while in class during test time, you will not be allowed to finish your test and your result will be invalidated.

You can not use any text, notes, dictionary, pocket calculator, flash card, or any source of information other than your brain. You will NOT need a ruler for this test.

You will ONLY need to bring:

  1. one Scantron, Form 882-E
  2. a number 2 pencil
  3. an eraser

This study guide must be interpreted (literally) as a guide to the study of the subject and not as a list of possible questions.
There is no additional information compared to what has been said, discussed, shown, illustrated in class.
It is YOUR personal responsibility to cover the materials listed below in the lecture textbook, in the lab textbook, on the web pages, and in your notes.

I would strongly recommend that you peruse your notes for completeness of information: some information that has been detailed in class is only mentioned briefly on the textbooks, and you are responsible for covering that; know what the key terms and concepts are (see the list at the end of each chapter on both your textbook and your lab manual); exercise with the questions for review also found at the end of each chapter. Review the materials from your quizzes.
Read the summary at the end of each chapter, try to answer review questions, try to work with other fellow students if you find it useful.
Never hesitate to ask me questions in class or during the lab.

ammonites
Jurassic ammonites from the Ammonitic Red Formation of the Italian Alps

 
Study GuideLast Updated  •  November 30, 2018
At the end of all chapters there are sections titled "Terms To Remember", and "Testing Your Knowledge". My suggestion is that you make sure to know those terms and to review your materials by answering those questions.

Chapter 6 - Sediment and Sedimentary Rocks

  • Know the Introduction
  • Know Sediment
    • know what sediment is, how it gets eroded, transported, deposited
    • know the processes of lithification, or how a clastic sediment is changed into a clastic sedimentary rock
    • know about maturity: compositional maturity, sorting, rounding and sphericity
  • Know Types of Sedimentary Rocks: in particular, know the differences between clastic sedimentary rocks, crystalline (chemical) sedimentary rocks, and organic sedimentary rocks
  • Know the different types of sedimentary rocks
  • Know Detrital (or clastic) Sedimentary Rocks
    • know the names of detrital sedimentary rocks, how do they form, what environments they indicate: breccia, conglomerate, quartz sandstone, arkose sandstone, graywacke sandstone, lithic sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, claystone, shale
    • know what porosity, pores, grains, cement, matrix are, and how their properties vary in different clastic sediments and sedimentary rocks
    • know what fissility is (do not confuse fissility with foliation, which is typical of regional metamorphic rocks, see Chapter 7). Figure 6.13, page 136 is important in that regard
  • Know Chemical Sedimentary Rocks: carbonate rocks, cherts and evaporites
    • know the names (and for evaporites, carbonates, and cherts, the chemical composition) of chemical sedimentary rocks: evaporites (gypsum, anhydrite, halite), ironstones (hematite, limonite, banded-iron formations), phosphorites, cherts, carbonates (dolostones and limestones; within limestones: travertine, tufa, oolitic limestone, coral reefs, fossiliferous limestone, coquina, chalk, micrite). Table 6.2, page 139 helps, but you need to double check your notes for completeness of information
    • know the difference between carbonates produced inorganically and carbonates produced organically
    • know which pelagic organisms (coccolithophorids, diatoms, foraminifera, and radiolarians) are responsible for open-ocean sedimentation, and their characteristics (type of shell mineralogy, phyto- or zooplankton)
      see also Protists on the Images web page
    • know what the C.C.D. (Carbonate Compensation Depth) is (see C.C.D. on the Stratigraphy web page)
  • Know Organic Sedimentary Rocks
  • know The Origin of Oil and Gas: be able to reason in terms of oxic and anoxic environments; be able to reason on photosynthesis and respiration; know and be aware that chemical, physical, and biological conditions were different on Earth during its geological history (we discussed, for instance, the Cretaceous greenhouse)
  • Know Sedimentary Structures (see also Sedimentary Structures and Colors on the Images web page)
    • Know where you would find (rocks and environments) all these structures, but pay special attention to, among them, Graded Bedding and Cross-Bedding
    • Know what a Turbidite is and where it would form, and its temporal meaning (how long does it take for it to form? is that a "normal" event, or a "catastrophic" event?)
  • Know what Fossils are, and what they indicate (both Time and Environment of Deposition)
  • Know what a Formation is (for instance, the Navajo Sandstone, or the Morrison Formation). Know what a "Contact" is
  • Know Interpretation of Sedimentary Rocks. Know what "Transgression and Regression" are. Study Figure 6.38, page 153
  • Know the "three Principle of Steno: Superposition, Original Horizontality, and Lateral Continuity"

  • Know the .pdf presentation discussed in class:

    ALSO:

  • Review the summary at the end of the chapter
  • Learn the terms to remember
  • Answer questions in the "testing your knowledge" section


Chapter 7 - Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

  • Know the Introduction
  • Know Metamorphism
  • Know Factors Controlling the Characteristics of Metamorphic Rocks
    • know the difference between confining pressure and differential stress
    • know what foliation is (and do not confuse foliation with fissility, typical of shale, a clastic sedimentary rock, see Chapter 6)
    • review in particular Figure 7.6, page 162)
  • Know Classification of Metamorphic Rocks (see also Table 7.1, page 163)
    • Know the contact metamorphic rocks: marble, quartzite and hornfels
    • Know the regional metamorphic rocks: slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss and migmatite
  • Know Types of Metamorphism
  • Know Metamorphic Grade
  • Know in particular Figure 7.18, page 170
  • Know about Plate Tectonics and Metamorphism (see also Figure 7.21, page 173)
    • Know Hydrothermal Metamorphism and Plate Tectonics, including Metasomatism and Hydrothermal Rocks and Minerals
    • Know about black smokers
    • Review in particular Figures 7.23, 7.24, and 7.25, page 175

      review the powerpoint Metamorphic Rocks

    ALSO:

  • Review the summary at the end of the chapter
  • Learn the terms to remember
  • Answer questions in the "testing your knowledge" section


Chapter 8 - Time and Geology

  • Know the Introduction
  • Know The Key to the Past
    • Know who Nicolaus Steno, James Hutton, Charles Lyell, William Smith, and Charles Darwin were and what was their contribution to geology (an extended guide to this can be found on the web site, on the stratigraphy pages. You do not need to study or know all of this section: just refer to the basic facts concerning the four scientist cited above and discussed during lecture.
  • Know Relative Time
    Know the whole section, review the powerpoint
    Among other things:
    • Know the Introduction
    • Know the difference between Relative Age and Numerical Age
    • Review (from chapter 6) what contacts and Formations are
    • Know the three Principles of Steno, and who Steno was
    • Know the other two Principles: cross-cutting relationships and inclusions
    • Know what Unconformities are, and the three kinds we described (You can skip the term of Paraconformity, but still know it is a possible kind of unconformity).
    • Know Correlation, and how we proceed to correlate
    • Know in particular the use of Fossils, the Principle of Faunal Succession, what is an Index Fossil, what is a Fossil Assemblage
    • Know the Standard Geologic Time Scale:
      • know the difference between periods of time and the rocks that represent those periods of time
      • know names and relative order of Eons (Eonothems), Eras (Erathems) and Periods (Systems)
      • know numerical ages for the Precambrian / Phanerozoic boundary, and for the Paleozoic / Mesozoic and Mesozoic / Cenozoic boundaries. Use Figure 8.24, page 199, for reference.
  • Know Numerical Age
    Review the powerpoint
    Read the whole paragraph, but know in particular:
    • about radioactive isotopes (not the single couples parent - daughter but the concept of radioactivity and radioactive decay)
    • about parent and daughter isotopes, and the concept of half-life
    • be able to calculate numerical ages using simple math, when you know the amounts of P, D and the half-life of an isotope. You are supposed to know the half-life of 14C. If other isotopes will be used, I will provide you with the proper numbers.
    • about the differences in dating rocks and in dating organic materials: what do you use, why can you use it, how does it work and what are the orders of magnitude of time involved
    • about Uses of Isotopic Dating
  • Know Combining Relative and Numerical Ages
  • Know Age of the Earth
    Be able to use all the concepts you learned so far: for instance, can a Jurassic chert inclusion be found in a Triassic limestone? (answer: NO! Inclusions are always older than the rock that hosts them. The Jurassic Period is younger than Triassic Period, so you can not have a inclusion that is younger than the rock in which it is found).

    ALSO:

  • Review the summary at the end of the chapter
  • Learn the terms to remember
  • Answer questions in the "testing your knowledge" section


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