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GEOL 5 - Earth History (with Lab)

Exam # 2 Study Guide - Spring 2016

exam date: Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Professor: Dr. Alessandro Grippo, Ph.D.

 
General InformationLast Updated  •  April 23, 2016    
PLEASE NOTE:
  • You CAN NOT USE cellular phones, iPods, Blackberries, Bluetooth, headphones, computers, pocket calculators, translators or, in general, ANY KIND of electronic device during the test.
    All electronic devices MUST BE TURNED OFF: if a cell phone rings, or if a device is on 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 other source of information than your brain.

  • You will NOT need a ruler or a blue book 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 listing of possible questions.

  • On this study guide, there is no additional or extra information compared to what has been said, discussed, shown, illustrated in class.

  • It is YOUR personal responsibility to cover the materials listed below on the lecture textbook, on the lab textbook, on "Fossil Ecosystems of North America", on the web pages, and on 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 three textbooks, and you are responsible for covering that; know what the key terms and the 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.

Cambrian oncolites from the Marble Mountains, California
Cambrian oncolites from the Chambless Formation, Marble Mountains, California

 
Study Guide: part 1 - readings from "Fossil Ecosystems of North America"Last Updated  •  April 23, 2016    

There will be a few questions out of Fossil Ecosystems of North America.
Refer to the familiar assignments list for a review.

Only materials from the following chapters will be in this test:

  • The Gunflint Chert
  • Mistaken Point
  • The Burgess Shale
  • Beecher's Trilobite Bed
  • The Bertie Waterline
  • Gilboa
  • Mazon Creek

You will not be quizzed on previous chapters. The remaining chapters will be included in the final test.
 
Study Guide: part 2 - LECTURELast Updated  •  April 23, 2016     

Chapter 3 - The Diversity of Life

  1. Know what fossils are and the main ways of fossilization
  2. Know the names of the six kingdoms of living things
  3. Know what Taxonomic Groups are
  4. Know what a Clade is
  5. Read for completeness of information and better understanding of present and future materials the paragraph "Identifying Clades and Their Relationships", even if I will not ask direct questions on them (except for the concept of species)
  6. Know the Paleontology pages on this web site (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)
  7. Know the main organisms for each kingdom; in particular, know all of the Protista (coccolitophores, foraminifers, diatoms, radiolarians) in detail (they are basic constituents of certain pelagic (deep marine) rocks such as (microcrystalline) limestones and cherts. See also Chapter 2)
  8. Know the main evolutive stages of plants (nonvascular, vascular; spore, seeds; gymnosperms and angiosperms)
  9. Know the main geologic facts (if they are easily preserved in the fossil record, if they are common, what is preserved, the approximate time range in which they are important, etc.; there will be NO questions at this stage on the biology of these organisms) about sponges, corals, arthropods, trilobites, mollusks, brachiopods, bryozoans (please note that brachiopods and bryozoans are distinct from all other organisms), echinoderms, chordates.

Chapter 4 - Environments and Life

  1. Know the basic facts about ecology
  2. Know about the atmosphere: its composition, patterns of air circulation on both a non-rotating and a rotating earth with no land masses; know what the Coriolis effect is, how it works, and why; know the main wind patterns (trade winds, westerlies, polar easterlies) and their direction
  3. Know the web materials on oceanography, and in particular know about:
    • surface currents
    • deep currents
    • the pycnocline, the halocline, the thermocline
    • the oxygen curve and the nutrient curve
    • the photic zone
  4. Know the main Terrestrial Environments; be aware of climate change with altitude and not only with latitude
  5. Know about the Marine Realm: again, the differences between the surface, wind-driven currents and the deep, density-driven currents; know the patterns of surface ocean currents; know about the California current and the Gulf Stream; know about Equatorial currents and the West Wind Drift; know the basics about tides and the intertidal, subtidal (p.97) and supratidal zones
  6. Know the physiography of ocean bottoms, along passive and active continental margin (know the difference between a continental margin and a plate boundary!): shelf, slope, rise, abyssal plain, etc.; again, know what the photic zone is and its approximate depth in meters
  7. Know about marine life, and what plankton, nekton and benthos are; know about the influence of salinity and temperature of ocean waters on life; know about food webs
  8. Know the Freshwater Environments

Chapter 5 - Sedimentary Environments

You need to know the main characteristics of all sedimentary environments, and be able to reason in terms of what sediments (and, as a consequence, what sedimentary rocks) characterize each one of these environments. Do not simply think of the lithology but, when possible, reason also with such parameters as color, sedimentary structures, compositional maturity, roundness, sorting, sequences, etc. Take into account the concepts expressed by Walther's Law. This means, as you know, that if you have a sequence of pelagic limestones and shales, you can not suddenly find a continental deposit (the sequence changes step by step, from one environment to the next); if you find a sudden change in the sequence, it very likely implies the presence of an unconformity. An unconformity means a time gap: something is missing, whether it was never deposited (paraconformity) or it was deposited and subsequently eroded (the other three unconformities).

  1. Know the introduction
  2. Know Nonmarine Environments
  3. Know Marginal Marine and Open Shelf Environments
  4. Know Deep-Sea Environments

Chapter 6 - Correlation and Dating of the Rock Record

This paragraph is fully integrated by the web pages on stratigraphy. Be sure to study parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and "event stratigraphy" on part 6 (the rest of part 6 and part 7 will be included in the third test). Also, do not forget to check the illustrated stratigraphy page on the web.

  1. Know the Geologic Time Scale
  2. Know Stratigraphic Units
  3. Skip, for now (it will be on test 3) Earth's Absolute Age (pages 136 to 142)
  4. Know Event Stratigraphy (only from page 142 to 144, stop before "Unconformities can be detected by Seismic Stratigraphy" (it will be on test 3)
All the materials from this chapter that have been skipped or that are not listed above will be part of the third test.

Some concepts may have been discussed in class only. Refer to your notes. This is one of the most important chapters of the book. Expect detailed questions out of this, and be able to apply the concepts expressed in this section to chapters.


 
Study Guide: part 3 - LABLast Updated  •  April 23, 2016     

Chapter 3 - Sedimentary Rocks under the Microscope

  1. You will not be asked to identify a rock under the microscope, BUT:
  2. Know the introduction ("Basic Information": know what thin sections and acetate peels are, but I will not ask you how to prepare an acetate peel)
  3. Know textures of sandstones
  4. Know textures of carbonate rocks (be sure to know Folk's classification, including the three components grains, cement and matrix; know the four major types of grains, as from page 23 of your lab manual; know how this classification differs from Dunham's (on the same page, and also in Table 3.2), and know the difference between micrite and sparite)
Make sure to check the key to this lab.


Chapter 4 - Ancient Sedimentary Environments
This chapter reviews chapter 5 on your textbook, with the addition of Sedimentary Structures and Color, that we have seen in previous chapters. Be sure to review the illustrations on the sedimentary structures and color page on the web.

  1. Know Environments of Deposition
  2. Know Bedding and Related Features
  3. Know Color
Make sure to check the key to this lab.


Chapter 5 - Tectonic Setting
This is the most complex lab among the ones that will be on the test.

  1. Know Tectonic Settings
  2. Know the Tectonic Setting - Sedimentary Rock Connection
  3. Know Facies and Association of Beds
  4. Know Summary of Association and Settings
  5. Be prepared to answer questions on the style of those of the lab
Make sure to check the key to this lab.


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